Community Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Committee - 17 July 2025

**Draft Work Programme**

The Committee received the Senior Democratic Officer’s report outlining the draft Work Programme for 2025/26, which incorporated suggestions from members and officers. After discussion, Councillor Mustoe moved, and Councillor Clemens seconded, a resolution to approve the draft Work Programme and to allow any amendments before the mid‑year review to be determined by the Chairman in consultation with the Vice‑Chairmen, the Senior Responsible Officer and the Democratic Services Lead. The resolution also required that any changes be effected by the Senior Responsible Officer and that the Committee be notified promptly.

**Fire and Rescue Service – Annual Assurance Statement**

The Chief Fire Officer presented the statutory Annual Assurance Statement for 2024/25. Members asked whether recent Supreme Court rulings on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion were reflected; the officers explained that the report was retrospective and future compliance would be assured through the Service’s core code of ethics. Other questions covered clinical governance for firefighters, declining response times, outstanding actions from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, and the impact of the Phoenix Project on youth. Councillor Clemens, seconded by Councillor Boase, moved a resolution recommending that the Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Public Health approve the statement for publication, which was adopted.

**Community Risk Management Plan Consultation**

The Fire and Rescue Service tabled consultation leaflets for the upcoming Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP) 2026‑2030 and walked the Committee through the proposed questions. Members suggested adding an “all of the above” option, revising over‑used straplines, and localising messaging to reference Cornwall while remaining inclusive. Further recommendations included using Community Area Partnerships and parish magazines for outreach, engaging learning‑disability groups, and allowing respondents to rank or select more than three options. Officers accepted the suggestions and committed to exploring outreach opportunities and refining the consultation design.

**Safer Cornwall Partnership Plan Review**

The Chair of Safer Cornwall and the Strategic Intelligence Manager reviewed the final year of the 2022‑2025 Safer Cornwall Partnership Plan, which addressed serious violence, domestic abuse, exploitation, antisocial behaviour (ASB) and substance misuse. Members raised concerns about future funding for ASB resources in Camborne and the impact of staffing delays on the ASB Strategy, which was flagged as behind schedule. The officers explained that funding is reviewed annually and that delays were due to lengthy police vetting processes. Additional discussion highlighted the importance of multi‑agency collaboration, the role of Town and Parish Councils, and the potential reinstatement of Police Community Support Officers across Cornwall.

**Cabinet Member Updates**

Updates were received from the Cabinet Members for Community Safety and Public Health, Tourism, Localism and Planning, and Environment and Climate Change. The Community Safety and Public Health member reported that discussions with the Southwest Director of Public Health had not yet produced a clear decision on increasing the static public health grant. The Tourism, Localism and Planning member confirmed that volunteering in cultural services would be addressed in the forthcoming Cultural Manifesto and emphasized the need to integrate cultural, community and language initiatives rather than treating them as separate silos.