Agenda item

6.1  Councillor Evelyn Akoto attended the committee for her annual scrutiny interview - her portfolio is Cabinet member for Community Safety and Public Health. The chair invited her to give the committee an overview of her role and to answer members’ questions.

6.2  Councillor Akoto discussed community safety – this part of her work has been dominated by youth violence. How can we stem the loss of young lives around London and UK?In Southwark there was the added issue of illegal drugs trade. Although knife crime numbers are going down, they remain too high.  She talked about the range of council services working with young people.

6.3  Councillor Akoto highlighted public health – her work has particularly focussed on sexual health, the high rate of obesity and mental health.

6.4  The Cabinet member reported the Administration’s manifesto pledge to train 100 mental health first aiders.  She said that Southwark had signed the employer’s pledge Time to Change which is about destigmatising mental ill health.  Southwark was also the first borough to pledge 100% access to CAHMS for children and young people  

6.5  Committee members asked Councillor Akoto about knife and whether a violent crime unit would help; domestic violence; female genital mutilation; air pollution; how well the council works across services around violence against women and girls; the council’s food insecurity action plan; communication of the work of the wellbeing hub; the positive futures fund; healthier high streets; CCTV;  school exclusions; the Prevent strategy and whether there was an issue about the type of language used on school websites; the reported rise in racism against Latin American residents since the 2016 referendum;  HIV services and the PrEP; child obesity and whether there are links to poor mental health

RESOLVED: The Cabinet member undertook to look into the following areas:-

·  link between childhood obesity and mental health

·  Prevent language on school websites