Floods, NEETs and Community Safety

Flooding in Sudbury, not such a threat.

I have recently moved from the Strategy Committee at Babergh to the Overview and Scrutiny Community Services Committee.

The first meeting of the new Council Year was held today and there were three interesting papers up for discussion.   

Two out of the three demonstrated, I think, that ‘joined up government’ remains a thing of the future, although we are all much more aware of the need to work together to achieve the right outcomes. The successes outlined in the third paper however demonstrate that partnership working can work well.

The first was about Flood Risk Management arrangements across the County.  The number of people actually under threat of flooding in Babergh is lower than I had thought. Apparently a good deal of work has been done on the River Stour, for example,  to make sure that its flow rate can keep up with whatever nature throws at it.   However the representative from the County Council, Jane Burch, making the presentation, made the point that it is important that new development does not exacerbate the situation.  Problems can be caused by having too many hard surfaces, and installing sustainable drainage systems (SUDS).  She expressed disappointment that government bodies are not looking at the problems of water in a more holistic way, since conserving water is just as important as making sure that it is contained by risk management.

A task group has been looking at what Babergh can do to help young people (aged between 16 to 18) who are not in education or employment (NEETS).  This will mainly be achieved by encouraging apprenticeships and work placements.   A scheme is being worked on by officers that will enable the council to become a co-ordinating agency between employers, voluntary groups and the young workless.  I think that this is obviously a good idea in the current circumstances, but hope that the result will prove to offer real value for money and tangible outcomes.  There seem to be a number of other agencies working in this field already.  Will we be able to ‘join them up’ or will people continue to work in their individual silos?  Alternatively is it better to leave this particular area of activity to them?  Is there a better place for Babergh to put its money?

Finally the Babergh Community Safety Partnership, of which I am the Chairman, gave its annual report to the committee. This showed encouraging trends in our four areas of focus:  the night time economy, domestic violence, anti-social behaviour, and reducing people’s fear of crime. 

The Babergh Partnership are increasingly co-operating with the West Suffolk Community Safety Partnership, which comprises Forest Heath, St Edmundsbury and Mid Suffolk.  A merger with them  is likely in due course.  This is important because the new Police Commissioner, who arrives in November, will not want to have to deal with too many separate bodies that he, rather than central government, will have to fund in future.

I enjoyed my first meeting on the committee and the Chairman, James Long, and all the members were very welcoming.