Agenda and minutes

You are welcome to use Welsh at the meeting, a minimum notice period of 3 working days is required should you wish to do so.  A simultaneous translation will be provided if requested.

It was noted that no requests had been received for the simultaneous translation service.

To receive.

Apologies for absence were received for Councillors C. Meredith and B. Summers.

To receive.

No declarations of interest or dispensations were reported.

To receive the minutes of the Community Services Scrutiny Committee held on 12^th September, 2019.

(Please note the minutes are submitted for accuracy points only).

The minutes of the Community Services Scrutiny Committee held on 12^th September, 2019 were submitted.

The Committee AGREED that the minutes be accepted as a true record of proceedings.

The action sheet arising from the meeting of the Community Services Scrutiny Committee held on 12^th September, 2019 was submitted, whereupon:-

Civil Parking Enforcement Policy (Abandoned Vehicles)

A Member thanked Officers for their response in this matter.  She referred to the process for dealing with abandoned vehicles on Council owned land, and expressed concern that this had been quite a lengthy process when dealing with an issue in her Ward.

In response the Team Leader Environmental Protection explained that if a vehicle was suspected of being abandoned, Officers could have it removed the same day it was reported, particularly if it was causing obstruction.  In relation to the Ward issue, he undertook to discuss this with the Member outside of the meeting.

The Committee AGREED, subject to the foregoing, that the action sheet be noted.

Consideration was given to the Executive Decision Sheet in respect of recommendations made by the Community Services Scrutiny Committee on 12^th September, 2019.

The Committee AGREED that the Executive Decision Sheet be noted.

Consideration was given to report of the Head of Community Services.

The Service Manager Community Services presented the report which provided Members with the Strategic Business Case for the development of a second Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) in Roseheyworth. 

He went through the report and highlighted points contained.  He reported that Welsh Government had now confirmed that the Council’s bid for capital funding for a new HWRC had been successful, with a full award of £2.8m being made for the facility.  The Council had recently approved £520k from its capital programme towards the project, and this could now be reallocated back into the capital programme contingency.  Detailed revenue costs were currently being modelled across a number of different scenarios, and would be reported to Scrutiny in due course.

A Member welcomed the successful funding bid, and whilst there was a lot of work to be done, she believed that this was a really important facility for the Ebbw Fach Valley.  She was also pleased with the new site layout, particularly the proposed installation of traffic lights on the A467.

Another Member said he also welcomed the successful funding bid, and asked whether a Joint Scrutiny Committee   would be held on this matter, as previously requested by the Leader of the Labour Group. 

The Member then referred to a report which had been submitted to Council previously, which mentioned the proposed opening hours of the Borough’s two HWRC facilities, i.e. the existing facility at Waun-y-Pound and the proposed new facility at Roseheyworth.  He expressed concern that the proposed opening arrangements on a part-time basis would increase fly tipping issues on the days the facilities were closed, and said he could only support the new facility if it was open 7 days per week.

In response the Officer said various operational arrangements were currently being considered as part of the business model currently being developed.  However, it was not intended to consider any less than 5 days opening. 

A Member commended Officers and the Leadership for bringing in this significant investment for the new facility, and urged Members to support the investment.  He said all other issues in relation to revenue costs, and operational arrangements would be considered when a more detailed further report was completed. 

In response a Member asked that the report be submitted to a Joint Scrutiny Committee for consideration by all Members, and the Chair said this would be discussed with the Head of Democratic Services.

Another Member said he fully supported the facility which was long overdue, and would have a positive impact on fly tipping in Ebbw Fach Valley.

The Committee AGREED to recommend, subject to the foregoing, that the report be accepted and:-

·       Scrutiny Members support the Strategic Business Case for the development of a second Household Waste Recycling Centre and recommend approval of the Strategic Business Case to Executive (Option 1); and

·       That a further report be submitted to Committee on the detailed revenue costs, to include  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Consideration was given to report of the Service Manager Neighbourhood Services.

