Agenda and draft minutes

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 3 July 2025.

The minutes of the meeting of the Customer Focus Scrutiny Committee held on 3 July 2025 were taken as read, approved as correct subject to the addition of missing apostrophes, Councillor Pole’s name to a comment made and clarification that the roll out of food waste collections would be complete in 2026 in place of 2026/27.

Councillors are reminded of the need to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests that relate to business on the agenda and which have not already been included in the register of interests, before any discussion takes place on the item. Unless the interest is sensitive, you must also disclose the nature of the interest. In accordance with the Council's Code of Conduct, you must then leave the room and must not participate in any further discussion of the item. Councillors requiring clarification should seek the advice of the Monitoring Officer prior to the day of the meeting.

No declarations of interest made be Members.

To receive the report of the Community Safety Partnership and hear evidence from the external organisations.

The Chair welcomed students from St James’ School, who gave a presentation making the following points:  

• they felt unsafe and tried to avoid Sidwell St were possible due to alcohol, drug use, and violence;  

• they did not feel that there were any shops on Sidwell St that they would use;  

• the issues could be delt with by tackling anti-social behaviour, investing in the area, creating events, and working with the individuals living and working near Sidwell St;  

• they felt that the city was not designed for young people and there was little for them to do;  

• a lack of food options and affordable activities were also an issue; and 

• they thanked the committee for listening to their presentation and hope they had been able to read the notes that were provided.  

During discussion Members made the following points:  

• they thanked the students for their thoughtful presentation and report;  

• the city was not designed for young people and wanted to know what they would like on Sidwell St;  

• the empty shop spaces could provide spaces for teen hubs, designed and run by young people; and 

• parents would not allow a young person onto Sidwell St;  

The Chair thanked the students for their presentation, and asked the students if they would be happy for her to visit the school to follow up by sharing the outcomes of this meeting. 

The Chair invited Councillor Michael Mitchell to set out his proposal for the item under Standing Order No.45. In doing so he made the following points:  

• there had been a lengthy debate on this item previously; and  

• he wanted to reassure concerned citizens of the city that this evening’s scrutiny was a starting point and not an end point. 

The Chair invited InExeter and Inspector Devon and Cornwall Police as representatives of the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) ASB sub-group to give a presentation.

During their presentation they made the following points:  

• the students’ views were consistent with what was heard from businesses in the city centre;  

• there were significant concerns from local businesses about the rising rate of ASB and that this was going unchecked;  

• they wanted Exeter to maintain its reputation of being a safe city;  

• they felt that students were far more at risk at home online that they were on Sidwell Street;  

• a key activity was hotspot policing which had been in place since May 2024 and would continue until at least May 2026;  

• the City Council’s Community Safety team carried out daily visible patrols and they had been working with the police regarding ASB and shop theft;  

• the St. Sidwell Centre’s garden was becoming a hotspot for ASB;  

• they were working with Exeter City Council and the police to address encampments;  

• the city Council’s CCTV control room was monitored 24/7 and staff were taking a pro-active approach in identifying perpetrators of crime;  

• Exeter City Council had introduced the Need Help signs, which gave people direct contact to the control centre;  

• there had been a campaign to help de-stigmatise people  ...  view the full minutes text for item 77.

Details of questions should be notified to the Democratic Services Manager via the democratic.services@exeter.gov.uk email by 10am at least three working days prior to the meeting. For this meeting any questions must be submitted by 10am on Monday 22 September 2025.

Details about how to speak at Committee can be found here: https://exeter.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/councillors-and-meetings/public-speaking-at-meetings/overview/

There was one question from the public. The Chair invited Mrs Storrie to read her question:

“Residents in St. David's frequently experience unacceptable levels of anti-social behaviour related to unauthorised camping, particularly around Bartholomew and Friernhay cemeteries. This includes littering, abandoned tents, suspected drug-taking, vomiting and defecation. What measures are being taken by the Council to support rough sleepers and residents and to prevent anti-social behaviour?”

