The Communities and Public Protection Scrutiny Committee was scheduled to meet on Wednesday 17 June 2026 to review the services provided by the Neighbourhoods and Environment Directorate and to discuss the council's forward plan for scrutiny activities. The meeting's agenda also included an update on Martyn's Law, a piece of legislation aimed at enhancing preparedness for terrorist attacks in public premises.

Introduction to Services

The committee was scheduled to receive an overview of the services relevant to its remit, provided by the Neighbourhoods Environment Directorate. This report was intended to outline service priorities, major challenges and risks, and any recent or forthcoming national policy changes. It would also signpost attendees to major policies and documents currently in operation.

Key areas covered were expected to include:

• Regulatory Services: This encompassed the Private Sector Housing & Licensing Team, responsible for licensing schemes including Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) and additional licensing areas across the borough. The team also monitors empty properties and takes enforcement action.
• Public Protection: This service includes the Food & Safety team, which ensures food safety and hygiene in registered businesses and addresses workplace health and safety. The Premises Licensing Service regulates activities requiring statutory controls, while the Trading Standards Service protects residents and ensures fair trading through legislation on product safety, pricing, and business practices. The Street Trading and Markets service licenses and regulates traders and manages the borough's markets.
• CCTV: The report was expected to detail how CCTV is used for community safety, prevention, and incident response through a 24/7 operations centre, monitoring public spaces and corporate sites.
• Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Service: This service aims to reduce the prevalence and impact of ASB through a borough-wide, prevention-led response, working with partners on complex issues.
• Emergency Planning & Business Continuity: This statutory function ensures the council is prepared to respond to, recover from, and mitigate the impacts of major incidents and emergencies, coordinating preparedness through the Borough Resilience Forum.
• Community Safety: This service fulfils statutory responsibilities, including overseeing the Community Safety Partnership and focusing on violence reduction, gangs prevention, and community cohesion.

The report was intended to help the committee formulate key areas of interest for its work programme for the upcoming municipal year.

Martyn's Law (Protect Duty)

The committee was scheduled to consider a report on Martyn's Law, also known as the Terrorism Act 2025¹. This legislation, which received Royal Assent in April 2025, mandates preparedness for terrorist attacks in premises. It requires standard preparations for venues with over 200 capacity and enhanced preparations for those with over 800 capacity. The borough is in the first year of a two-year implementation period, with full compliance expected by April 2027.

Workstreams underway were expected to include CCTV upgrades at high-footfall council sites, the establishment of a Contest Board reporting to the Senior Leadership Team, training for frontline staff on Act awareness and vehicle mitigation, and updated local contingency and emergency plans. The report was expected to address concerns about the development of governance structures without statutory guidance and the potential need for revisions once national guidance is issued.

The Scrutiny Report

The committee was also scheduled to discuss future items for its forward plan for the 2026/27 municipal year. This discussion was intended to allow members to review suggested items, make additional suggestions, and shape the committee's work programme. The report was expected to include a blank template for the forward plan, along with a list of items gathered from early discussions and previous committee meetings. The remit of the committee, which includes community safety, crime and disorder, community cohesion, anti-social behaviour, environmental health, trading standards, enforcement, and property licensing, was to be reiterated.

The committee was also invited to review the Action Tracker and Recommendations Tracker from previous meetings, which capture actions required of officers and conclusions on how services should change or improve, respectively.