Agenda and minutes

Venue: The Oculus, Buckinghamshire Council, Gatehouse Road, Aylesbury HP19 8FF. View directions

Contact: Kelly Sutherland 

Media

Webcast: View the webcast

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for absence / Changes in membership

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Cllr Paul Bass. 

 

2.

Declarations of Interest

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were none.

3.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 567 KB

The minutes of the Select Committee held on 26th October 2021 and the informal working group meeting held on 16th December 2021 to be confirmed as a correct record.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 26 October 2021 and the informal meeting held on Thursday 16th December 2021 were agreed as a correct record.

 

4.

Public Questions

Public questions is an opportunity for people who live, work or study in Buckinghamshire to put a question to a Select Committee.

 

The Committee will hear from members of the public who have submitted questions in advance relating to items on the agenda. The Cabinet Member, relevant key partners and responsible officers will be invited to respond.

 

Further information on how to register can be found here: https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/your-council/get-involved-with-council-decisions/select-committees/

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

No public questions had been received for this meeting

5.

Chairman's update

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman updated Members on the following:

 

·        The Chairman had visited a number of community boards and had found that they varied in how they operated and a number of different issues had been highlighted to her.

·       The Committee also held two deep dive sessions, and two further evidence gathering meetings were planned for March. A list of invitees was being prepared and Members were encouraged to make suggestions as to who should be invited.

·       Some Community Boards have presented Proud of Bucks awards.  The Chairman had attended an event in Amersham which had been very well-attended and enjoyed by all.

 

6.

Buckinghamshire Culture pdf icon PDF 129 KB

The Committee will receive an update from Buckinghamshire Culture on the development of the Cultural Partnership first conceived in 2019.  This will include an overview of the work undertaken in the past three years and a look forward to future opportunities.

 

Contributors:

Cllr Clive Harris, Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure

Julius Weinberg, Co-Chair, Buckinghamshire Culture

Lallie Davis, Director, Buckinghamshire Culture

Ruth Page, Culture and Leisure Services Development Manager

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed Cllr Clive Harris, Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure, Julius Weinberg, Co-Chair for Buckinghamshire Culture, Lallie Davis, Director for Buckinghamshire Culture and Ruth Page, Culture and Leisure Services Development Manager, to the meeting.

 

Julius Weinberg and Lallie Davis provided an overview of the work of Buckinghamshire Culture and the following main points were highlighted:

 

·       Buckinghamshire Culture was created to be a co-ordinating body to support the implementation of the Buckinghamshire Cultural Strategy and develop a cultural partnership.  In 2018, Discover Bucks Museum, the only national Portfolio Organisation in the county and the Council secured a grant from the Rothschilds Foundation to take this work forward.

·       Buckinghamshire Culture formally became an independent charity in November 2021 and Rothschilds have also pledged a further three years of funding.

·       Offices are being moved into Buckinghamshire New University, providing access to academics.

·       A new Board of Trustees has been established which has some younger people on it.

·       Key outcomes for creativity and culture are: Thriving economy and transformed places, equality of access to cultural activity and opportunities, improved health and wellbeing of the population and an energized creative and cultural sector. Buckinghamshire Culture aims to support projects that get organisations together to talk about different topics, fundraising and form new connections. For example, an intergenerational storytelling festival ‘Summer of Stories’ was held in 2021. Storytelling was specifically chosen rather than a more highbrow literary festival as storytelling was all encompassing as it can include films, books and strong verbal storytelling and folk song culture of some of our diverse ethnic minorities too.

·        Further plans for similar projects in 2022 are in place including Bucks Open Weekend 28th-31st July, Bucks in 100 Objects and a project to celebrate 10 years since the 2021 Paralympics is also in development

·       Partnerships across and beyond the cultural sector have been and are continuing to be built. Networks such as Bucks Cultural Leaders are inspiring people to get involved and lots of groups have approached Lallie Davis for advice on projects, collaboration and fundraising opportunities.  A speed dating session had been held in November 2021 to encourage ideas and share best practice and two projects had been awarded seed funding as a result.

·       Four action groups to support strategy delivery have been set up: Culture, Health and Wellbeing, Culture, Access and Inclusion, Culture and Placemaking and Storytelling. Buckinghamshire Culture are hoping to work more closely with Community Boards to encourage celebration of ‘place’.

 

During discussion, comments and questions raised by the Committee included:  

 

·       Members praised the achievements of Buckinghamshire Culture to date and congratulated them on achieving charitable status. It was noted that the Cultural Leaders Programme was helping to promote their work and they had worked with students at Bucks New University to design their logo and branding.