The Team Leader Waste & Fleet Management presented the report which provided a copy of the draft Waste Management and Recycling Strategy.  The Officer went through the report and highlighted points contained therein.

A Member referred to the Objectives outlined at section 2.8 of the report, namely Objective 3, and asked whether it was feasible to reduce trade waste fees in order to maximise recycling.

In response the Officer confirmed that the trade waste service had been subject to a review over the last 6 months, and a report on this would be submitted to Scrutiny in December.

A Member referred to page 29 of the draft document (Appendix 2), and expressed concern that one of the strategic objectives for 2020-21 was to review the frequency of residual collection.  He said this objective should be removed until the impact of the new HWRC was realised.

In response the Service Manager Community Services said the action plan and timelines outlined in Appendix 2 were just guidelines at the moment.  However, in order to achieve a 70% target, the frequency of residential collection would need to be considered in the future, and other Authorities had seen substantial improvements in recycling rates where this had been implemented.

A Member asked that any proposed changes to services be reported to Scrutiny for full consideration by Members prior to any decisions being made.  The Team Leader Waste & Fleet Management confirmed that all proposals would be reported through the appropriate democratic process.

In response to a question raised by a Member regarding monitoring of performance information, the Officer confirmed that Members were updated regularly on performance within Waste Management through the democratic process.

A discussion ensued when the Head of Community Services said due to the uncertainty moving forward, Strategies needed to be flexible, sustainable and deliverable, and include all principles of engagement.  He said one guarantee was that the agenda around climate change would get broader, and this action plan aimed to future proof the Council and enable us to have the sufficient tools in place to address future challenges. 

The Committee AGREED to recommend, subject to the foregoing, that the report be accepted; and

·       The Scrutiny Committee considered the draft Waste Management and Recycling Strategy and recommends it to Executive Committee for approval (Option 2); and

·       Any proposed service changes, i.e. residential waste collection, be brought to the Community Services Scrutiny Committee for consideration.

Consideration was given to report of the Head of Public Protection.

The Service Manager Public Protection presented the report which provided performance information in relation to litter and dog control enforcement for the financial year 2018/19.  The report also sought Member’s views on whether to continue to contract out the service or to model an alternative, as part of a wider review of front line enforcement services. 

The Officer then went through the report and highlighted points contained therein.  He referred to section 3.2 of the report and reported that the words ‘pending a subject to service’ should be amended to read ‘pending a service review’.

A Member expressed concern that the charts detailed at Appendix 1 showed that patrols had not been undertaken in some areas, and asked how the patrols were split across the Borough.  She also referred to the Options for recommendation and said she supported Option 1 moving forward.

In response the Service Manager Public Protection said patrols were undertaken in response to service requests, and also scheduled patrols, particularly of ‘hot spot’ areas that have been identified.

Another Member referred to the ASDA site, and the Team Manager Environmental Protection said this site would likely come under the remit of Nantyglo.  However, patrols were not undertaken of the ASDA site as it was in private ownership, and the Council had been requested not to patrol the area.   The Officer pointed out that the charts were not a reflection of the effort put into patrols.  The amount of FPN’s issued in Ebbw Vale was higher due to greater footfall in that area, and the low number of FPN’s issued in Blaina did not mean that patrols were not being undertaken.  He said the Enforcement Officers would likely patrol areas where more prolific offending had been identified. 

A Member asked that a breakdown of FPN’s issued for Cwm, Waunlwyd and Victoria be included in the future report.

A Member then proposed that Option 1 be supported and this was seconded.

Upon vote being taken,

The Committee AGREED to recommend, subject to the foregoing, that the report be accepted and Members support the extension of the current contract with Kingdome for a further 12 months (with a 2 month notice period) pending a service review and cost information that would need to be modelled as part of a wider review.  (Extension of the current control would be subject to Strategic Procurement Board approval). (Option 2)

Consideration was given to the Forward Work Programme for the meeting scheduled for the 5^th December, 2019.

The Committee AGREED that the report be accepted.