To consider the submitted report in respect of the above Mayoral decision which was called in by the Overview and Scrutiny Board and referred to Council for consideration.

At its meeting held on 14 December 2016, the Overview and Scrutiny Board considered the Notice of Call-in of the Mayor’s decision in respect of a consultation exercise in respect of introducing bylaws to address rough sleeping and preventing motor homes being used as permanent homes in resident areas/public highways.  The Board resolved that, having listened to the advice of the Monitoring Officer and Chief Finance Officer, the Mayor’s decision was contrary to the Policy Framework as it did not believe that the Mayor’s decision made best use of the Council’s reducing resources.  In accordance with Standing Order D10.3 the matter was referred to the Council for consideration.

The Council considered the submitted report on the findings of the Overview and Scrutiny Board and further information regarding the Mayor’s decision, along with the advice of the Monitoring Officer and Chief Finance Officer.

Members firstly considered whether or not the Mayor’s decision was contrary to the Policy Framework.

Councillor Lewis proposed and Councillor Stocks seconded a motion, which was agreed by the Council as set out below:

that the Mayor’s decision is contrary to the Policy Framework (Corporate Plan) as it does not believe that it makes best effect of the Council’s reducing resources.

(Note:  Councillors Excell, King and Haddock required their vote against the decision above to be recorded.)

In accordance with Standing Order D10.8, the Monitoring Officer advised that as the Council had determined that the Mayor's decision was contrary to the Policy Framework, the decision was deemed as a recommendation to the Council.  The recommendation of the Mayor became the motion before Council as follows:

that the Assistant Director of Community and Customer Services be requested to commission a consultation exercise with the public, partners and the voluntary sector to assess opinion with regards to what further action the Council (and partners where appropriate) should take in response to the issues of:

·         introducing bylaws or Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) to address the problem of rough sleeping on the seafront and town centres;

·         providing support to, and safeguarding, individuals with a genuine rough sleeping / street homelessness need; and

·         the use of motor homes as permanent accommodation in residential areas/public highways.

During the debate Councillor Thomas (D) proposed and Councillor Thomas (J) seconded an amendment to the motion as follows:

that the Assistant Director of Community and Customer Services be requested to commission a consultation exercise with the public, partners and the voluntary sector to assess opinion with regards to what further action the Council (and partners where appropriate) should take in response to the issues of:

·         introducing bylaws or Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) to address the problem of rough sleeping on the seafront and town centres;

·         providing support to, and safeguarding, individuals with a genuine rough sleeping / street homelessness need; and

·         the use of motor homes as permanent accommodation in residential areas/public highways.

(i)         that, as the Council has no wish to criminalise homeless people through the introduction of a bylaw, the Head of Paid Service be instructed not to allocate officer resources to undertake any consultation exercise on this matter;

(ii)        that, the Council recognises that the Bay currently suffers from two problems, namely anti-social behaviour (including aggressive and professional begging and anti-social behaviour in Town Centres) and Homeless people, and that these are two separate issues require different solutions to resolve them.  Therefore, the Council requests the Torbay Community Safety Partnership to work with public, partners and the voluntary sector to find sustainable solutions to:-

A)    rough sleeping and,

B)    aggressive and professional begging and anti-social behaviour in Town Centres. 

This work to produce a clear plan of:

·         how the Council in partnership with others will deliver assertive outreach with rough sleepers in line with the new funding allocation given to Torbay for the next 2 years;

·         where enforcement powers can be appropriately deployed to address persistent anti-social behaviour and aggressive or professional begging on the streets;

·         how the council and partners can adopt best practice from the UK and other European cities initiatives to end rough sleeping.

During the debate on the amendment, Councillor Thomas (D) and Councillor Thomas (J) accepted additional wording in respect of consultation.  The amendment was put to the vote and declared carried (unanimously).

The amended (substantive) motion was then considered by members, which was agreed (unanimously) by the Council as follows:

(i)         that, as the Council has no wish to criminalise homeless people through the introduction of a bylaw, the Head of Paid Service be instructed not to allocate officer resources to undertake any consultation exercise on this matter;

(ii)        that, the Council recognises that the Bay currently suffers from two problems, namely anti-social behaviour (including aggressive and professional begging and anti-social behaviour in Town Centres) and Homeless people, and that these are two separate issues require different solutions to resolve them.  Therefore, the Council requests the Torbay Community Safety Partnership to work and consult with public, partners and the voluntary sector to find sustainable solutions to:-

C)    rough sleeping and,

D)    aggressive and professional begging and anti-social behaviour in Town Centres. 

This work to produce a clear plan of:

·         how the Council in partnership with others will deliver assertive outreach with rough sleepers in line with the new funding allocation given to Torbay for the next 2 years;

·         where enforcement powers can be appropriately deployed to address persistent anti-social behaviour and aggressive or professional begging on the streets;

·         how the council and partners can adopt best practice from the UK and other European cities initiatives to end rough sleeping.