Cabinet, at its meeting on 22 October 2025, will consider a report to seek approval for the Anti-Social Behaviour Policy.

Councillor Lubna Arshad, Cabinet Member for A Safer Oxford, and Richard Adams, Community Safety Service Managerhave been invited to present the report and take part in discussions.

The Committee is asked to consider the report and agree any recommendations.

Cabinet, at its meeting on 22 October 2025, will consider a report to seek approval for the Anti-Social Behaviour Policy.

The Committee is asked to consider the report and agree any recommendations.

Councillor Lubna Arshad, Cabinet Member for A Safer Oxford, Richard Adams, Community Safety Service Manager, and Simon Manton, Community Response Team Manager, were present to respond to questions.

Councillor Arshad presented the report to the Committee, noting that the policy put forward is for approval from 2026 to 2029. The policy supports the Council’s efforts to tackle all forms of antisocial behaviour and to fulfil its duties under Section 218A of the Housing Act 1996, as amended by the Antisocial Behaviour Act 2003. It was explained that as a housing provider, the council is required to formulate and publish antisocial behaviour policies and procedures, liaise with local partners, and support tenants to live in safe, clean and well-maintained conditions. Councillor Arshad explained that the policy is reviewed every three years, and the current iteration expires in December 2025. The Committee heard a detailed summary of the Council’s principles and service standards in relation to ASB and learned that the policy has been taken through consultation with local communities.

Councillor Mundy joined the meeting.

The Community Safety Service Manager clarified that the consultation process began around 12 months ago and noted the useful recommendations it produced which are helping to amend the policy or used to implement it. A broad summary of the consultation response was delivered, and the Community Response Team Manager was introduced.

The Chair invited questions from the Committee.

Councillor Altaf-Khan requested clarity on how the percentages within the report were calculated and asked how action to tackle ASB could be taken more swiftly and directly. He also queried how feedback is obtained.

Councillor Ottino firstly asked how confident the Council is that Registered Providers uphold their responsibilities and perform to expectation in terms of tackling ASB. He also queried how strong the Council’s relationship is the registered providers. It was requested that relevant contact details for the housing associations be shared with councillors. Secondly, Councillor Ottino asked what the Council is doing to coordinate actions against fly tipping with housing associations and ODS. And finally, it was observed that whilst the report focuses on responses to ASB, there needs to be more proactive action taken to decreasing ASB. Therefore, Councillor Ottino asked what more could be done to this end, including considering how to design areas more considerately. 

Councillor Corais thanked the officers and asked several questions:

-        In reference to the response time targets set out in the report, it was asked what happens when these are not met.

-        It was queried what the average duration of an ASB case is, and how these are resolved in a timely manner without compromise.

-        Information on mechanisms for escalating unresolved ASB cases was requested.

-        Information on how residents are kept informed about ongoing ASB cases was requested.

-        It was asked how data is used to identify ASB hotspots and how this is shared with other councils and the community.

-        Finally, clarity on how the council publicises the policy and educates residents on reporting and feedback options.

The Community Safety Service Manager responded to the questions. In relation to the duration of ABS cases, the staged process was outlined in detail and the Committee heard that around 2500 cases are reported annually, most of which result from environmental ASB issues. It was explained that around 300 neighbourhood nuisance cases are reported a year, and these are often more complex to investigate; therefore, cases take longer. In response to queries regarding performance, it was explained that all cases are logged, and actions are managed and monitored via an interactive dashboard. Performance and case duration can also depend on evidence and whether a matter must be taken to Court or not. In regard hotspots, the Community Safety Service Manager explained that the Council uses a database to map regions of ASB activity and works closely with other partners and ODS on this intelligence; they also have access to police and CCTV data. The Committee heard that these multiple data sets can then be overlayed to support analysis of hotspots. The Committee also heard extensive detail of other metrics  needed to report on the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 Consumer Standards. In response to Councillor Ottino, it was noted that contacts for the registered providers can be provided to councillors, however these bodies do not have the same local capacity as the Council for tackling ASB. It was emphasised that building relationships with other parties such as social landlords, is an ongoing process. In regards coordination with ODS around fly tipping, the Community Safety Service Manager confirmed that this does take place and recognised that work to designing-out related hotspots could be expanded, but that officer time is already designated to this. The Community Safety Service Manager also recognised the Council’s work with the Targeted Youth Support Service and Youth Ambition Team as means of discouraging ASB. The Committee also learned that regular liaison with the police is ongoing. In regards timely closure of cases, the Community Safety Service Manager explained that supervisors monitor this, however in order to close a case, the Council liaises with the complainant and seek a resolution.

In relation to the length of ASB cases, the Community Response Team Manager explained that many factors influence this, and the Council does aim to keep each case to no more than 3 months. He also reiterated that this can be more complex in some cases and supported the ongoing work with ODS regarding fly tipping and data collection.

