CITY COUNCIL

REPORT FOR INFORMATION

COMMITTEE: Social Strategy Overview and Scrutiny

DATE: 8th March 2006

SUBJECT: Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaign (AMEC) Report

REPORT OF: Deputy Chief Executive (Performance) ______

PURPOSE OF REPORT

To provide Members with a report on the outcomes arising from the recent multi- agency Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaign (AMEC).

RECOMMENDATIONS

That Members note the report.

FINANCIAL CONSEQUENCES FOR THE REVENUE BUDGET

None at present

FINANCIAL CONSEQUENCES FOR THE CAPITAL BUDGET

None at present

CONTACT OFFICERS

Lindsey Daley Head of Crime & Disorder - 0161 234 4123 [email protected] Gerry Donnellan, Superintendent, Police [email protected]

BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS

Report to SSOSC 16 November 2005

WARDS AFFECTED

All

IMPLICATIONS FOR KEY COUNCIL POLICIES

Anti Poverty Equal Opportunities Environment Employment Yes Yes Yes Yes

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1. Introduction

1.1 The Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaign (AMEC) ran from 14 November to 24 December 2005 across the city. This was the third campaign in Manchester, a series of national campaigns which have been central to the Government’s wider strategy to reduce the harm caused through the misuse of alcohol. This campaign coincided with the coming into force of the Licensing Act 2003, which took place on the 24th November 2005.

2. Objectives of the campaign

2.1 The purpose of the AMEC was to reduce alcohol related crime and disorder, particularly violent crime, through early interventions, raising the standard of management of licensed premises and reducing underage drinking. The campaign targeted anti social behaviour related to alcohol such as vomiting, urinating in streets and people being verbally and physically abusive.

2.2 The campaign brought together partners from Greater Manchester Police (GMP), Trading Standards, Environmental Health, Crime and Disorder Team, Drug and Alcohol Strategy Team, Street Management and Parking Services, Fire Service and the City Centre Management Company. A steering group was established to plan, co-ordinate and manage the activity.

3. Activity undertaken

3.1 Early interventions

GMP conducted high profile police patrols throughout the campaign, across all three divisions, particularly in hotspot areas such as the City Centre, Gorton, the Road corridor, Levenshulme, and . Emphasis was placed on early intervention of low-level disorder, in particular through issuing fixed penalty notices. Alcohol was also confiscated from those drinking outdoors.

Street management services and GMP conducted joint parking initiatives on weekends during the campaign. Joint patrols of parking attendants and GMP officers focused activity on known hotspots including Peter Street – where 358 parking notices were served - West and Dantzic Street in the city centre and on the Metropolitan and South policing divisions. Removal trucks were deployed to remove illegally parked or nuisance vehicles (untaxed and abandoned) and to ensure the free flow of traffic. This was particularly critical when licensed premises were closing on Peter Street and the large number of parked vehicles prohibited rapid clearance and dispersal of those leaving the area.

2 A communications campaign was in force throughout the AMEC. This was kick-started with a national launch and billboard posters that were developed by the Home Office. These posters featured reminders about the £80 penalty notices that would be served for drunk and disorderly behaviour. These posters were followed by similar notices in licensed premises.

Manchester ran a strong media campaign with a number of success stories appearing in the Manchester Evening News and local newspapers. The Manchester Evening News also ran an editorial in support of the campaign. The publicity gained through this campaign was positive and emphasised that disorderly conduct would not be tolerated.

3.2 Raising the standard of management of licensed premises

A range of multi agency visits to licensed premises took place throughout the campaign. Action taken with regard to licensing issues is also the subject of a report to this committee and provides further figures of action taken since the implementation of the Licensing Act, and beyond the scope of the campaign period outlined here.

Environmental Health conducted 647 visits to licensed premises during the campaign, including pubs, nightclubs, off licences and takeaways, to ensure that these premises were being managed responsibly and complying with their license conditions.

70 joint visits were made by Environmental Health and the Police. The proactive approach taken during visits to licensed premises was viewed as positive and meant that problems were addressed immediately with enforcement action being taken as appropriate. Informal feedback from residents who had made complaints about licensed premises indicated that they were pleased with the approach taken.

