Minutes:
The motion was moved by Councillor David Simpson and seconded by Councillor Charlie Chirico.
The Labour amendment as set out in agenda item 18 was moved by Councillor Brenda Fraser and seconded by Councillor Jerome Neil.
Councillor John Sargeant spoke on the item.
The Labour amendment was put to a vote and was carried – votes in favour: 37, votes against: 19, abstentions: 0.
The substantive motion (as amended) was agreed.
RESOLVED: That this Council welcomes the first Residents’ Survey to have been conducted in Merton for 3 years (due to our previous survey company discontinuing this service) and notes the record results Merton has achieved including:
· Record number of residents who think Merton Council is efficient and well run (76%).
· Record satisfaction rates among residents who agree the council is doing a good job.
· Record satisfaction rates among residents who agree the council responds quickly when asked for help.
· Record satisfaction rates among residents who agree the council involves residents when making decisions.
· 92% of Merton residents are satisfied with the local area as a place to live, which is significantly better than the national figure (80%).
· Nearly two thirds of residents agree the council provides value for money (65%), well above the national figure (47%).
· 75% agree the council acts on the concerns of local residents and 81% were in agreement that the council kept them informed about services and benefits, both well ahead of national results.
Council congratulates all our officers, Councillors and partners on these results but most importantly thanks our many residents, including school governors, street champions and community volunteers, who contribute to making Merton such a great place to live.
Council also notes the following results in relation to anti-social behaviour (ASB) from the recently published 2017 Residents’ Survey:
· Most residents (96%) feel safe during the day and after dark (85%), and these results are higher than those found nationally.
· Almost all residents (93%) agreed that their local area is a place where people from different ethnic backgrounds get on well together.
· Residents in both Wimbledon and Colliers Wood town centres are more likely than the borough average to be concerned about people being drunk or rowdy in public places, although by definition a borough average figure will include areas that are above and below this benchmark. Residents in Wimbledon are most likely to feel safe and satisfied overall with where they live and all areas are more safe and satisfied than the national figures.
· Groups hanging around the streets are cited as a big problem by 27% of residents in Wimbledon town centre and by 28% of residents in Ravensbury, Cricket Green and St Helier wards, although over 72% do not cite this as a problem.
· There is an above the borough average level of concern in Ravensbury, Cricket Green and St Helier wards about vandalism, graffiti and other deliberate damage to property/vehicles (with 17% of residents citing this as a big problem and 83% not citing it as a problem) and also about noisy neighbours or loud parties (with 22% of residents reporting this as a problem and 78% not), although by definition a borough average figure will include areas that are above and below this benchmark.
· People using or dealing drugs is described as a major concern by significant numbers of residents both in Colliers Wood town centre (18%) and in Ravensbury, Cricket Green and St Helier wards (18%), although this is not reflected in reported drugs related crime or ASB in the borough which is low.
· 63% of all residents do not see rubbish or litter lying around as a big problem in their local area, although 37% do cite it as a problem with this increasing to almost half of all respondents (49%) in Wimbledon town centre and two thirds (66%) in Ravensbury, Cricket Green and St Helier wards. The administration is therefore determined to address this by introducing a new wheeled bin service to reduce the problem of litter strewn on our streets due to foxes attacking black sacks.
· 84% of young people said they were satisfied about how Merton Council runs things, with just 4% dissatisfied. The three issues young people in Merton are most concerned about are gangs (29%), crime (24%) and litter/dirt in the streets (23%).
Merton remains the third safest borough in London but we must not be complacent and it is clear that anti-social behaviour and low level crime of the kind described above is of considerable concern to some residents in Merton, and particularly those living in and around our town centres. This may be borne out by the increased number of reports received each year by Merton’s Anti-Social Behaviour team, which has increased by 43% since 2013-14 (from 547 to 781 cases in 2016-17), although neighbour disputes and dog fouling are the most significant areas of increase, and 300 of these referrals were not actually ASB cases and were referred on (we have a policy of recording all reports even where they prove not to have been ASB).
This Council recognises that it has a responsibility, working in close partnership with the local police, to continue to use the significantly reduced resources at its disposal due to central government cuts to continue our close partnership work through the Safer Merton partnership to combat the various issues of concern highlighted by the Residents’ Survey, particularly in and around the town centres.
This Council welcomes the purchase of three mobile CCTV cameras for deployment to areas where ASB and/or low level crime is occurring - as set out in the report to the Overview and Scrutiny Commission on 6 July 2017 - and given the significantly reduced resources at our disposal due to government cuts would welcome government funding to enable Merton to further expand its enforcement activities in order to maximise the possibility of taking action against those who commit these acts of anti-social behaviour.
This Council therefore calls on the Cabinet to look at identifying any further government funding for increasing the use and number of mobile cameras deployed in ASB hotspots around the borough as a cost effective way of supporting the local community and providing much needed reassurance to those affected, bearing in mind the many competing demands on resources in a tine of government austerity cuts.
Supporting documents: