Agenda item

Notices of Motion

Meeting of Council, Monday, 23 April 2018 6:30 pm (Item 13.)

i) Councillor Smith to propose and Councillor Russell to second:

“This Council notes the success of the night shelter in beginning to tackle rough sleeping in Northampton.

We are aware concerns remain with rough sleeping and hidden homelessness.

We are aware that women are a particularly vulnerable group and women with children even more so.

This council therefore commits to:-

Investigating the full extent of hidden homelessness in Northampton, especially with regard to gender, ensuring women have full access to support.
Using the full range of information available to it from partners to assess the demographic; including all protected characteristics, physical and mental disability, addiction, forensic history and immigration status, to produce regular reports.
The reports will inform practice and service development to ensure that all service users’ individual needs are being met.
The council will ensure that the homelessness service is a two-way process with service users fully consulted and involved with the provision of the services they use.
developing a Housing First strategy to address the long term needs of its vulnerable single homeless population and resolves to investigate good practice examples of this”

ii) Councillor Birch to propose and Councillor Haque to second:

“There is national concern about keeping our communities safe and the concern is widespread in Northampton. We are seeing alarming rates of crime, with increases in violent crime, sexual crime, trafficking, vehicle thefts, burglary and drug related crime. We are particularly concerned that young children and young people are being exploited and sometimes also drawn into crime. We have a duty of care to our citizens and we must do all we can to keep them safe. This Council will therefore take the following actions:-

Call an urgent Crime Summit with the Chief Constable and the Police and Crime Commissioner so that we understand the full picture of crime in the town.
Press the home secretary to improve policing including visible policing.
Ask our Community Safety team to work with partners to produce a community safety strategy detailing what steps need to be taken to ensure safety in our communities”

iii) Councillor Larratt to propose and Councillor Hill to second:

Northampton Borough Council calls for the continued support of our local market and market traders. Consequently, this Council is proud that our market participates in the Love Your Local Market campaign organised by the National Association of British Market Authorities (NABMA).

Love Your Local Market is an international initiative and the UK’s largest annual celebration to promote retail and wholesale markets across the country.

To coincide with this year’s initiative, and together with the Northampton Town Centre BID, the Council is organising workshops, street entertainment and other activities. This Council is delighted to be able to contribute to celebrating our town’s history, innovation, experience, entrepreneurship, food and culture in a festival of market activities and events running from 17^th to 31^st May, and urges the public to support these events and our towns market offer”.

iv) Councillor King to propose and Councillor Graystone to second:

“Northampton Borough Council welcomes the Government’s Serious Violence Strategy launched this week by the Home Secretary, Amber Rudd. The strategy stresses the importance of early intervention to tackle the root causes of serious violence and steer young people away from crime in the first place, while ensuring the police continue to have the tools and support they need to tackle violent crime.

This Council has recognised the great importance of engaging with our young people early to help prevent them from being drawn into crime.

This motion, therefore, calls for support of this Council’s collaborative work with the Police, East Midlands Ambulance Service, Youth Offending Service, University and Free to Talk in developing a training and awareness package that will be offered to schools, during our school’s event in October, youth clubs and youth groups. The package will include a video, drama production and training, as well as educational awareness packs”.

v) Councillor King to propose and Councillor Hibbert to second:

“‘Cuckooing’ is where gangs travel to towns and befriend vulnerable people in order to take over their home and use it to deal drugs.

Northampton Borough Council recognised the seriousness of this problem and has so far, through its Case Management Meetings for Cuckooing, arranged two training sessions for 40 frontline officers across NBC, Adult Social Care, Probation and the Police. Further two sessions have also been fully booked, which will train additional 40 officers.

This Council, working closely with the Police, calls on the public to help tackle the increasing problem of ‘cuckooing’ by looking for signs that their neighbours and friends are being abused. These can include the householder having new associates and increased visitors throughout the day and night, an increased number of vehicles outside the property including taxis or hire cars and bags of clothing or bedding around their property or other signs that people may be staying at the address.

The support of the community is crucial for pursuing ‘cuckooing’ drug dealers and those who choose to engage themselves in the illegal supply of drugs and associated antisocial behaviour”.

Minutes:

i) Councillor Smith accepted an alteration to the original motion as published on the agenda. The altered motion was seconded by Councillor Russell:

Council agreed to the altered motion debated below:

“This Council notes the success of the night shelter in tackling rough sleeping in Northampton.

We are aware that concerns remain with rough sleeping and hidden homelessness, and we are aware that women in this situation are particularly vulnerable.