GMP visited 577 premises, arrested 492 people and issued 147 fixed penalty notices of £80 during the campaign. The majority of fixed penalty notices issued were for Public Order Act offences such as low level disorder, urinating in the street, harassment and threatening behaviour. Additional provision was made in custody suites at weekends to deal with the increased volume of arrests.

3.3 Reducing underage drinking

Trading Standards conducted 61 test purchases (50 in off licenses and 11 in public houses) during nine operations. The total number of sales to minors was 22. Prior to the official visits taking place, officers from GMP City Safe team visited every licensed venue in the city to deliver information on how to challenge under age drinkers and to provide details of a proof of age scheme.

The final AMEC evaluation showed a large reduction in the number of premises at which underage alcohol test purchases were achieved from 70%

3 in week one to 10% in week five. Fixed penalty notices of £80 were issued to staff in bars and off licenses when alcohol was served to minors.

Following on from this, during 2006-08 an alcohol awareness programme funded by the Department of Health (Communities for Health Grant) will be delivered in ’hotspot’ areas of Manchester where under age drinking by young people in public places is prevalent. As well as providing innovative tailored programmes that respond to the specific needs of young people, it will support young people to engage with other services.

The project will provide opportunities for young people to participate in peer design workshops to explore issues related to alcohol use and to produce a range of materials which will contain clear health and safety messages.

The material will be aimed at peers, parents and members of the wider community and will include information about safe drinking levels, risky behaviours, the consequences of adults purchasing alcohol for young people in off licenses, and positive activities as an alternative to alcohol. Manchester DAST have also recommended that the project works with Manchester Trading Standards to involve young people in the design of information to be circulated to off licenses and licensed premises about the AMEC Campaign from a young person’s perspective

4. Impact on levels of violent crime

During the campaign, the number of total assaults was reduced by 8.7%. Serious assaults were significantly reduced – with a reduction of 55% fewer serious assaults than in the same period the previous year.

Reported incidents at licensed premises also decreased during the campaign through use of co-ordinated repeat visits to problematic licensed premises.

5. Conclusion

The campaign is notable not only in terms of the volume of activity conducted – with the large volume of visits, arrests and fixed penalty notices – but also in the clear message it sent out to those living, working and visiting Manchester that alcohol related disorder will not be tolerated.

The AMEC campaign in Manchester has been recognized by the Home Office as a success – not just in terms of the reductions in violent crime but the well co-ordinated and cohesive approach taken to partnership working. This has been echoed by the partners involved in the campaign. The Home Office have subsequently organised a further campaign that commenced in January and will run through to the 31st March. Work will also continue as outlined to inform and educate young people.

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MANCHESTER CITY COUNCIL

REPORT FOR INFORMATION

COMMITTEE: Social Strategy Overview and Scrutiny

DATE: 8th March 2006

SUBJECT: Implementation of the Licensing Act 2003

REPORT OF: Deputy Chief Executive (Performance) ______

PURPOSE OF REPORT

To provide Members with a progress report on the implementation of the Licensing Act 2003.

RECOMMENDATIONS

That Members note the report.

FINANCIAL CONSEQUENCES FOR THE REVENUE BUDGET

None at present

FINANCIAL CONSEQUENCES FOR THE CAPITAL BUDGET

None at present

CONTACT OFFICERS

Rachel Christie, Head of Environmental Services - 0161 234 4916 [email protected] Fiona Sharkey, Head of Regulatory and Enforcement Services 0161 234 1599 [email protected] John Pullan, Licensing Unit Manager – 0161 234 4521 [email protected]

BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS

Report to SSOSC 16 November 2005

WARDS AFFECTED

All

IMPLICATIONS FOR KEY COUNCIL POLICIES

Anti Poverty Equal Opportunities Environment Employment Yes Yes Yes Yes 1

1. Introduction

1.1 The Licensing Act 2003 came into effect on 24 November 2005. The four objectives of the Licensing Act are:

• Prevention of public nuisance • Public safety • Prevention of crime and disorder • Protection of children from harm

1.2 In Manchester the view has been taken that it is important to get new licences right from the start so that a balance is struck between protecting citizens and allowing well managed premises - that won't cause disturbance for the communities of which they are a part - to open later.

