The report provides the Committee with its approved Work Programme for 2025/26, feedback to the Committee on the decisions in respect of previous recommendations from the Committee in respects of enquiries undertaken and a list of forthcoming decisions for which public notice has been given.

The report also invites the Committee to reappoint both the “Joint Working with Town and Parish Councils” Task and Finish Group and the “Provision of out of School Organised Activities and Events” Task and Finish Working Group and enable the Committee to decide whether to continue with the work of the Crime and Disorder (familial violence/abuse) Task and Finish Group. Where the memberships of the Task and Finish Groups is still outstanding a delegation to the Assistant Director (Corporate Policy and Support) is proposed in order to finalise those memberships.

The Committee will also be requested to consider the appropriate date for its next meeting when the outcome of the first phase of consultation under the Community Governance Review for Clacton-on-Sea, Holland-on-Sea and Jaywick Sands is scheduled to be reported to it.

It had been decided by the Chairman of the Committee to allow the Community Safety and Safeguarding Manager to speak regarding the Crime & Disorder (Familial Violence/Abuse) Task and Finish Group prior to the Committee’s discussions on the work programme et cetera.

The Community Safety and Safeguarding Manager reminded Members of the work undertaken so far by the Crime & Disorder (Familial Violence/Abuse) Task and Finish Group. The Group had reached a natural conclusion whereby five out of seven recommendations had been completed. The remaining recommendations for completion had been regarding LGR, which could not be completed until progress was made in this area, and training options, which had been discussed by Officers. It was suggested that the Committee decided whether to continue the work of the Crime and Disorder (Familial Violence/Abuse) Task and Finish Group, or to begin a new Task & Finish Group focussing on victim services/support with the opportunity to include victims of familial violence/abuse within that research.

The Community Safety and Safeguarding Manager had also provided some information in respect of Victims Services and Support to enable the Committee to assess the issue of such services and support and the best way to achieve this.

The Community Safety and Safeguarding Manager then left the meeting, and the Committee proceeded to consider this item as follows:

The Committee had before it a report (A.2) that provided Members with  its approved Work Programme for 2025/26 (Appendix A),  feedback to the Committee on the Executive’s decisions made in respect of previous recommendations from the Committee in respects of enquiries undertaken (Appendix B) and a list of forthcoming decisions for which notice had been given since publication of the agenda for the Committee’s last meeting (Appendix C).

The Committee had held an informal meeting on 19 September 2025 and had considered the items contained within Appendix A (the Committee’s Work Programme for 2025/26).

In relation to the 2025/26 Work Programme enquiry into water quality, Members had been made aware that the Chairman of the Committee and the Chairman of the Council, accompanied by Officers, had made a site visit to the Haltermann Carless Oil Refinery on 19 August 2025, which had also formed part of the enquiry into water quality in the District. Some informal notes on that visit had been set out in Appendix D to the A.2 report.

Members of the Committee discussed the following items, that had been set out in Appendix A to the A.2 report in the agenda, for the Work Programme 2025/26:

• Crime and Disorder (Familial Violence/Abuse) Task and Finish Group
• Coastal Communities Unit
• Joint working with Parish and Town Councils Task and Finish Group
• Youth Provision of School age Children Task and Finish Group
• Collaborative working opportunities with Braintree and Colchester and building working relationships with external partners located in those areas
• Community Governance Review

Members noted their desire to establish collaborative working opportunities with Member colleagues at Colchester and Braintree Councils and explored, in particular, their wish to work with the various departments within the University of Essex.

The Committee was aware that this meeting of the Committee had been held one week prior to the end of the first phase of consultation under the Community Governance Review for the unparished areas of Clacton-on-Sea, Holland-on-Sea and Jaywick Sands.  The outcome of that consultation had been scheduled to be reported to the Committee at a meeting in October. The position in respect of that timetable was the subject of an oral update to the Committee from the Assistant Director (Corporate Policy and Support). As such, the Committee had been requested to consider whether the date of that October meeting needed to be adjusted.

It was moved by Councillor Ferguson, seconded by Councillor Oxley and RESOLVED that the Committee:-

(a)  notes its approved Work Programme for 2025/26 (Appendix A) together with the feedback to the Committee on the Executive’s decisions made in respect of previous Committee recommendations (Appendix B), the list of forthcoming decisions (Appendix C) and the informal notes of the Chairman of the Committee and the Chairman of the Council’s visit to the Haltermann Carless Oil Refinery (Appendix D);

(b)  notes the remaining contents of the report including the Brightlingsea Harbour biocides research project and considers the opportunity to carry out a visit to Brightlingsea Harbour;

(c)   notes that the Assistant Director (Corporate Policy & Support) will exercise the power delegated to him by the Committee at its meeting held on 29 July 2025 to appoint / re-appoint (as appropriate) Members to the following bodies:-

·         Joint Working with Town and Parish Councils Task and Finish Working Group;

·         Provision of Out of School Organised Activities and Events Task and Finish Working Group (which will hold their final meeting to develop proposals for an online resource);

·         Youth Mental Health and Diagnosis Task and Finish Working Group; and

·         Victims of Crime and Disorder Services and Support Task and Finish Working Group).

(d)  agrees that the Crime and Disorder (Familial violence/abuse) Task and Finish Group will not be re-appointed and that any further updates / matters relating to this important issue will be reported directly to the Committee; and

(e)  notes that the date for its next meeting, which is scheduled to receive the outcome of the first phase of consultation under the Community Governance Review for Clacton-on-Sea, Holland-on-Sea and Jaywick Sands, may need to be re-arranged.