The Portfolio Holder for Housing, Homelessness Prevention and Customer Services, Councillor Asvachin responded:

“The Council contracts a range of services for external organisations to support rough sleepers with the aim of enabling people who are street attached to find and settle in accommodation. This is funded through government grants and is on top of the statutory homeless prevention and support services the council funds and provides directly. The external contracts include an Outreach Service whose role is to get to know each rough sleeper, ascertain if they have a place to sleep indoors, (many do, but for a variety of complex reasons stay attached to street sleeping) and if not, they get alongside to steer people into pathways for accommodation. For people that do have a place to sleep indoors, the Outreach Service will work with them to resolve the barriers to indoor sleeping: which can be complex and take time to resolve. Where the Outreach Service identify rough sleepers who are genuinely homeless but have no right to statutory services in Exeter, every effort is made to help relieve their homelessness. This means that the Outreach Service will work with individuals to explore all avenues to help them find accommodation (which could mean reconnection to another area), and to help them access wider support that they may need.

In addition to the Outreach Service the council contracts a range of supported and temporary accommodation for those faced with homelessness.

The Council, as part of Safer Exeter Community Safety Partnership, is committed to tackling ASB across the city. During Thursday` evening`s Customer Focus Scrutiny meeting, Nicola Wheeler, Chair of the ASB sub-group will present a summary of the steps being taken to tackle ASB within the city centre. The Council investigates reports of ASB in other parts of the city and will work with relevant agencies to address concerns.

The Community Safety Team have made several evictions of encampments in the Bartholomew Street and Catacomb areas in recent weeks. Several people have either been dispersed from the area or temporarily allowed to remain whilst the outreach team engages with them for means of support. Both areas are now regularly patrolled as a result.”

INCLUSIVE EXETER (slides attached) presented their evidence making the following points: 

• were an organisation for people of colour, dealing with some complex issues, intertwined with vulnerability and facing racism; 

• there had been a rise in racist incidents following the Brexit vote in 2016;  

• some politicians had used divisive language rather than supporting;  

• migrant workers needed more support from their employers;  

• migrant workers were essential for the economy;  

• it was important to ensure that staff were trained in inclusivity and that diversity mirrored the community;  

• potential solutions included:  

o   prioritise anti-racism;  

o   investigate and act upon racial inequality;  

o   involve people of colour; 

o   More support for migrant workers from employers; 

o   People of colour in higher ranks of statutory organisations; 

o   counteract racism; and  

o   foster cross-cultural and meaningful understanding; and 

·        Inclusive Exeter ran drop-in sessions, which were collaborative events to ensure access to diverse communities. 

Exeter City CommunityTrust (slides attached) presented their evidence making the following points: 

• Exeter City Football Club (ECFC) had received money from the Police and Crime Commissioner to help tackle youth crime through a mentoring program (Peer Action Collective PAC); 

• PAC was a research programme with young people which was coming to an end; 

• There had been a team of young people aged 16 to 21 who had engaged with almost 500 young people; 

• a national report had been released the previous day; 

• there were not enough safe spaces or trusted adults for young people and the Trust were working with partners to look at building youth provision; and 

• one of the best provisions they had visited was at the mosque. 

ST PETROCK’S presented their evidence making the following points: 

• they had been in Exeter for 30 years and wanted to reinforce that their work couldn’t be done alone;  

• the individuals they supported were scared of ASB and they were often victims;  

• it was important to find alternative spaces that were not alcohol related was important;  

• it was expensive to run public toilets, was there an alternative that could be in place for both the homeless and the night-time economy;  

• a lot of issues that were being discussed were outside of the control of Exeter City Council and came from austerity;  

• the supportive housing commissioned by the council was full and there was a waiting list; 

• they encouraged good behaviour amongst their clients and aimed to support them to feel part of the city; 

• they worked with the police and community safety team where problematic behaviour is seen; and 

• those responsible for ASB on Cathedral Green would be excluded from their services for a time and then a behaviour contract would be implemented. 

CO-LAB presented their evidence making the following points: 

• they reinforced what had already been discussed and confirmed that they were part  

• of the ASB sub-group of the Community Safety Partnership; 

• an important message was that this issue was about health and public health and it was important to all work together;  

• ASB was from unmet needs;    

• the key causes were;  

o  ...  view the full minutes text for item 79.

To receive the report of the Deputy Leader.

