To receive (if any)

Members are invited to disclose any interests in any of the items on the agenda at this point of the meeting.  Members may still declare an interest in an item at any time prior to the consideration of the matter.

There were no disclosures of interests.

The Chairman will announce details of the arrangements in case of fire or other events that might require the meeting room or building’s evacuation.

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meetings of the Committee held on 9^th and 15^th March 2023 and authorise the Chairman to sign them

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 9^th March 2023 and special meeting held on 16^th March 2023 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Report and appendix attached

Members were pleased to have Chief Superintendent (CS) Stuart Bell and Chris Nixon from the East Area Basic Command Unit (BCU) to present the Police’s recruitment strategy.

It was agreed to exclude the public and press for the entirety of the item under paragraph 2 and 3 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.

It was explained to the members of the Committee that Newham was the best performing Borough in London in terms of diversity of recruitment however the East Area BCU was the best preforming BCU in the same regards. CS Bell agreed to contact Newham to understand what their strategy was and how that could be implemented within Havering. CS Bell explained that there had been media campaigns to encourage enrolment and the Police was keen to fix reputation in communities to also boost enrolment of younger officers. It was described to the Sub-Committee that the full training of new officers was a 3 year course with 5 months dedicated to learning the law which ensured new recruits had the best knowledge to allow them to undertake their key role in communities.

CS Bell updated members on the vacancies of all neighbourhood teams which satisfied the Sub-Committee members. It was also explained that the BCU is hopeful to double the current neighbourhood team numbers.

The Sub-Committee made no recommendations following the report and noted its contents.

Report and appendices attached

Chief Superintendent (CS) Stuart Bell and Chris Nixon from the East Area Basic Command Unit (BCU) to present the Police’s Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy.

It was agreed to exclude the public and press for the entirety of the item under paragraph 2 and 3 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.

Members were pleased to hear that VAWG was the BCU’s top priority and the whole BCU works to prevent it. It was explained by CS Bell that the percentage of rape cases in the BCU that had been solved had increased but members still exclaimed that this was still too low. Police officers undertake regular ‘walk and talk’ activities with women and women’s groups within the local communities with the aim to increase the confidence women and girls have with the Police and it also provides opportunities for Police Officers to explain the current VAWG strategies.

Report attached

The Sub-Committee were presented with the Council’s Cost of Living Marketing Strategy.

Members received an extensive presentation from an officer which explained the work the Council had done in terms of a new marketing strategy to bring help to residents who need it, when they need it whilst being data driven.

Members noted the strategy was mainly trial and error to gauge the uptake from residents and which processes to use to obtain the highest engagement across the Borough. The best method found was using links, mainly embedded in text messages, to direct residents to information. The ‘/energyrebate’ URL had 400 views per day from residents.

Members of the People OSSC noted the report and made no recommendations.

Report and appendices attached

The Chairman agreed to remove this item from the agenda due to apologies from key members and officers.