1.3 Environmental health and the police have been very proactive in making representations on licence applications and negotiating enforceable conditions with the applicants to ensure that this balance is achieved. Applicants are in the main happy to accept the conditions.

2. Current licensing status

2.1 Pubs and Bars

Prior to the new Licensing Act coming into effect fears were expressed that most licensed premises would apply for 24 hour alcohol sales. This has not materialised in Manchester and to date only 12 premises have been granted licences permitting 24 hour alcohol sales.

Out of 1888 applications received to date 805 have applied simply to convert the hours they already had with 582 applying for variations. The remaining 501 applications are new applications. These are mainly for premises that were not previously licensed such as takeaways. Some of the new applications were from premises that did not convert in sufficient time and have had to make a full application. In the suburbs most premises who have applied for later opening hours have been granted between an additional 0.5 – 1 hours during the week with an additional 1–2 hours extra at the weekend. In the City Centre 40 premises have been granted permission to serve alcohol beyond 4am and this includes 2 premises granted 24 hours (the , and Booze Direct – a )

2.2 Off Licenses

Very few off licenses (22) have applied to extend their hours. Twelve have applied to open earlier in the morning rather than later. In respect of conversions i.e. no change to hours, only the police could make representation (object). To date only 9 supermarkets have requested 24 hours alcohol sales and 4 of these (ASDA Hulme, ASDA Eastlands,

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Tesco East Didsbury, and Tesco Sharston) have been granted 24 hour licenses. 2.3 Late Night Takeaways

Late night takeaways serving hot food after 11pm now have to be licensed by the local authority. Again Environmental Health has made representations where there are concerns that late opening will cause a public nuisance. Applicants have in the main agreed to have conditions attached to their licenses such as preventing noise from people entering and leaving, preventing people loitering outside the premises, keeping outside the premises clean and not putting rubbish out between certain hours.

2.4 Appeals

To date there have been 31 appeals against decisions made by the Licensing Sub-Committee, 25 of which have been completed. Appeals have been dealt with in one of 3 main ways: agreement reached pre- hearing (9 cases); appeal going to hearing (6 cases) or the appellant withdrawing their appeal prior to the hearing (7 cases). Of the 3 other completed appeals, 2 were made because of administrative issues - the Tatton Arms being remitted back to the Sub-Committee and ASDA Hulme one which the Council decided not to contest in light of the result of the ASDA Eastlands appeal (see below).

The majority of appellants have been premises/breweries appealing against the hours granted or conditions imposed. Where there have been no resident representations a compromise has been reached on hours and/or conditions to the satisfaction of all parties. Where there have been resident objections, these appeals have gone to hearing. Of those 6 that have gone to hearing, 4 were granted an extension to hours by the Magistrates, who have tended to look for a compromise midway between the appellant's and Council's positions.

In the other 2 cases, one (ASDA Eastlands) was upheld by the Magistrates, and in the other case negotiations were only completed just before the hearing and on successful negotiation the case was withdrawn from court.

3. Enforcement of the Licensing Act

3.1 A proactive and joined up approach has been taken to enforcement of the Licensing Act 2003 by the key enforcement agencies. As previously reported to this committee Safer Stronger Communities Funding (SSCF) was secured to fund a night time enforcement service so that any problems arising from the implementation of the Licensing Act could be dealt with immediately rather than waiting till the next day. This team of Environmental Health and Licensing Officers has worked effectively with Trading Standards and the Police in planning and delivering enforcement of the Licensing Act. A significant amount of joint activity has taken place since 24 November 2005. This activity has been targeted at premises where we have concerns that problems may exist 3

either from a history of previous complaints or intelligence from the police, Elected Members, Local Tasking Meetings, Ward Co-ordinators etc. The enforcement activity has been co-ordinated through the Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaign (AMEC) which is also the subject of a report to this Committee. New approaches to enforcement such as attempting underage test purchasing in pubs and the use of fixed penalty notices to staff selling alcohol to children have been tried.

