Agenda item

Report LDS263 from the Chairman of the Communities and Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

(Enclosure)

As Inspector Outen had not yet arrived agenda item 8 was dealt with next.

The Chairman in introducing his report spoke about engagement with the Muslim and Hindu Community and the work that was carried out by the Jubilee Life Church.  He had spoken with Chief Superintendent Davidson about hate crime in the area but the most prevalent hate crime at the minute was with regard to Brexit and disabled community groups.

The Cabinet Member indicated that he had spoken to the report author and work could be moved forward with limited cost to ourselves.

The Chairman stated that he had spoken to Paul Drury, Prevent Officer from Lincolnshire County Council and he suggested that Mr Drury be invited to attend a future meeting of the Committee to see what funding can be accessed by South Kesteven.

The background to the report was discussed and the disparity between what the statistics revealed and what people thought especially in relation to hate crime was highlighted. Statistics revealed that the number of hate crimes within Lincolnshire was low,  The Committee was asked to consider whether this was because there weren’t a high number of incidents or was it that people didn’t report the incident for fear of reprisal.  To counter this, the national charity Stop Hate could be accessed anonymously.    Within communities there could also be disquiet and tensions as a result of people being out of work for lengths of time which could lead to individuals or whole communities becoming disenfranchised.

Reference was then made to target communities that had been identified during the gathering of information which included those with disabilities, including those with learning disabilities who were potential vicitos of Mate crime, where people were befriended and then could be subject to finacial and other forms of abuse.  This was a potential area where work could be done by the Committee. 

At a recent celebratory event held at the Jubilee Life Church Centre in Grantham at which 250 attended, 26 different nationalities were represented.  This showed the wide diversity within the District but also highlighted that communities were relatively small and therefore could be hard to reach.   

The Chairman asked about a breakdown of numbers in relation to Hate crimes to which the officer present stated that she received monthly reports and could being the information to the next meeting of the Committee.

> Action Note

A breakdown of Hate crime figures to be circulated at the next meeting of the Committee.

Examples of integration within society were then given.   The Chairman proposed that Paul Drury be invited to a future meeting to expand on the topic and this was met with agreement from the Committee. 

A question was asked about what was being done to be more inclusive for young people under 17 years of age especially in relation to democratic functions and the democratic process.  Mention was made of the Youth Parliament which went around the County and it was suggested that they be asked to come to South Kesteven.

One Member referred to a conversation that she had with an Asian taxi driver who had stated that he and a handful of other drivers had been subjected to incidents of hate crime.  It was stressed that these incidents should be reported to the Police to enable a record to be kept and for action to be taken if evidence was available. 

Further comments were made about holding meetings in other locations in the district such as schools and colleges. 

The Chairman referred to the recommendation within the report. Members noted the content of the report and that further research was required on the areas mentioned during discussion.  Members also agreed the invite Paul Drury to a future meeting of the Committee.

Recommendation:

That further research to be carried out and that Paul Drury from Lincolnshire County Council be invited to attend a future meeting of the Committee.