Agenda item

This report advises the Committee of petitions received by the Council which fall within the remit if this Committee, including a summary of the response sent to the petition organisers by officers. It also provides an update concerning a petition referral considered by the Committee on 16 August 2018.

There has been one petition referral to this Committee requesting that the CCTV camera outside the Twydall Post Office be repaired.

Discussion

The Committee received a report advising of petitions received by the Council which fell within the remit of this Committee.

Members were advised that the following petition had been referred for discussion by the lead petitioner as he had been dissatisfied with the response received by the Director:

i)             Petition for the CCTV camera outside the Twydall post office to be repaired

The Chairman welcomed John Lloyd to the meeting and invited him to address the Committee.

Mr Lloyd thanked the Committee for inviting him to speak on his petition. He advised that his petition requested the repair of the CCTV camera outside the post office in Twydall. In response to his petition, he had been advised that the Council was in the process of auditing all CCTV camera stock in Medway and that once the audit was complete, a decision would be made as to which cameras required repair or replacement.

Mr Lloyd considered this response to be unsatisfactory as no timescale had been given for the conclusion of the audit, nor had there been any guarantee that the CCTV cameras in Twydall shopping parade would be repaired or replaced. He added that the public and shopkeepers in Twydall were now reliant on private CCTV cameras for their safety.

Mr Lloyd stated that shopping centres should be priority locations for the provision of CCTV cameras and he requested information as to the date the  audit would be concluded. He also sought an assurance that the CCTV camera outside Twydall post office would be repaired as a matter of urgency.

The Assistant Director Front Line Services advised that the CCTV camera outside Twydall post office could not be repaired and therefore required replacement. She was unable to confirm the date by which this work would be undertaken at this meeting but agreed to inform Mr Lloyd direct when this work would be undertaken.

Members discussed the CCTV audit and referred to a number of CCTV cameras in Medway which required repair or replacement and stressed the importance of the outcome of the audit being made available as soon as possible. The Committee also discussed the issue of responsibility for the repair, replacement and maintenance of the CCTV cameras.

The Assistant Director Front Line Services informed the Committee that the CCTV audit was being undertaken in consultation with the Police and Medway Commercial Group Ltd (MCG) and involved two work streams. The first priority would be the replacement of CCTV cameras in key locations which would include Twydall shopping centre and the second work stream would be the strategic approach going forward. This second stream in consultation with the Police would involve identification of those sites where CCTV cameras were required and an assessment of the latest technology available. She confirmed that work was still underway on the audit and therefore it was not yet possible to identify when this would be completed.

The Committee discussed this issue and a number of Members referred to other sites in Medway where the provision of CCTV cameras was considered essential. Concern was expressed as to the lack of clarity on the conclusion date of the audit and officers were requested to ensure that the audit was expedited as a matter of urgency.

In response to questions, the Assistant Director Front Line Services clarified that whilst the Council retained ownership of the CCTV stock, maintenance of the CCTV system was now the responsibility of MCG. Under this arrangement, MCG had regularly maintained CCTV cameras and the infrastructure of the system and when individual cameras were beyond repair, action was put in place for them to be replaced. However, this required funds to be identified to undertake the work.

The Assistant Director Front Line Services also confirmed that as part of the CCTV audit, an assessment would be made as to the anticipated lifespan of a CCTV camera as it was accepted that many of the cameras in Medway had been in place for many years.

Arising from discussions, the Committee queried the public statement made by the Chief Executive of MCG concerning replacement of cameras. The Assistant Director Front Line Services agreed to provide clarification to the Member and Ward Councillor direct on this statement.

The Committee suggested that MCG be invited to attend a meeting of the Committee so that the Committee could discuss its concerns about CCTV provision direct. The Chairman stated that this would be more appropriately considered by the Committee under the item on the agenda headed ‘Work Programme’.

The Committee also requested that when it receives a full report on the CCTV audit, the report also include information as to the lifespan of CCTV cameras and whether MCG had taken over a full complement of working CCTV cameras when the service had been transferred from the Council to MCG.

Decision:

The Committee:

a)            thanked Mr Lloyd for attending the meeting and addressing the Committee on his petition;

b)            noted that the Assistant Director Front Line Services will provide the lead petitioner and Ward Councillors with an update on progress in replacing the CCTV camera outside Twydall post office within 7 days of the date of this meeting and will provide the Committee with a full update at its next meeting on 6 December 2018;

c)            requested that a full report on work stream 1 of the CCTV audit be reported to the Committee at its next meeting on 6 December 2018;

d)            requested that prior to receiving the report referred to at c) above on 6 December 2018, Members be provided with a breakdown of CCTV cameras on a Ward by Ward basis (but not to include specific locations) and information as to the number of cameras which are not working, with such information being provided by mid-November;

e)            requested that a briefing note be sent to Members by mid-November outlining the progress on the CCTV audit and setting out a plan showing the overall timescales for the remainder of the review;

f)             noted that the Assistant Director Front Line Services will provide clarification to the Member and the Ward Councillor direct as to the public statement made by Chief Executive of Medway Commercial Group regarding replacement of CCTV cameras;

g)            noted that the possibility of inviting MCG to the Committee on 6 December 2018 to discuss the Committee’s concerns with the CCTV provision will be considered under the Work Programme item later on the agenda.

ii)           Completed petitions

The Committee considered the remainder of the report and in particular noted progress on the petition against the removal of secure motorcycle parking from the Commercial Road Car Park in Strood following a meeting with the lead petitioner on 21 September 2018 also attended by the Portfolio Holder for Front Line Services and the Chairman.

A Member requested that she receive an update on action being taken in response to the petition for a safe crossing in Eastcourt Lane, Twydall for children and parents walking to and from schools.

The Assistant Director Front Line Services agreed to respond to the Member direct.

Decision:

The Committee:

a)            noted the petition response and appropriate action set out in paragraph 3 of the report;

b)            noted the progress on the petition against the removal of secure motorcycle parking from the Commercial Road Car Park in Strood;

c)            noted that the Assistant Director Front Line Services will respond to the Member direct providing an update on action being taken in response to the petition for a safe crossing in Eastcourt Lane, Twydall for children and parents walking to and from schools.