The Portfolio Holder for Corporate Services, Community Safety, and City Centre, Deputy Leader, Councillor Wright, presented her update making the following points:  

• Councillors would not be invited to the ASB sub-group as it would not be appropriate at present. This was chaired by InExeter;  

• she would like another all Councillor briefing from the CSP;  

• the Exeter Safety Charter would be coming to SMB;  

• Exeter was a City of Sanctuary; 

• ASB could be reduced by decreasing the number of late off-sales licenses;  

• there had been discussion surrounding the installation of bleed kits, following campaigning by Mia Hawker, whose friend was stabbed and died last year in Bristol;  

• the Police were using their own approved translators which had caused issues with waiting times for taking witness reports;  

• ECFC’s idea of a youth panel was excellent and she would be discussing opportunities for the council with them;  

• there would be investigation into the cost for providing and emptying portable toilets, as there had been reports of people defecating on the streets during the day; and 

• darkness on the High Street needed to be addressed, as well as ensuring trees that obscure CCTV cameras are cut back appropriately.

During discussion, Members made the following comments: 

• they appreciated the way Councillor Wright worked in a cross-party manner;  

• could licensing be asked to review their policy on sales of alcohol;  

• it was difficult for the Licensing Committee to argue or reject an application when there was no response from authorities; and 

• some applications were dealt with under delegated powers but Members were able to look through these.

Councillor Moore proposed, and Councillor Read seconded, that the committee recommend to Licensing that their policies be reviewed with regard to out of hours off-sales of alcohol. Following a vote, this was CARRIED.

RESOLVED that the Customer Focus Scrutiny Committee recommends that the Licensing Committee review their policies with regard to out of hours off-sales of alcohol.  

To receive the report of the Portfolio Holder for Climate, Ecological Change and Communities.

The Portfolio Holder for Climate, Ecological Change, and Communities, Councillor Vizard, presented his update which was taken as read.

The Portfolio Holder responded to Members’ questions in the following terms: 

• each department was coming up with plans, ideas, and mitigations to work towards net zero and he would respond outside the meeting with regard to what had been done differently as a result of carbon literacy training and the roadmap;  

• Inclusive Exeter provided an important contribution and he spoke with them intermittently but would aim to provide a bridge between communities and the council as he had heard this evening that people did not feel seen and heard;  

• he asked that Cllr Moore put her question to him via email about disposing of assets as it may fall under the portfolio of the Leader; and 

• the oversight of the city grants also sat with the ward Councillors and the community builders. The city grants budget was approximately one third spent, and they received a healthy number of applications each round. 

To receive questions from Members of the Council to the relevant Portfolio Holders for this Scrutiny Committee. The Portfolio Holders are:

·        Councillor Bialyk – Leader of the Council

·        Councillor Asvachin – Portfolio Holder for Housing, Homelessness Prevention and Customer Services

·        Councillor Vizard – Portfolio Holder for Climate, Ecological Change and Communities

·        Councillor Williams – Portfolio Holder for City Management

·        Councillor Wright – Deputy Leader & Portfolio Holder for Corporate Services, Community Safety and City Centre

Advance questions from Members relating to the Portfolio Holders should be notified to Democratic Services via democratic.services@exeter.gov.uk

In accordance with Standing Order No. 20 no questions were submitted in advance of the meeting.

Councillor Read asked the Portfolio Holder for City Management, whether a response had been received from the Environment Agency regarding the levels of algae in the canal and in a supplementary question whether there was a named contact. Councillor Williams was in attendance and responded that a response had not been received and that the contact was a general one and not a named person.

Councillor Read asked the Deputy Leader, who was in attendance whether the correction in the Scrutiny Annual Report had been made and where the updated version could be found? The Democratic Services Officer responded that this would be followed up.

Councillor Read asked if there had been a response from government with regard to the information on box shifting sent as a result of the recommendation made by this committee to the Executive. It was agreed that a response would be provided outside the meeting.

Please see for noting a link to the schedule of future business proposed for the Council which can be viewed on the Council's web site. This on-line document is a source for Members to raise issues at Scrutiny on forthcoming Executive agenda items:

Forward Plan of Executive Decisions

Also attached is a draft work plan of future scrutiny items.

Should Members wish to raise issues in respect of future business please notify Liz Smith in advance of the meeting.

The Chair proposed, to the approval of the Committee, that:

·        The item on refuse bins be moved the 19 March 2026;

·        The item on Homelessness and the Portfolio Holder for Housing, Homelessness Prevention and Support Services Update be moved to 22 January 2026 to allow enough time for the Budget item in November; and

·        Key People Activity Across the Council and Portfolio Holder for Arts, Culture and Tourism be moved from January 2026 to 13 November 2025.

Following a vote the draft Scrutiny Work Plan, as amended, was AGREED.