Appendix 1 details the enforcement activity undertaken by Environmental Health and Trading Standards in relation to implementation of the Licensing Act.

Progress has been made in the key objective of protecting children from harm with the number of premises selling alcohol to children falling dramatically within the first few weeks of the Licensing Act coming into effect. Issuing fixed penalty notices to those selling alcohol to under 18s appears to have been a particularly effective deterrent as no doubt the word has quickly spread amongst bar staff that it’s simply not worth it.

The joint action has resulted in good working relationships being established between agencies and significant progress made towards licensed premises across the city being managed responsibly and complying with licence conditions during extended opening hours.

3.2 The need for enforcement activity is, to an extent, seasonal. The run up to Christmas was extremely busy but January and February have been fairly quiet both in the City Centre and the suburbs. The next key challenge will be the summer months when the need for enforcement action is likely to increase. Noise from outside drinking areas (beer gardens) has not yet been a particular problem but as people take advantage of the lighter, warmer summer nights use of beer gardens and premises opening windows and doors during regulated entertainment are likely to become issues. Funding to enable night time enforcement to continue has been secured through Neighbourhood Renewal Fund.

4. Conclusion

The proactive, cross agency, co-ordinated approach taken in respect of licensed premises has enabled problems to be dealt with as they arise. This has included educating licensed premises about their responsibilities, informal warnings and serving statutory nuisance noise abatement notices. The police have increased the use of fixed penalty notices for low level public order offences and drunkenness. As a result there has been a decrease in all violent crime and in particular serious violent crime.

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Appendix 1

Outputs from 18th November to 20th February

Output Output Definition Total Comment Licensed Pubs, nightclubs, 1467 The total figure premises takeaways, off includes revisits to visited by licenses (Citywide) premises to ensure Environmental that they are Health complying with any advice given or enforcement action taken Joint Joint visits to 90 Joint operations operations with licensed premises with police. Police identified above Complaints Complaints 27 resolved received from public/Councillors etc regarding problems caused during later licensed hours Enforcement Notices served, • 43 notices activities Reviews requested, served undertaken Warnings issued, • 46 warning Referrals to letters issued Planning, Referrals • 6 referred to to Nuisance GMP Strategy Team, • 12 referred to Referrals to Police Licensing Unit • 1 referred to Transco • 7 monitoring visits arranged from complainant’s accommodation • 1 referred to Fire Service Trading Attempts 11 Standards: Sales 8 Underage sales on-licences Trading Attempts 88 Standards: Sales 19 Underage sales off-licences

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REPORT FOR INFORMATION

COMMITTEE: Social Strategy Overview and Scrutiny

DATE: 8th March 2006

SUBJECT: Domestic Violence Update

REPORT OF: Director Of Children’s Services ______

PURPOSE OF REPORT

To inform members about the progress to date on the Domestic Violence Enforcement Campaign and related Domestic Violence activity.

RECOMMENDATIONS

That Members note the report.

FINANCIAL CONSEQUENCES FOR THE REVENUE BUDGET

None at present

FINANCIAL CONSEQUENCES FOR THE CAPITAL BUDGET

None at present

CONTACT OFFICERS

Pauline Newman Director of Children’s Services Tel 0161 234 3804 [email protected] Lindsey Daley Head of Crime & Disorder - 0161 234 4123 [email protected]

BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS

Presentation to SSOSC 14 December 2005

WARDS AFFECTED

All

IMPLICATIONS FOR KEY COUNCIL POLICIES

Anti Poverty Equal Opportunities Environment Employment Yes Yes Yes Yes

1

1. Introduction A presentation on Domestic Violence Activity in the light of the Domestic Violence Enforcement Campaign was provided to the Social Strategy Overview and Scrutiny meeting in December 2005. As previously acknowledged, the enforcement campaign is an element of a much wider multi-agency approach to domestic violence. This report therefore provides Members with an update on Domestic Violence activity across the City.