The Community Safety Service Manager, in relation to how the public can report ASB, outlined the multiple options which exist and explained that these are publicised via the internet, social media, leaflets, and newsletters, for example. It was also recognised that internal officers must be aware of reporting mechanisms and that a generic email inbox is available for ASB reports: saferoxford@oxford.gov.uk. Finally, the process that a complaint follows after being reported was outlined in detail.

Councillor Powell joined the meeting.

Councillor Miles requested clarification around the reporting of ASB between the Council and housing associations and asked where the responsibility lies. It was asked whether the Council could be more proactive in addressing housing associations which are failing their duties to residents. Secondly, Councillor Miles asked what the obligations are for the Council and housing associations to advertise their complaints processes, and whether there is an issue with double reporting when residents do not know where to send their concerns. Finaly, regarding fly tipping, Councillor Miles queried whether data from ODS is overlayed with HMO licensing data in order to address occurrences of ASB, and also asked what liaison occurs with universities regarding ASB.

Councillor Jarvis, in recognition of the demographics of Oxford and the populations which speak English as a second language, asked what information regarding ASB is currently publicised in different languages, and what languages these are. Secondly, it was asked why the Equalities Impact Assessment suggested no adverse impacts of the policy when much of the evidence shows that certain demographics are more likely to be accused of ABS and face sanctions. Councillor Jarvis asked how the council reflects this and mitigates against institutional racism in the way they handle ASB complaints and reporting.

The Community Safety Service Manager responded to questions. In relation to registered providers, the Committee heard that the Council works closely with them to manage complaints and can investigate where a complaint is best directed upon receipt. Extensive detail was outlined regarding processes relevant to this, and the importance of ongoing multi-agency work was emphasised. The Committee also learned of the detail regarding an ongoing review into the use of a noise reporting app, and that an officer is dedicated to this workstream. In response to queries regarding the use of HMO data, the Community Safety Service Manager confirmed that this is used to connect complaints to individuals. In regards working relationships with the universities, the Committee were informed that the Community Safety Service Manager meets with relevant security teams every Monday morning to discuss any issues affecting students and the local communities. It was also noted that contact details for these staff could be obtained for councillors. In response to Councillor Jarvis’ question, the Committee learned that work is done to ensure that language provisions are in place for ASB systems, including the translation of letters and notices. However, it was also acknowledged that more could be done. In regards the Equality Impact Assessment, the Community Safety Service Manager noted that he is not aware of evidence to suggest that certain groups are being unduly targeted, however he committed to checking this.

The Community Response Team Manager noted that in addition to weekly meetings with the universities, he also attends monthly sessions with Oxford University’s crime prevention officers and weekly sessions with Oxford Brookes University.

Councillor Powell, in response to Councillor Jarvis’ earlier question, also queried what is being done to tackle the issue of ASB complaints being made against those from the LGBTQ community, and other communities disproportionately affected by homelessness as a result of their social positionality. In regards the Equalities Impact Assessment, Councillor Powell requested clarification around category two listed on page 40 in relation to sex working and sexual acts; clarification of the phrase ‘sex acts’ was requested.

Councillor Ottino queried what is being done to ensure ODS workers report ASB when they witness it, and to ensure that ODS staff exhibit a zero-tolerance approach to matters such as fly tipping.

In response to Councillor Powell, the Community Safety Service Manager explained that it is challenging for the Council to gather sufficient data on personal and protected characteristics as people often do not disclose such details. The Community Safety Service Manager assured the Committee of his confidence in supervisors amongst the team in raising these issues if they perceived it necessary. Information regarding support for homeless persons was also detailed to the Committee. In response to Councillor Ottino, the process for reporting fly-tipping was explained and the Community Safety Service Manager committed to discussing the matter of zero-tolerance with ODS.

The Chair invited the Committee to consider possible recommendations.

The Committee resolved to make the following recommendations to Cabinet:

1)    For Officers to explore the feasibility of gathering and analysis of data on protected characteristics of both: individuals complained about through the ASB service, and individuals making complaints through the ASB service. Recognising that some data may be limited in validity, that findings from the collected and analysed data be reported back to the Scrutiny Committee at an appropriate time within the next two years. 

2)    That officers set out within the Policy the work the Council is currently undertaking and plans to undertake in relation to proactive prevention of ASB, including actions such as working with youth groups, redesigning areas, and improving coordination between council services.

3)    That there is a clear commitment within the ASB Policy to work collaboratively with Registered Providers in addressing anti-social behaviour, including requesting information from local RPs on levels and types of ASB reports received within their housing stock. This information can then be used to identify patterns, overlaps and gaps between council and RP data, and reporting back on the efficacy of this partnership working and health of relationships with RPs as part of the Council’ wider multi-agency approach to ASB management.

The Chair thanked the Community Safety Service Manager, the Community Response Team Manager, and Councillor Arshad.

On the conclusion of this item, Councillor Powell took over as Chair for the remainder of the meeting.