·       Buckinghamshire’s cultural landscape is challenging as it is fragmented ranging from lots of artists working on their own in a studio in their shed up to the National Film and TV School in Beaconsfield  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.

Domestic Abuse pdf icon PDF 293 KB

Following the publication of the Buckinghamshire Domestic Abuse Strategy in December 2021, the Committee will receive an overview of the scale of the issue in Buckinghamshire, gain an understanding of the impact on victims and their families and the actions that are being taken to mitigate this.

 

Contributors:

Cllr Steve Bowles, Cabinet Member for Communities

Claire Hawkes, Service Director, Communities and Strategic Partnerships

Gideon Springer, Head of Community Safety

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed Cllr Steve Bowles, Cabinet Member for Communities, Claire Hawkes, Service Director for Communities and Strategic Partnerships and Gideon Springer, Head of Community Safety, to the meeting.

 

The following points were highlighted:

 

·        The strategy outlined ways to develop and improve the domestic abuse services over the next three years. It is underpinned by a smart action plan setting out the Council’s commitments, which have been informed by review of the effectiveness of current practice, the changing national context and qualitative and quantitative data. Funding had been received for a second year and a strong Domestic Abuse Board has been established with partners to oversee the plans. The Domestic Abuse Strategy had received unanimous support from the Cabinet.

·       The strategy has four key themes: early intervention and prevention, effective services to meet the needs of victims and their families, tackling perpetrators to reduce re-offending and supporting professionals to make a difference. Services are also provided for male victims, victims from diverse backgrounds and children of victims.

·       In Buckinghamshire it is estimated that around 21,000 adults are victims of domestic abuse, which equates to 57 per day. However, the figure is significantly impacted by underreporting of domestic abuse, with only around 4000 cases per year being reported to the Police. This accounts for 15% of recorded crime in Buckinghamshire. In 2021, 71 % of victims were female. 64 % of perpetrators are under 40 years of age and72 % of perpetrators are male. Between 2011 and 2020, there were 15 domestic homicides in the county. It is estimated that domestic abuse in Buckinghamshire costs around £687 million per year.

·       Anyone could be a victim of domestic abuse but there is an increased risk to disabled adults, those with learning difficulties, mental health conditions and unemployed people. Single-parents, minority ethnic groups, LGBT+ people and low-income groups are particularly at risk.

·       Victims are impacted by domestic abuse in terms of both physical and mental health. Conditions include chronic pain, memory loss, alcohol or drug abuse and self-harm. There is also an increased risk of homelessness, poverty and impact of unemployment.

·       Children are also considerably impacted by domestic abuse. One in five children in the UK witness domestic abuse. 2,400 referrals for social care assessments where domestic abuse was a primary concern were completed in 2020/2021 in Buckinghamshire, which is 23 % of children referred. Long-term consequences for children include mental and physical health conditions as well as risks of becoming perpetrators and other criminal behaviour.

·       The Domestic Abuse Board has developed an evidence-led action plan, focusing on needs assessment and communication with victims.


·        

During discussion, comments and questions raised by the Committee included:  

 

·       Domestic abuse incorporates all forms of abusive and controlling behaviour - mental abuse, stalking and emotional control are included in the action plan.

·       The Council aims to tackle the issue of underreporting of domestic abuse by making experts available to victims. Some programmes have been launched in schools to identify the impact on children. A pilot programme had also  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Work Programme pdf icon PDF 389 KB

The Committee will discuss the work programme and agree the items for the next meeting.

 

Contributors:

All Committee Members

 

Papers:

Work Programme attached

Additional documents:

Minutes:

·       A member suggested inviting HS2 and East West Rail to future Communities and Localism Select Committee meetings. The Scrutiny Manager advised that HS2 were attending the next meeting of the Transport, Environment and Climate Change (TECC) Select Committee. It was agreed that a future item on the Communities and Localism agenda would be reviewed following that TECC meeting

·       The Chairman noted that today’s agenda items would both warrant further consideration by the Select Committee in future, so that members could be reassured that progress was being made. The Chairman advised that members who wish to suggest agenda items are welcome to email herself or Kelly Sutherland.

·       An annual report to full Council will be produced from all Select Committees to highlight the work done throughout the year.

 

9.

Date and time of the next meeting

The next meeting will take place on 13th April 2022 at 10am

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The date of the next meeting of the Select Committee would be Wednesday, 13th April 2022 at 10 am.

ADDENDUM – Following the meeting, the date of the next Select Committee was changed to Tuesday 26th April 2022 at 10am.