Agenda item

7.1

The Committee viewed a short film and received a verbal update from Councillor Jim Steinke (Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Community Safety) and Tracey Ford, Sheffield City Council Drug, Alcohol and Domestic Abuse Co-ordination Team (DACT)) regarding Street Culture – Are we ready for Christmas?

7.2

Councillor Steinke stated that the police and voluntary agencies had differing views on the effectiveness of Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs), and he would be presenting a report to Cabinet in December regarding this.  He said requests had been made in two other areas of the city for PSPOs to be put in place.  Councillor Steinke further stated that the number of rough sleepers in the city had risen and that, following a summit of South Yorkshire Local Authorities and homelessness agencies, it had been found that there was a clear crossover, especially from Rotherham and Doncaster, where people were coming into the city purposely to live on the streets and this needed to be addressed. He said that giving money to beggars had a damaging impact on their lives and the Help us Help campaign was aimed to get the message across to members of the public. Since the introduction of the “Best Bar None” scheme, it was reported that pubs and clubs in the city centre had improved their operations regarding knife crime and violence.

7.3

Tracey Ford stated that, once again, Weatherwatch will be in operation this winter and there were enough agencies out there to help the homeless.  Once again, the South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service were opening its doors to provide shelter to those who needed it.  She added that the Outreach Team were working to communicate the message, that nothing had changed regarding the provision of services to the homeless.  She referred to the “HelpusHelp” campaign and stated that, along with DACT, local businesses, HarC, Ben’s Centre, the Cathedral Archer Project, Soup Kitchen, and many more, were behind the campaign to encourage more people to get involved in helping rough sleepers and those who beg in the city.  She reiterated that giving money to beggars could do more harm than good and that there were plenty of charities working hard to help beggars in other ways.  Ms. Ford said that 10,000 copies of a HelpusHelp leaflet had been produced and these would be distributed in stores and coffee shops situated in and around the city centre, and that the Team would, once again, have the use of a stall within the Christmas Market.

7.4

Members made various comments and asked a number of questions, to which responses were provided as follows:-

·                     The Communications Team were working to ensure that information regarding Weatherwatch was made clearer this year, as last year, Members and some street people were unaware of its existence.

·                     It was felt that Chairs of Local Area Partnerships (LAPs) could be empowered to help tackle some of the issues.

·                     Work was ongoing with both Universities in Sheffield to get the message across to students not to give money to beggars, as it was thought that a large number of students did, in fact, give money to them.  One of the problems was that there was a cohort of new students each year, so the message had to be repeated year after year.  Sheffield University was keen to enlist the help of Chinese students in getting the message across to fellow students.

·                     South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive have agreed to help advertising the HelpusHelp campaign.

·                     It was thought that, at present, there were 34 rough sleepers, but it was difficult to judge exactly how many people were living on the streets as there was a tendency to try and not be spotted, so the number could be higher.

·                     The City of Manchester uses digital signage to assist rough sleepers to find out where to go and what was available during Weatherwatch, and it was thought that this was something that could be done in Sheffield.

·                     Following feedback from last year, 18 roadshows had been held in areas such as Fir Vale, Crookes and Broomhill and Sheffield BID funding had been secured to fund these activities.

·                     Regarding the increased use of Spice, it was reported that 400 people were now trained to offer help, advice and guidance to those using the drug.  However, many of the drug users on the streets used multiple drugs, not just Spice.

·                     With regard to PSPOs, there is to be a briefing session with members of the Cabinet before the beginning of December, 2018, to get the Cabinet’s views on the effectiveness of PSPOs.  It is thought that PSPOs should be considered cross-party and hopefully a decision made as soon as possible, providing that the right decision was made.

·                     Outside of London, Sheffield was considered to be the most generous place regarding members of the public giving money to beggars, mainly due to the number of students in the city.

·                     An invite to any Member who wants to go on the 6.00 a.m. “wake-up” was issued, as it was considered that Members could learn a lot about street culture from it.

7.5

RESOLVED: That the Committee:-

(a)       thanks Councillor Jim Steinke and Tracey Ford for their contribution to the meeting; and

(b)       notes the contents of the film and responses to questions.