Agenda item

This report sets out progress made within the areas covered by the Portfolio Holder for Resources which fall within the remit of this Committee.

Discussion:

Members received an overview of progress made on the areas within the scope of the Portfolio Holder for Resources which fell within the remit of this

Committee.

The Portfolio Holder responded to Members’ questions and comments as

follows:

·         CCTV – In response to questions as to when he had first become aware of problems with the existing CCTV provision and that funding was not available to repair or replace cameras, the Portfolio Holder advised the Committee that he was first aware of the problems in May 2018 when the Council received a list from Medway Commercial Group Ltd (MCG) stating that a proportion of the cameras were no longer operational. However, at that time, he had been unaware that the responsibility for CCTV fell within his Portfolio as he had assumed that it was included under the remit of the Portfolio Holder for Front Line Services. It was not until 2 months ago that he had been informed that CCTV fell within his own Portfolio. Upon establishing this, he had immediately initiated a meeting with the Assistant Director Front Line Services to review the situation and officers had since worked with MCG to undertake a comprehensive review of all CCTV cameras so as to assess those that were not operational.

He referred to the CCTV cameras in Twydall which had been the subject of a petition at the meeting of this Committee in October 2018 and confirmed that these cameras were now working.

Work was now underway concerning the remainder of the cameras that required attention.

In response to the question as to who was at fault, the Portfolio Holder advised that when MCG Ltd had been established, the client side had not been formally established but gave an assurance that this had since been rectified and the Head of Regulatory Services now had responsibility for the client side of the contract. In addition, as Portfolio Holder, he would continue to meet regularly with MCG until the situation had been resolved.

The Portfolio Holder expressed regret that the standard of service concerning provision of CCTV had fallen below that which was considered acceptable, but reassured the Committee that work was in hand to resolve this.

Some Members expressed concern that the Portfolio Holder had not been aware that the provision of CCTV fell within the remit of his Portfolio and requested whether the Portfolio Holder considered that he should resign from his position.

In response, the Portfolio Holder stated that he had been open and honest about the situation and he had no intention of resigning as Portfolio Holder. He stressed that now he was aware that he had responsibility for the provision of CCTV, he would be working with officers and MCG to ensure that action was taken to resolve the situation.

The Portfolio Holder confirmed that whilst the partners on the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) had assisted officers in identifying priority locations when undertaking a comprehensive review of the CCTV provision in Medway, the CSP had no responsibility for the provision of CCTV in Medway.

In response to a question as to the anticipated timeline for repairs and replacement of CCTV cameras, the Portfolio Holder advised that there was a 16 week mobilisation plan to complete the works. He further advised that there were currently over 400 CCTV cameras across Medway and officers were initially establishing those locations where cameras were considered necessary and those locations where CCTV cameras were no longer required and could therefore be removed. This would enable some cameras to be reused and moved to higher priority locations.

In the long term, having regard to the Council’s Smart agenda, officers would be investigating upgraded technology and how this could assist with the provision of CCTV.  

·         Community Wardens – A Member congratulated the Community Wardens on their work and requested that the Committee’s appreciation be extended to them. In response, the Portfolio Holder advised that Community Wardens fell within the remit of the Portfolio Holder for Business Management, but he would pass on the Committee’s comments.

·         Bid to Home Office Knife Crime Fund - A Member sought an update on the successful bid to the Home Office Knife Crime Fund by St Margaret’s Church in Rainham which would provide mentor training, provision for junior school assemblies and promotion around the CrimeStoppers Fearless Campaign for Young People. In response, the Portfolio Holder advised that the Community Safety Team had met with Rev Nathan Ward to ensure a joined up approach and to support his work and he agreed to provide a briefing note to the Committee outlining the work being undertaken.

Decision:

The Committee:

a)            agreed that a briefing note be circulated providing an update on the work of the Community Safety Team and Rev Nathan Ward following the successful bid to the Home Office for funding from the Knife Crime Fund.

b)            noted that the Portfolio Holder for Resources will pass on the Committee’s appreciation to the Portfolio Holder for Business Management for the work undertaken by the Community Wardens and ask him to convey this to the officers involved.