2. Domestic Violence Enforcement campaign (DVEC)

2.1 The Domestic Violence Enforcement Campaign (DVEC) commenced on the 6th February 2006 and will end on 31st March 2006. This campaign is being led by the Policing Standards Unit of the Home Office, and forms part of the Tackling Violent Crime Programme that Manchester is currently engaged with.

2.2 The emphasis of the campaign is enforcement, with particular prominence being placed on repeat offenders. During the campaign, a (staffed) dedicated domestic violence vehicle will be available between 12noon until 3am four days each week to respond to domestic violence incidents. Domestic violence champions are also available to respond to domestic violence incidents 24 hours every day. All dedicated officers are utilising a new investigation booklet and carry digital cameras at all times.

2.3 £105,000 was made available from the Home Office Policing Standards Unit (PSU) for the campaign (£35,000 for each of the three Policing Divisions), administered through Greater Manchester Police (GMP). The PSU have directed how this funding should be spent: Dedicated domestic violence officers; Dedicated response vehicles; and Training: £6,3000 of the funding has been used to train staff. To date, a training day has been held for police officers, domestic violence officers, Crown Prosecution Service and advocacy workers.

2.4 GMP conducted a ‘clean sweep operation’ during the first seven days of the campaign. The purpose of this was to follow up previous complaints where the offender had not been traced. Four police officers and a dedicated interview team were involved in each police division.

Current information indicates: 90% of reported victims are female 40% of calls are repeats – city wide Harpurhey, Moston, Wythenshawe and Gorton have been identified as hotspot areas According to Police data, Manchester receives an average of 1000 reported incidents per month. Alcohol and mental health are issues for victims and offenders.

2 A further detailed report on activity will be available at the end of the campaign.

3. Domestic Violence Strategy and Management

A consultation event is being organised to take place on 26th April 2006 to gain feedback on the Domestic Violence strategy. The strategy will address local priorities within the national framework for domestic violence including child protection and services for children as well as Forced Marriage and links with drugs, alcohol and homelessness issues and service provision.

To support the development and implementation of the strategy a range of changes have been introduced. The first has involved the establishment of a Domestic Violence Management Group. This group involves key partners and will coordinate and manage domestic violence strategy across the city. In addition to the new group, a Domestic Violence Co-ordinator will be appointed to drive the new strategy, take forward the application for Specialist Domestic Violence Court status and establish a Performance Management Framework for the multi-agency work relating to domestic violence.

It is envisaged that a publicity campaign will take place to coincide with the launch of the strategy. In the past, Manchester City Council has coordinated a ‘Zero Tolerance’ campaign, raising awareness around domestic violence and highlighting that Manchester will not tolerate domestic violence. This campaign was approximately 10 years ago and focused on male violence against women. It is anticipated that a future campaign would focus on two key areas: i) Changing people’s mindset regarding domestic violence – encouraging reporting and encouraging earlier reporting ii) Raising awareness of services available to support victims of domestic violence

4. Home Office Visit

Representatives from the Police Standards Unit, LGA, Department of Health and the Home Office Crime Reduction Team visited Manchester CDRP on 6th December 2005 to discuss progress on domestic violence work since their initial visit in July.

Manchester Crime and Disorder Partnership received positive and directive feedback from the Home Office. The range of issues facing the city in relation to domestic violence was acknowledged and a series of actions were agreed at the visit, including some guidance on the development of the strategy for the city and the development of a performance management framework. A further Home Office visit is anticipated in May/June 2006.

3 5. Specialist Domestic Violence Court Programme (SDVC)

The Specialist Domestic Violence Court encompasses not only a physical courthouse, but also the criminal justice and community wide response to domestic violence. A dedicated SDVC will improve victim support and case management; develop expertise and consistency; and increase the number of offenders brought to justice, a key objective in the Government’s National Delivery Plan. Manchester is in the process of developing SDVC status.

6. Conclusion

Whilst it is clear there is a great deal of activity already underway across the city to address domestic violence issues, it is expected that the forthcoming Domestic Violence Strategy will provide the strategic overview and coordination required to ensure the city has a cohesive and coordinated multi agency response.

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