Agenda item

a.  Approved the cessation of responsibility for all public facing CCTV from 1 January 2024.

b.  Noted that a further report would be presented in the Autumn to Overview and Scrutiny Committee and to Cabinet to review SBCs role in our joint commitment with Thames Valley Police to community safety from 1 January 2024 onwards. This would not involve any financial commitment by the Council to CCTV.

The Cabinet considered a report that sought approval for the discontinuation of the Council’s dedicated CCTV team and the transfer of responsibility for public facing CCTV to Thames Valley Police from 1^st January 2024.

The proposal would avoid annualised costs of £630k and bring an annualised budget saving of £105k.  The discontinuation of the dedicated team would mean the incidental services currently provided by the CCTV team would be returned to become the responsibility of the originating service or be discontinued entirely.  The report set out the issues involved with the alternative arrangements being put in place through to the handover to Thames Valley Police.  The Cabinet welcomed the principle that CCTV would transfer to the Police and that this was part of a Thames Valley wide objective of the Police & Crime Commissioner.

Councillor Smith addressed the Cabinet and expressed a number of concerns about the proposal including the lack of a clear plan; the decentralisation of the incidental services to Council departments; and data protection issues.  The Cabinet noted the comments and highlighted that it was confident the Council could work with the Police to implemented the handover and deliver a better service overall.  The recommendations were agreed.

Resolved –

(a)  Approved the cessation of responsibility for all public facing CCTV from 1 January 2024.

(b)  Noted that a further report would be presented in the Autumn to Overview and Scrutiny Committee and to Cabinet to review SBCs role in our joint commitment with Thames Valley Police to community safety from 1 January 2024 onwards. This would not involve any financial commitment by the Council to CCTV.