Agenda and minutes

Councillor John Ibison was elected as Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for the 2018/19 Municipal Year.

Councillor Kerry Jones was elected as Vice Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for the 2018/19 Municipal Year.

Members will disclose any pecuniary and any other significant interests they may have in relation to the matters to be considered at this meeting.

None.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 16 April 2018. 

It was agreed that the minutes of the meeting of the committee held on 16 April 2018 be confirmed as a correct record.

The Service Director People and Places has submitted a report about a programme of initiatives that will be developed to create a cleaner greener Wyre.   

The Street Scene Manager, Ruth Hunter, submitted a report. Ms Hunter and the Service Director People and Places attended the meeting to present the report and respond to questions from councillors. 

Ms Hunter summarised the report and highlighted several key points. The council’s most recent Life in Wyre Survey (2016) showed that resident satisfaction with front line services such as refuse collection, recycling, street cleansing and parks and open spaces was generally high.

It was the council’s aim to engage more with customers and businesses to encourage them to take greater ownership of their environment.  Elected members could play a significant part in supporting this approach, which would have an impact on changing behaviours.

In response to a question about fly tipping, Mr Billington explained that councillors had wanted a dynamic service that would deal more effectively with street cleansing, including fly-tipping. There was no specialist fly-tipping team, dealing with such matters being part of the street cleansing team’s day-to-day job. The comment was made that by providing a free bulky waste collection service the amount of fly-tipping would be reduced.  Mr Billington suggested that the matter was not as straightforward as that; a lot of fly-tipping was material that would not normally be collected by a bulky waste collection and the cost to the council was difficult to assess as dealing with fly-tipping had been integrated into staff roles as the norm. The reality of the problem did not always match the perception of residents. 

The comment was made that it was often private roads that were affected by fly tipping, which was not within the council’s responsibility. 

Mr Billington added that improvements to enforcement were being considered. There was new legislation regarding littering from a vehicle, although enforcement would depend on sufficient evidence being collected.

A new officer was soon to be appointed, their role to include the management of the Cleaner Green Wyre project. The role would encompass engaging with communities, developing local groups and ambassadors (a group that could include councillors) to take increased responsibility for their own neighbourhoods and to develop civic pride.

In response to questions from councillors Mr Billington confirmed that cigarette littering was a good example of the sort of targeted campaign that would be developed in the future.  Ms Hunter added, in response to a question, that four Area Officers and four Countryside Rangers had the powers to enforce Public Space Protection Orders.

The Chairman proposed that the committee set up a task group to make recommendations in support of this project, with a focus on enforcement and culture change. Mr Billington confirmed that he would advise the Scrutiny Officer of an appropriate time to commence a task group, once the new officer was in post.

It was agreed:

1.    That Ms Hunter and Mr Billington be thanked for their report to the committee.

2.    That a task group be commissioned about the Cleaner Green Wyre project, to review enforcement and culture change in particular, once a new officer had been  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Head of Engineering Services has submitted a report on the consultation results from the Car Parking Survey 2017.  The Neighbourhood Services and Community Safety Portfolio Holder and the Senior Engineer will present the findings from the report and invite comments from the committee about options. 

The Head of Engineering Services submitted a report on the consultation results from the Car Parking Survey 2017.  Councillor Roger Berry (Neighbourhood Services and Community Safety Portfolio Holder), Mark Billington (Service Director People and Places) and Paul Long (Senior Engineer) presented the report to the committee.

Mr Long explained that a survey was carried out towards the end of 2017 and the report was prepared based upon the responses received. In summary, people wanted cheaper, longer parking with greater choice in how to pay.  ‘Pay on departure’ was under consideration and the Residents’ Permits scheme needed to be reviewed.

The Chairman, Councillor Ibison, made the point that the committee would have liked to have seen some firmer recommendations, particularly bearing in mind that the issue had been under consideration for a considerable period of time. Councillor Berry responded by saying that the report had been presented to the committee before going to the Cabinet, with the hope that members would be able to provide a view before decisions were made.

Members discussed a number of related issues including the implications of on-street parking, charging for car parks that were currently free to use, coach parking requirements, price comparisons with other councils and the way in which blue badge holders were provided for.

It was agreed:

1.    That Councillor Berry, Mark Billington and Paul Long be thanked for presenting the report to the committee.

2.    That the following advice be offered to Councillor Berry before the report is considered at the Cabinet:

a.    A review of the Residents Parking Scheme is required.

b.    Blue Badge holders should be treated in line with other organisations (e.g. hospitals) where charges often apply.

c.    Pay on exit is supported as it provides a more flexible arrangement for paying.

d.    The proposal to charge for overnight parking is supported.

3.    That a further report be requested from the Head of Engineering Services once the Cabinet has considered the consultation report, with a view to setting up a scrutiny task group to examine clearly identified aspects of the proposed car parking strategy.

The Service Director Performance and Innovation has submitted a report, the 4th Quarter Performance Statement 2017/18, January – March 2018.

The Service Director Performance and Innovation submitted a report, the 4^th Quarter Performance Statement 2017/18, January – March 2018. 

The point was made that it would be interesting to know what impact the increasing numbers of customers to the leisure centres was having on the subsidy although it was also recognised that the calculation would not be as simple as that. However, the aim to reduce the subsidy remained.

It was agreed that the report be noted.

The Chairman of the Engaging with Children and Young People task group will present the group’s draft report to the committee.

The Chairman of the Engaging with Children and Young People task group, Councillor Andrea Kay, presented the task group’s report and recommendations. Councillor Kay summarised the work undertaken by the task group and the evidence gathered in support of the recommendations, which members had discussed with the Portfolio Holder with responsibility for community engagement.

It was agreed that the report be endorsed by the committee and sent to the Cabinet for their consideration. 

The Service Director Performance and Innovation has submitted a report to update the committee about the Overview and Scrutiny Work programme 2018/19. 

The Service Director Performance and Innovation submitted a report to update the committee about the delivery of the Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme 2018/19.

A draft scoping document for a task group to review the proposed changes to the arrangements for the allocation and letting of social housing in Wyre was considered and approved without amendment. The Scrutiny Officer was asked to make arrangements to set up the scrutiny review. 

Councillor Julie Robinson reported that she had recently held her regular six-monthly meeting with Kate Hurry, from the Fylde and Wyre Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). There were a number of developments and plans which would be if interest to the committee, so it was agreed to invite representatives from the CCG to the committee meeting scheduled for Monday 30 July 2018. The Chairman asked councillors to ensure that they identify pertinent questions to ask the CCG representatives well in advance of the meeting and send them to the Scrutiny Officer.

The CCG had plans to promote health and wellbeing by way of a world record attempt on the number of people exercising together, an event that was planned to be part of the forthcoming Lytham Festival in July. The event would be launched on Friday 25 May.

A question was asked about paragraph 3.2 of the report, referring to the implementation of the Modern.gov committee minutes system, which went ‘live’ on Friday 11 May.  The Service Director Performance and Innovation was asked to provide an update report for the meeting on 25 June 2018 regarding progress towards paperless meetings. 

It was agreed:

1.    That a task group be set up to review the proposed changes to the arrangements for the allocation and letting of social housing in Wyre.

2.    That a report on recent developments and future plans in the Fylde and Wyre Clinical Commissioning Group be requested for the meeting on 30 July 2018.

3.    That the Service Director Performance and Innovation be asked to submit a report on 25 June 2018 updating the committee about the progress towards paperless meetings.