To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 8 October 2024.

Decision: That the minutes of the meeting held on 8 October 2024 be approved as a correct record.

Report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods).

This report outlines the work being undertaken to address violence against women and girls, with particular reference to tackling female genital mutilation (FGM).

The committee considered a report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods) which outlined the work undertaken to address violence against women and girls.

Key points and themes within the report included:

·       The Women’s Night-time Safety Charter, which the Council launched in September 2022 and 450 organisations had signed up to;

·       The WalkSafe app, which the Council launched in September 2024 to help people make safe journeys at all times;

·       Student safety measures, including the Good Night Out Guide, Student Safety Group, Operation Safe Streets and Spiking Week of Action;

·       Work of the Parks and Libraries services to address the safety of women and girls;

·       The White Ribbon initiative;

·       The work of Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) to make public transport safe and accessible for everyone but especially women and girls;

·       Partnership working to tackle Female Genital Mutilation (FGM); and

·       Next steps.

Some of the key points and queries that arose from the committee’s discussion included:

·       Noting that Unite the Union’s ‘Get Me Home Safely’ campaign advised that councils could impose licensing conditions on premises to ensure the safety of workers, and querying if the Council had done any work on this;

·       The need to educate young people on the risk of violence against women and girls;

·       How the WalkSafe app was promoted to students;

·       Whether the WalkSafe app was available in any other languages besides English;

·       Requesting information on violence against women and girls to be broken down to ward levels;

·       What support was in place for female transport workers and how many Travel Safe Officers were working in Manchester and on what routes;

·       The need for an intersectional approach as not all women experienced violence in the same way;

·       Tackling and preventing spiking;

·       Issues with lighting in parks and whether this would be reviewed;

·       Encouraging a further push for businesses to sign up to the Women’s Night-time Safety Charter in areas with a high concentration of premises, such as Didsbury and Chorlton;

·       Suggesting it be made a requirement for licensed premises to sign up to the Women’s Night-Time Safety Charter when applying for a new or renewed licence;

·       The impact of the withdrawal of funding for GMP’s Student Safe policing on Fallowfield;

·       Requesting that data on violence against women and girls and domestic abuse be broken down further;

·       Whether the Safer Streets programme could be expanded to other areas beyond the city centre;

·       How the GM Gender-Based Violence and Abuse Strategy was monitored by the City Council;

·       Statistics of those who have experienced FGM within Manchester; and

·       What support NESTAC provided to women moving to Manchester.

The Deputy Leader explained that the Council pledged to build a city free from misogyny and violence against women and girls in March 2021 and this remained a key political priority. The Head of Compliance, Enforcement and Community Safety stated that significant work had been undertaken to address the safety of women and girls by the Council and with partners, including a refresh of the Domestic Violence and Abuse Strategy to cover until 2026.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48.

Report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods).

This report provides an update on the progress made on developing Manchester’s approach to tackling serious violence, including progress on actions arising from the Joint Targeted Area Inspection (JTAI) which took place in 2023.

The committee considered a report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods) which provided an update on progress made in developing Manchester’s approach to tackling serious violence.

Key points and themes within the report included:

·       The Serious Violence Duty, which required specific authorities in local areas to work together to plan to prevent and reduce serious violence;

·       Serious violent offences reduced by 6% between July and September this year compared with the previous three months and were slightly lower than the same period last year;

·       Early intervention and prevention work, such as Engage Panels which identified children and young people at risk of becoming involved in serious violence and offered support;

·       The Keeping Children and Young People Safe (KCYPS) Programme;

·       Progress against recommendations of the Joint Targeted Area Inspection (JTAI) focused on serious youth violence which took place in October 2023; and

·       Next steps.

Some of the key points and queries that arose from the committee’s discussion included:

·       Requesting further detail on incidents of serious youth violence broken down by ward and profile of victim and perpetrator to identify which communities were adversely affected;

·       Requesting further detail on the number of referrals to Engage Panels;

·       Whether the KCYPS Programme was in operation across the city;

·       If Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) training was embedded in schools;

·       If there was any data on serious youth violence prior to 2011 to demonstrate the impact of cuts to youth services;

·       If any particular age group appeared at greater risk of serious youth violence or required greater interventions;

·       What work was being undertaken to address mental health issues among young people;

·       The definition of serious youth violence;

·       How reports of crime can sometimes provide evidence for other incidents and offences;

·       Noting that the government had displayed a commitment to tackling serious youth violence and querying whether the Young Futures programme would enhance the funding available to the Council;

·       How young people could be referred to organisations such as AFRUCA;

·       The importance of early intervention in collaboration with primary schools;

·       The role of social media and how this was monitored;

·       If young people within the criminal justice system were involved in co-designing programmes; and

·       If the underrepresentation of girls in referrals to the Complex Safeguarding Hub had been addressed.

The Deputy Leader acknowledged the impact of serious violence on individuals, families and communities and stated that early intervention, which had been significantly invested in, remained a key focus of the Council and partners, which was reiterated by the Head of Compliance, Enforcement and Community Safety. The Deputy Leader also stated that single-agency inspections and the Joint Targeted Area Inspection in 2023 recognised the strength of partnerships and the involvement of the voluntary sector.

Representatives of AFRUCA attended the meeting and Stephen Adeyemo, Youth Intervention Worker, shared an overview of the organisation’s work and their aims and objectives. He informed members of the Revive Project, which aimed to bring young people back into their communities and to bolster their confidence and ambition. This programme focused on a range of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.

Report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit

The monthly report includes the recommendations monitor, relevant key decisions, the Committee’s work programme and any items for information.

The committee considered a report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit which contained a list of key decisions yet to be taken within the Committee’s remit and responses to previous recommendations.

Decision:

That the report be noted.