The Safer and Stronger Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee were scheduled to meet to discuss road safety, the Safe Durham Partnership, and a performance management report. They were also expected to refresh their work programme for the coming year.

The meeting was scheduled to include presentations from Durham County Council officers, and representatives from Durham Constabulary and County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service.

Here's a breakdown of the topics that were scheduled to be covered:

Work Programme 2025/26

The committee was expected to discuss and agree its work programme for 2025/26. The proposed work programme was framed around the County Durham Vision 2035, which has three strategic ambitions:

• More and better jobs
• People live long and independent lives
• Connected communities

The committee's remit is linked to the 'connected communities' ambition, which includes ensuring victims of crime have access to support, towns and villages are safe, and communities support each other.

The work programme also reflects the three priorities of the Safe Durham Partnership:

• Anti-social behaviour and crime which disrupts communities
• Hate crime and building community cohesion
• Sexual violence and other violent crime

Some of the topics that were scheduled for consideration include:

• A refresh of the Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Strategy
• Updates on the ASB Strategy Delivery Plan
• The Combatting Drugs and Alcohol Partnership
• Enforcement and intervention activity by the Community Protection Service
• The County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service's Community Risk Management Plan
• The County Durham Youth Justice Plan
• The Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Executive Group Annual Report
• The use of drones in detecting crime
• Activity to tackle nuisance vehicles and off-road bikes
• Open water safety
• The Prevent Strategy
• Probation Services and reducing re-offending
• The Serious Violence Strategy
• An interim report on Horden Together

Safe Durham Partnership

The committee was scheduled to receive an overview of the Safe Durham Partnership (SDP). The SDP has a statutory duty to tackle crime, disorder, substance misuse and anti-social behaviour.

The five responsible authorities on the SDP are:

• Durham County Council
• Durham Constabulary
• County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service
• The Probation Service
• Integrated Care Board

The SDP's ambition is for Durham to be a county where everyone can feel and be safe. Its strategic priorities are:

• Anti-social behaviour and crime which disrupts communities
• Hate crime and building community cohesion
• Sexual violence and other violent crime

Road Safety

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on road safety performance and partnership activity.

The County Durham and Darlington Road Safety Partnership includes Durham County Council, Darlington Borough Council, Durham Constabulary, County Durham and Darlington Fire & Rescue Service, National Highways, and Public Health representatives.

The presentation was scheduled to include:

• An update on road casualty performance
• Information on partnership activity through education, enforcement and engineering
• Objectives for road safety partnership activity for 2025/26

The presentation was also scheduled to cover causation factors, described as the Fatal Four .

The report pack stated that under the 1988 Road Traffic Act, the council has a:

Statutory Duty under 1988 Road Traffic Act

The report pack also included some advice from the Highway Code:

Rule 146

Adapt your driving to the appropriate type and condition of road you are on. In particular do not treat speed limits as a target. It is often not appropriate or safe to drive at the maximum speed limit

Performance Management Report

The committee was scheduled to discuss the Quarter Three, 2024/25 Performance Management Report. The report was intended to inform members, senior managers, employees and the public of the council’s progress towards achieving the strategic ambitions and objectives set out in the Council Plan 2024-28¹.

The report was scheduled to include performance data up to 31 December 2024, and contextual information about activity between October and December 2024.

The report was structured around five themes:

• Our Economy
• Our People
• Our Communities
• Our Environment
• Our Council

The report stated that:

Of the private sector rented properties covered under the selective licensing scheme, 59% are fully licensed, have licences in progress, are exempt or have legal proceedings instigated.

It also noted that anti-social behaviour had increased, but that this followed increased activity by partner organisations in identified ASB hotspots.