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Agenda and minutes
Venue: Town Hall, High Street, Maidstone
Contact: Caroline Matthews 01622 602743
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Apologies for Absence Minutes: It was noted that apologies had been received from Councillors Perry and Webster.
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Notification of Substitute Members Minutes: It was noted that Councillor Mrs Springett was substituting for Councillor Webster.
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Urgent Items Minutes: There were no urgent items.
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Notification of Visiting Members Minutes: Councillor Mrs Gooch was in attendance to give the Committee an update on Local Health Care.
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Disclosures by Members and Officers Minutes: There were no disclosures by Members and Officers.
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Disclosures of Lobbying Minutes: There were no disclosures of lobbying.
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Exempt Items Minutes: RESOLVED: That all items on the agenda be taken in public.
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Minutes of the Meeting Held on 18 July 2017 Minutes: RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 18 July 2017 be approved as a correct record and signed.
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Presentation of Petitions Minutes: There were no petitions.
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Questions and answer session for members of the public Minutes: There were no questions from members of the public.
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Committee Work Programme Minutes: The Committee considered the Committee Work Programme.
RESOLVED: That the Committee Work Programme be noted.
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Key Performance Indicator Update - Quarter 1 2017/18 Additional documents:
Minutes: The Performance and Business Information Officer presented a report on the KPI Performance Report Quarter 1 2017/18.
The Committee noted that:-
·
The recycling target had been achieved, along with
the percentage of fly-tips cleared or assessed within 2 working
days.
·
The Homelessness Team had prevented 133 people from
becoming homeless. · The target for the number of affordable homes delivered had not been achieved in Quarter 1 which had been due to handover delays on site.
In response to questions from Members, the Director of Regeneration and Place advised that:-
·
He shared the concerns about the lack of affordable
homes being built but was confident that the target would be met by
the end of the year. · A report would be brought to the Committee in December on a Review of the Temporary Accommodation Strategy which would set out the steps the Council intended to take to alleviate acute problems around temporary accommodation.
In response to other questions from Members, the Head of Environment and Public Realm advised that:-
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The Council does receive recycling data from KCC but
it needs to be audited before being presented to Committee and
deadlines can be tight. However, for
Quarter 2 it is showing a positive trend.
·
An analysis of the cost of commercial waste versus
the effects of fly tipping had been carried out. However, the commercial waste service does need to
recover all its costs. Although the
Waste Team would be working with KCC to establish a provision for
commercial waste facilities.
·
A campaign would be introduced shortly, working
alongside the Police, to stop any vehicle carrying waste to
ascertain if they are a licenced waste carrier. RESOLVED: That the summary of performance for Quarter 1 of 2017/18 for Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) be noted.
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Local Health Care - Oral Update Minutes: Councillor Mrs Gooch gave an update on Local Health Care, in particular the work being undertaken by the West Kent Health and Wellbeing Board.
The Committee noted that the Council had an important role to play in trying to influence and support the way that local health was delivered.
Councillor Mrs Gooch indicated that major changes were being looked at in the way local health was delivered and to achieve this Kent are currently planning to align with Medway.
It was
noted that the proposed transformation plans had a timescale of
implementation between 4/5 years and a lot of work had already been
undertaken on this by the different boards.
·
The constant shifting of organisational and planned
goal posts makes it challenging to deliver on any of the
plans
·
The fact that there were so many different boards,
makes it difficult to move forward on any initiative · Where are the hubs going to be, a total of 4 were promised last year for Maidstone. It appeared from the presentation by Dr Bowes that there was only going to be one hub for Maidstone, the Council needs to influence where the hubs would be
·
How can the inequalities in areas be
rectified During the discussion Members of the Committee felt that their concerns should be put in a letter to the West Kent Health and Wellbeing Board signed by the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Committee and presented by Councillor Mrs Gooch at their next meeting.
RESOLVED: That a letter expressing the concerns of the Committee be signed by the Chairman and Vice-Chairman and presented to the West Kent Health and Wellbeing Board by Councillor Mrs Gooch.
Voting: For: Unanimous |
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First Quarter Budget Monitoring Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee considered the report of the Director of Finance and Business Improvement on the First Quarter Budget Monitoring 2017/18.
It was noted that the forecast for the first quarter was for a £300,000 overspend. However, the second quarter was showing a more positive picture.
In response to Members concerns about any more budget cuts at the depot, the Director of Regeneration and Place advised that the team were looking at more commercial opportunities to help strengthen the budget.
In response to a question from a Member the Head of Finance undertook to email Members separately on why there was a £31,000 variance for Food and Safety Section.
RESOLVED: That the revenue position at the end of the first quarter and the actions being taken or proposed to improve the position where significant variances have been identified be noted.
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Future Enforcement Options Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee considered the report of the Director of Regeneration and Place on the Future Enforcement Options – On-street Enforcement Team.
Members
were informed that following the decision taken in August to not
extend the litter enforcement contract with Kingdom Security
Officers had considered various options as a way forward which
included retendering, establishing an in-house on-street
enforcement team, letting a contract for on-street enforcement or
working in partnership with a neighbouring authority to deliver an
on-street enforcement team. It was noted that behaviours had changed in the town centre and it was evident that litter was being controlled successfully. However other issues have become more evident and need to be addressed in order to achieve the Council’s priority of a Clean and Safe Environment. Therefore if the proposal were to establish an on-street enforcement team, the following objectives would need to be included:-
· Address anti-social behaviour · Proactive enforcement of PSPO(s) · Reduce fly tipping across the Borough and increase awareness of Duty of Care requirements · Increase awareness of Commercial Waste requirements for businesses · Reduce fly posting · Reduce dog fouling
Officers advised that the team would consist of 2 members of staff spending 70% of their time dealing with litter enforcement and 30% of their time with the other issues.
In response to questions from Members, Officers advised that:-
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The operatives would not just be concentrating on
the town centre, it would be borough wide.
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That they would become the eyes and ears out on the
street to feedback issues to the Police but not act as a
replacement for the Police.
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That the new team would be fully trained on all
aspects of their duties.
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That it would not be feasible for the Parking
Enforcement team to carry out litter enforcement as part of their
duties as they do not often confront people, they just issue the
PCN fine by putting it on the vehicle.
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The team would report to the Waste Crime Section
based at the Depot and would not be performance based.
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The team would also have a uniform and wear body
cameras.
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There would still be a zero tolerance on
litter. · A report would be brought back in six months to the Committee on the progress of this initiative. It was hoped that the service would be operational by the new year (April at the latest).
RESOLVED: That a new in-house On-street Enforcement Team be introduced for an 18 month period to carry out the enforcement of litter, other waste related crimes, anti-social behaviour and Public Space Protection Orders (PSPO).
Voting: For: Unanimous
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Duration of Meeting Minutes: 6.30 p.m. to 8.05 p.m.
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