Appendix 4a Corporate Priority Action Plan Monitoring Report - 2018/19 PLACE - Creating neighbourhoods where people are proud to live and work Summary of progress We continue to make positive progress in the PLACE priority, ‘Creating neighbourhoods where people are proud to live and work’ as a Council and with partners including Welsh Government, Housing Associations, and as part of the Cwm Taf Public Services Board. We cannot include every single aspect of the Council’s work to deliver this priority nor can a document written at a point in time reflect the changes that have followed and which have been well publicised. However, we have taken a pragmatic approach to provide the reader with as complete a picture as possible, including where we are doing well and where we can do better. Progress in some of our key measures is slower than we anticipated and where this is the case, explanations have been included. From our work to date, we are understanding more about how we embed the requirements of the Well-being of Future Generations Act and this will continue to affect how we shape our 2019/20 plans. The PLACE priority focuses on three steps which are set out in detail in this evaluation, some of our achievements are set out below So that Rhondda Cynon Taf will be amongst the safest places in Wales, with high levels of community cohesion, and residents feeling safe we have put in place a Public Space Protection Order to promote sensible drinking and control and prevent alcohol related anti-social behaviour in Pontypridd and Aberdare worked with partners in the Community Safety Partnership to prevent crime and disorder, including anti-social behaviour, tackle violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence, protect vulnerable groups from harm and victimisation and reducing environmental crime. put in place a Community Alcohol Partnership in Pontypridd to support a culture of responsible drinking, reducing young people’s access to alcohol and raising residents’ awareness of the impact of alcohol on communities. continued to raise the profile of road safety through various activities, projects and programmes for pupils in schools, cyclists, pedestrians of all ages, drivers and those about to learn to drive. tackling dangerous parking and enforcing parking arrangements around schools So that Rhondda Cynon Taf's parks and green spaces continue to be valued by residents we have gained ‘Green Flag’ status for 8 of our parks and open spaces including Aberdare Park for the first time making it clear to visitors they will be enjoying an epic open space that meets the high standards of the Green Flag awards held free community events in Ynysangharad and Aberdare parks, including the Big Welsh Bites and Aberdare Festival as well as weekly Park runs enabled children, young people and families to enjoy no cost local facilities by supporting community groups and volunteers to open 7 paddling pools for a minimum of 4 weeks in the summer Corporate Plan End of Year Monitoring 2018/19 involved residents of all ages in physical and mental well-being events as well as providing learning opportunities in our parks To support Involved and resilient communities in Rhondda Cynon Taf we have put in place a three-year programme to develop Community Hubs that will bring a range of services and community support together in locations across RCT with three on target for completion in 2019. put in place new housing allocation scheme to better support long term housing need supported vulnerable residents to stay engaged with services through our new @home library service and access to more services as part of the mobile library provision encouraged more residents of all ages and abilities to engage with Arts events and to participate in arts projects that will increase confidence, encourage and develop new skills and reduce isolation and involved residents in community events to celebrate the history and culture of the Valleys. To help make Rhondda Cynon Taf’s local environment clean and attractive, with well-maintained roads and pavements, flowing traffic, increased recycling and less waste sent to landfill we have continued to invest in improving our highways infrastructure and delivering safer roads for drivers and pedestrians. continued to support and encourage active travel with improved bus services and improvements to park and ride. continued our flood alleviation schemes and improved the information available to our residents about flood risks. worked directly with residents to increase the amount of waste they recycle. However, there are still areas of the plan we need to address to see the full impact our work to date, these include evaluating of the Public Spaces Protection Order in Pontypridd progressing the development of the Community Hubs, making sure that we learn the lessons from those that are already in place making sure that the construction projects that were delayed because of the contractors going into administration are completed in this financial year with new contractors Corporate Plan End of Year Monitoring 2018/19 Priority 1: Rhondda Cynon Taf will be amongst the safest places in Wales, with high levels of community cohesion, and residents feeling safe Our work in this priority, both now and in the future, will contribute to the seven national Well-being Goals, a set out in the Well-being of Future Generations Act, in particular a Wales of cohesive communities, a healthier Wales and a more equal Wales. Key Measures for this Priority 93.52% of young people have not reoffended within 6 months of attendance on the DIVERT Programme Worse than last year (96.45%) - LPPN154 17% of Residents surveyed feel unsafe in our town centres – Better than our target of 25% LPPN163 Community safety relates to people’s sense of personal security and their feelings of safety in relation to where they live, work and spend their leisure time. The Cwm Taf Community Safety Partnership Board is required by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to develop a strategy for the reduction of crime and disorder in the area, including antisocial behaviour and other behaviour adversely affecting the local environment. To meet this requirement, the Board has put in place the Cwm Taf Community Safety Delivery Plan 2018/21, and set out the following priorities: Reduce the impact of alcohol and drug misuse on our communities Divert offenders and reduce re-offending Tackle violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence Promote safe and confident communities Protect vulnerable groups form harm and victimisation Improve our environment by reducing environmental crime The latest progress update was presented to Public Service Delivery, Communities & Prosperity Scrutiny Committee – Crime and Disorder in February 2019. The update indicated the majority of planned actions are ‘on-target’. This reflects the positive work to prevent crime and disorder through the partnership. An example of positive partnership working is reflected in the case study of Mrs X, a victim of anti-social behaviour. To improve communication with and involvement of residents and communities about crime and antisocial behaviour, the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) introduced a Community Safety newsletter ‘People Patrol’. Residents are encouraged to sign-up to the free e-newsletter that provides information and raises awareness of crime prevention, personal and community safety issues and anti-social behaviour and how these issues can be reported. It also includes updates on issues currently being addressed by the partnership, for example, an increase in reported incidents of illegal off-road vehicle activity and where they are Corporate Plan End of Year Monitoring 2018/19 Priority 1: Rhondda Cynon Taf will be amongst the safest places in Wales, with high levels of community cohesion, and residents feeling safe occurring. It also encourages residents to report issues of concern and to ‘Get involved’ in campaigns that can help to make communities safer. There are currently over 1,500 subscribers to the newsletter and more are being encouraged to sign-up, at local events, for example, at PACT meetings. We have worked with schools and community organisations to educate people about the prevention of terrorism and radicalisation, and to increase awareness of hate crime and how to report it. 2,796 people attended training on hate crime, what it was and how to report it. 91.20% of people receiving this training reported an increased awareness of hate crime reporting procedures. Feedback from those schools receiving training has been positive and includes the following: “I’ve spoken to some of the pupils and you’ll be pleased to know they said the session was very good and interesting!” Headteacher - Parc Primary School “Thanks for today…. they’ve done follow up work all day and got a lot out of your session. Much appreciated”. Headteacher - Ton Pentre Junior School During the year, there were 443 reported hate crime occurrences within Cwm Taf, a decrease compared to 2017/18 when 473 occurrences. They were categorised as follows: Category 2018/19 2017/18 No % No % Racial 257 58% 291 62% Sexual orientation 82 18% 102 21% Disability 87 20% 49 10% Religion 14 3% 22 5% Transgender 3 1% 9 2% Total Reported 443 473 Further work to prevent crime and antisocial behaviour and long term problems includes the DIVERT programme which aims to prevent re-offending by working with first time offenders aged 18-25 to address the underlying issues behind their behaviour. In partnership with South Wales Police, we work with young adults on the programme, to engage in restorative interventions where appropriate, and attend a whole day, interactive, educational workshop focusing on the consequences of their actions. An example of a referral to the DIVERT programme can be found in the linked case study, and an update on the performance of the programme was provided to Public Services Scrutiny Committee in October 2018.