Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Ryan Holloway and Andrew Parry.

To disclose any pecuniary, other registrable or non-registrable interest as set out in the adopted Code of Conduct. In making their disclosure councillors are asked to state the agenda item, the nature of the interest and any action they propose to take as part of their declaration.

If required, further advice should be sought from the Monitoring Officer in advance of the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

To confirm and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 6 July 2026.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 6 July 2026 were confirmed and signed.

Representatives of town or parish councils and members of the public who live, work, or represent an organisation within the Dorset Council area are welcome to submit either 1 question or 1 statement for each meeting.  You are welcome to attend the meeting in person or via Microsoft Teams to read out your question and to receive the response.   If you submit a statement for the committee this will be circulated to all members of the committee in advance of the meeting as a supplement to the agenda and appended to the minutes for the formal record but will not be read out at the meeting. The first 8 questions and the first 8 statements received from members of the public or organisations for each meeting will be accepted on a first come first served basis in accordance with the deadline set out below.  For further information read Public Participation - Dorset Council

All submissions must be emailed in full to [email protected] by 8.30am on Wednesday, 16 September 2026.

When submitting your question or statement please note that: 

·         You can submit 1 question or 1 statement.

·         a question may include a short pre-amble to set the context.

·         It must be a single question and any sub-divided questions will not be permitted.

·         Each question will consist of no more than 450 words, and you will be given up to 3 minutes to present your question.

·         when submitting a question please indicate who the question is for (e.g., the name of the committee or Portfolio Holder) 

·         Include your name, address, and contact details.  Only your name will be published but we may need your other details to contact you about your question or statement in advance of the meeting. 

·         questions and statements received in line with the council’s rules for public participation will be published as a supplement to the agenda. 

·         all questions, statements and responses will be published in full within the minutes of the meeting.   

There was no public participation.

To receive questions submitted by councillors.  

Councillors can submit up to two valid questions at each meeting and sub divided questions count towards this total.   Questions and statements received will be published as a supplement to the agenda and all questions, statements and responses will be published in full within the minutes of the meeting. 

The submissions must be emailed in full [email protected] by 8.30am on Wednesday, 16 September 2026. 

Dorset Council Constitution – Procedure Rule 13

There were no questions from councillors.

To consider any items of business which the Chairman has had prior notification and considers to be urgent pursuant to section 100B (4)b) of the Local Government Act 1972.  The reason for the urgency shall be recorded in the minutes.

There were no urgent items.

To consider a report by the Service Manager for Community Safety.

The Committee considered the draft Community Safety Plan. The Cabinet Member for Public Health, Prevention and Communities introduced the report and explained that the Community Safety Partnership (CSP), comprising of partners including the police, health services and probation service, was responsible for developing the Plan. He noted that the Partnership was subject to annual scrutiny by the People and Health Scrutiny Committee and the Plan needed to be presented to Full Council for adoption.

The Service Manager for Community Safety presented the Plan and advised that it contained five priority areas together with a number of cross-cutting themes. He explained that performance against the Plan would be monitored through a range of indicators reported quarterly to the CSP. He noted that Dorset remained a safe place to live and that the Plan aimed to maintain and improve community safety outcomes.

Committee members discussed the report and asked questions of the officers. The following points were raised:

·         A member highlighted survey findings showing that many girls and young women did not feel safe at night. She stressed that women and girls should have the freedom to move around without fear and suggested that community safety considerations should be reflected in planning decisions, including appropriate street lighting and safe public spaces.

·         That Dorset was generally a safe county but noted that a significant proportion of victims did not report domestic abuse. A greater confidence in reporting mechanisms was needed.

·         The inclusion of sexual offences as a priority area and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) as a cross-cutting theme were welcomed. Whilst VAWG required a specific focus, there were also male victims of similar offences and considered that the proposed approach would enable support and prevention activity to address both groups.

·         A member noted that violence against women and girls remained significantly under-reported and expressed the hope that reporting levels would increase over time as confidence in services improved.

·         Prevention work should also include educating men and boys about violence against women and girls, rather than focusing solely on actions women could take to keep themselves safe. In response, the Service Manager for Licencing and Community Safety outlined the partnership's work with the Youth Justice Service and highlighted interventions such as the Consequences Programme and the use of Criminal Behaviour Orders to address offending behaviour at an early stage.

·         Whether the committee was sufficiently involved in shaping the Community Safety Plan at an early stage and suggested that members should have greater input before the document reached its final form. The Chair advised that this issue would be considered further following the outcome of the forthcoming peer review and that opportunities to involve the committee earlier in future planning cycles would be explored.

·         The Service Manager for Community Safety reported that the partnership also undertook significant work to manage perpetrators and reduce reoffending. He advised that work on the next community safety needs assessment would begin shortly and suggested that this could be brought to the committee for consideration.

·         The Corporate Director  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

To consider the Committee's Work Programme and the Cabinet Forward Plan.

The Committee noted its work programme and the Executive Forward Plans.

To move the exclusion of the press and the public for the following item in view of the likely disclosure of exempt information within the meaning of paragraph x of schedule 12 A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended). The public and the press will be asked to leave the meeting whilst the item of business is considered.  

There are no exempt items scheduled for this meeting.

There was no exempt business.