Agenda item

6.1

The Committee received a report of the Interim Head of Community Safety which provided details on the progress of the Partner Resource Allocation Meeting (PRAM) and included feedback from a Local Government Association Review of PRAM, which had taken place in June, 2013.  This was supported by a presentation given by Simon Mitchell, Safer Neighbourhood Manager, during which he explained  that PRAM had been introduced to the East of the City in August 2012, with the aim of improving the identification and support for vulnerable people experiencing anti-social behaviour.  He also provided details of three case studies.

6.2

Members made various comments and asked a number of questions, to which responses were provided as follows:-

·                     In situations where there was an obvious vulnerability, action should be taken straight away.

·                     It was hoped that, eventually, area-based services would deal with these cases.

·                     PRAM was presently operating in the East of the City, covering the area from Ecclesfield to Mosborough.  It was hoped to extend it to the rest of the City, following the Local Government Association review.

·                     Attempts had been made not to be too prescriptive with the definition of “vulnerability”, so as to avoid the adoption of too narrow a view.  However, it was considered that circumstances such as age, degree of isolation and situations where people were no longer getting a service which they had previously received, were important factors.  It was essential that officers were sufficiently knowledgeable to identify vulnerability.

·                     Councillors could report instances of vulnerability to Safer Neighbourhood Officers, Neighbourhood Policing teams or the Council’s Housing Service.  The 101 telephone number was a good place for picking up such intelligence, but reports of vulnerability tended to be simply referred on and there was no feedback, which created something of a gap in the system.

·                     A new Safer Neighbourhood Officer would be in place within the next two weeks in the Central area of the City.

·                     There was no reason to think that there was less vulnerability in the West of the City.  The function of PRAM was to identify the most vulnerable individuals and then involve the necessary resources.

·                     Attempts were being made to get officers not to see PRAM as a first port of call, with an area-based forum being required.

·                     Officers would eventually be working all across the City to look at risk and vulnerability.  It was felt that viewing these issues in terms of a reduction in anti-social behaviour was outdated, with a more forward looking approach putting the emphasis on issues such as social care and mental health.

·                     There was not much of a budget for this work, with a beg, borrow and steal approach being employed.  There were no resources to deal with mental health issues and consideration was being given to how health professionals could get involved.

6.3

RESOLVED: That the Committee:-

(a)       thanks Simon Mitchell for his contribution to the meeting;

(b)       notes the contents of the report and presentation and the responses to questions;

(c)        approves the proposed City-wide development of the Partner Resource Allocation Meeting;

(d)       requests that:-

(i)         efforts be made to improve relations between the Partner Resource Allocation Meeting and the Neighbourhood Action Groups;

(ii)        a quarterly written report on actions relating to the development of the Partner Resource Allocation Meeting in other parts of the City be provided to the Committee;

(iii)       an annual presentation on the Partner Resource Allocation Meeting be given to the Committee, with up to two additional partners to attend; and

(iv)       a brief paper explaining what the Partner Resource Allocation Meeting was, including contact details for the Safer Neighbourhood Officers, be circulated to all Members of the Council; and

(e)       appoints the Chair, Councillor Chris Weldon, and Deputy Chair, Councillor Penny Baker, as the main points of liaison between the Committee and the Partner Resource Allocation Meeting.