This Council therefore commits to:

· Successfully implementing “TOGETHER we change lives”, the borough’s 10-point multi-agency strategy for ending the need for people to sleep rough in Northampton;

· Exploring the options for establishing a permanent emergency nightshelter that has the capacity and facilities to provide men and women with shelter and support;

· Persuading local groups and services to do everything they can to help and encourage people to engage with local services and accept the help that they need in order to come off the streets and rebuild their lives;

· Considering the role that ‘Housing First’ can play in reducing rough sleeping in the borough;

· Working with partners to establish the true extent of hidden homelessness in Northampton and the way in which people with protected characteristics, physical and mental disability, addiction, forensic history and immigration are affected by hidden homelessness; and

· Ensuring that everyone who is homeless is provided with a personal housing plan, and that the homelessness service is a two-way process with service users fully consulted and involved with the provision of the services they use.

Council discussed the motion.

Upon a vote, the motion was carried.

ii) Councillor Birch accepted an alteration to the original motion as published on the agenda. The altered motion was seconded by Councillor Haque:

Council agreed to the altered motion debated below:

- Continue to work with the Police to receive regular performance information from the Police that drives our activity, supports our multi-agency approach and enables this Council to have a good understanding of the crime and anti-social behaviour issues in the town.

- Actively contribute to and support the Community Safety Partnership, which includes the Police and Police Crime Commissioner’s Office, and the three –year community safety strategy, including the following identified priorities:

· Reduce Crime

· Reduce ASB and Hate Crime

· Support Vulnerable People

· Build Stronger and Resilient Communities

· Safety in the Night-Time Economy

The full strategy can be found at https://www.northampton.gov.uk/downloads/file/10006/ncsp-2017---2020

- Support the Government and the Home Secretary in delivering the new Serious Violence Strategy, including improving policing and visible policing, to break the deadly cycle of violence that devastates the lives of individuals, families and communities.

Council debated the altered motion.

Upon a vote, the motion was carried.

iii) Councillor Larratt proposed and Councillor Hill seconded:

Love Your Local Market is an international initiative and the UK’s largest annual celebration to promote retail and wholesale markets across the country.

Councillor Stone proposed and Councillor Birch seconded an amendment:

Amended motion to read:

“Northampton Borough Council commits to the continued support of our local market and market traders. Consequently, this Council is proud that our market participates in the Love Your Local Market campaign organised by the National Association of British Market Authorities (NABMA).

Love Your Local Market is an international initiative and the UK’s largest annual celebration to promote retail and wholesale markets across the country.

This council congratulates the Northampton Town Centre BID, the Council in organising workshops, street entertainment and other activities. This Council is delighted to be able to contribute to celebrating our town’s history, innovation, experience, entrepreneurship, food and culture in a festival of market activities and events running from 17^th to 31^st May. We will publicise and encourage the public to support these events and our towns market offer. We commit to a longer term plan to develop the market square in consultation with the traders, retailers, the bid and the public”.

The proposed amendment was lost and Council debated the substantive motion:

Upon a vote, the substantive motion was carried.

iv) Councillor King proposed and Councillor Graystone seconded:

This Council has recognised the great importance of engaging with our young people early to help prevent them from being drawn into crime.

Councillor Stone proposed and Councillor Birch seconded an amendment:

Amended motion to read:

This Council has recognised the great importance of engaging with our young people early to help prevent them from being drawn into crime.

The proposed amendment was lost and Council debated the substantive motion:

Upon a vote, the substantive motion was carried.

v) Councillor King proposed and Councillor Hibbert seconded:

“‘Cuckooing’ is where gangs travel to towns and befriend vulnerable people in order to take over their home and use it to deal drugs.

The support of the community is crucial for pursuing ‘cuckooing’ drug dealers and those who choose to engage themselves in the illegal supply of drugs and associated antisocial behaviour”.

Councillor Stone proposed and Councillor Birch seconded an amendment:

Amended motion to read:

“‘Cuckooing’ is where gangs travel to towns and befriend vulnerable people in order to take over their home and use it to deal drugs.

This Council, working closely with the Police, will run an awareness campaign for the public so they can help tackle the increasing problem of ‘cuckooing’.

The support of the community is crucial for pursuing ‘cuckooing’ drug dealers and those who choose to engage themselves in the illegal supply of drugs and associated antisocial behaviour and for this, commits to setting up a hot line for anonymous reporting of any suspicious activity”.

The proposed amendment was lost and Council debated the substantive motion:

Upon a vote, the substantive motion was carried.

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Agenda item

Notices of Motion

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