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PERFORMANCE AND OVERVIEW COMMITTEE COMMUNITY
 
RECORD OF MEETING HELD ON 18TH OCTOBER 2006
Present:
 
Councillor M Grant; Chair
Councillors T E Ankers, D Bebbington, J D Bratherton, D H D Charlesworth, J Lewis and
J I Stockton   
 
In Attendance:
 
Dr D Burns                             Safer Communities Manager
Mrs B Hurst                            Assistant Chief Executive
Mrs C M Jones                      Democratic Services Committee Officer
Mr C McKeith                        Health Development Officer
Ms C Wilson                          Community Development Manager
 
Board Member in attendance:
 
Councillor J K Hatfield          Portfolio Holder for Human Resources  
 
Apologies:   Councillors S G Conquest, G Griffiths, M A Martin, M J Weatherill
 
29        DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
 
Councillor J D Bratherton declared a personal interest in agenda item No. 6 (ASPIRE Project) on the basis that one of her daughters had participated in the project.  No other Member made any declaration of interest in any item of business on the agenda.
 
30        RECORD OF MEETING
 
AGREED:  That the Record of the Meeting held on 6th September 2006 be approved as correct.
 
31        WHIPPING DECLARATIONS
 
In accordance with Paragraph 18 of the Performance and Overview Procedure Rules, Members were invited to declare in respect of items where the whip had been applied.  No such declarations were made.
 
32        BOARD BUSINESS
 
32.1    Board Meeting 6th September 2006  
 
Members were invited to comment on those reports falling within the remit of the Committee, which would be considered by the Board at its meeting on 19th October.
 
Designated Public Places Orders ("Alcohol Exclusion Zones")
 
The Safer Communities Manager outlined the proposals for the introduction of these Orders and the evidence-gathering required.  It was noted that Council, at its meeting on 1st November, would be asked to delegate authority for the making of the Orders, to the full Licensing and Regulatory Committee.  No comments were made for submission to the Board.
 
32.2    Provisional Items (Board's Forward Plan)
 
The Committee received the Board's Forward Plan for November 2006, January and February 2007.  The Committee noted that the Board's annual review meeting scheduled for 9th November, had been cancelled.       
 
32.3    Responses from the Board/Council
 
The Committee noted that there were no referrals from Board or Council on this occasion. 
 
33       MENTAL HEALTH/ASPIRE PROJECT
 
The Committee had previously agreed to include the issue of mental health in its work programme, and had requested a presentation on the "ASPIRE" Project.
 
The Health Development Officer and the Community Development Manager were in attendance for this item. 
 
The Health Development Officer made a presentation to the Committee providing an overview of mental health, the benefits of physical activity in tackling mental health problems and the four principal ways in which it was of benefit
 
§        Treatment there was a body of evidence that it was effective in reducing depression
§        It contributed to the quality of life
§        Prevention: There was a lower incidence of mental-health problems in those who exercised regularly
§        Improved mental well-being
 
Following this overview, the Community Development Manager made her presentation on the ASPIRE Project which was a multi-sport, physical activity and active leisure approach aimed at young people.   The focus of the project was young people aged between 11-19 years of age, experiencing mental health problems and/or behavioural problems.  They were, typically, those who did not engage in sport or active leisure pursuits. 
 
The project aimed to create an environment to enable young people to participate in physical activity to address their physical and mental isolation and enable them to gain experience in team building and developing social skills.
 
The presentation covered
 
§                    Number of referrals since May 2005
§                    Profile of participants
§                    Geographical data
§                    Activity levels
§                    Referral sources/reasons
§                    List of activities to date
§                    On-going programme
 
It was noted that the project was wholly funded by Sport England for a period of 3-years and this funding would come to an end in 2009. 
 
(Note: Councillor M Grant withdrew from the meeting at this point in the proceedings, and Councillor T E Ankers assumed the chair for the remainder of the meeting.)
 
34         YOUTH ISSUES
 
The Committee considered the "Youth Nuisance Policy Summary of Key Points".  
 
The policy set out the approach to be adopted by the Crewe and Nantwich Safer Communities Partnership towards anti-social behaviour committed by young people under the age of 18 years, and detailed the purpose of the Multi-Agency Action Group which brought together agencies involved in identifying and dealing with young people engaged in anti-social behaviour in the borough. 
 
The Safer Communities Manager spoke to the report and outlined the purpose of the policy and the legal framework for joint working. 
 
35         CREWE AND NANTWICH STRATEGY FOR PLAY
 
The Community Development Manager made a presentation outlining the background to the preparation of the document, which had been produced following the introduction of new legislation for children's services and a lottery award of £246,000 to Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council specifically for children's play.
 
The presentation covered
 
§                  Plan for Action
§                  Projects to be funded
§                  Priorities
§                  Development of the Play Strategy
§                  Outcomes from the process
 
Copies of "Crewe and Nantwich Consultation on Play" and "A Strategy for Play Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council" were made available for Members of the Committee.  Following the presentation, Ms Wilson invited Members of the Committee to submit any comments to her by 1st November 2006.
 
(Note:  In accordance with Procedure Rule 26 (2), Councillor J K Hatfield, spoke on this item with the permission of the Committee.)
 
36        WORK PROGRAMME
 
Members received for information, a copy of the work programme agreed by the Committee at its meeting held on 19th July 2006.  It was noted that the Community Development Manager would be leading on two items at the meeting to be held on 8th November 2006:  (1) Social Inclusion Draft Strategy; (2) Sport and Physical Activities Strategy.
 
37        DATE OF NEXT MEETING
 
            8th November 2006
 
 
..........................................  Chair