Agenda and minutes

Members are asked to declare:

·        Any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests

·        Any prejudicial interests or

·        Any disclosable pecuniary interests

which they may have in respect of business on this agenda.

Members were asked to declare at this point in the meeting any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests, or any prejudicial or disclosable pecuniary interests they may have in respect of the business on the agenda.  Councillor Fraser declared a personal non-prejudicial interest in agenda item 6 (City Centre Street Cleaning Review) as the acting Chair of Micklegate Action Group.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting of the Community Safety Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 14 January 2014.

Resolved:  That the minutes of the meeting of 14 January 2014 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

At this point in the meeting members of the public who have registered to speak can do so.  The deadline for registering is 5.00pm on Friday 7 February 2014.  Members of the public can speak on agenda items or matters within the remit of the committee.

To register to speak please contact the Democracy Officer for the meeting, on the details at the foot of the agenda.

Please note that this meeting, including public speakers, will be sound recorded to allow members of the public to listen to the proceedings without having to attend the meeting. The sound recording will be uploaded onto the Council’s website following the meeting.

It was reported that there were no registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

This item has been deferred to the meeting on 11 March 2014.

It was reported that the attendance of the Police and Crime Commissioner had been deferred to the meeting on 11 March 2014.

The Cabinet Member for Environmental Services will be in attendance to discuss his priorities and challenges.

The Cabinet Member for Environmental Services was in attendance to discuss his priorities and challenges.  Members were informed of the following issues:

·        The targeted waste minimisation programme and the Smarter York Challenge.

·        A review of the waste strategy was to be undertaken.  Consideration was also being given to the issue of food waste.

·        An advertising campaign would be held linked to the resumption of garden waste collections.  Members noted that very few residents had returned their bins and it was hoped that more residents would subscribe to the collections when the service resumed.  Consideration would also be given to the date at which the collections ceased for the winter in the future.

·        Commercial waste arrangements including the impact on the public realm in the city centre as well as the financial implications.

·        In respect of highways, a more commercial approach was being taken.  Tribute was paid to the work that officers had carried out to generate income.

·        As part of the Carbon Reduction Strategy, consideration was being given to using LED replacements for street lighting.  As well as being brighter and more cost effective, this type of lighting was also better for the environment.

·        In response to the severe winters in previous years and feedback from residents, capital investment in roads and paths had been included in the budget proposals.  It was intended that there would now be a 50:50 allocation between highways and footpaths.  At the request of Members, details were given of the timescales within which officers responded to reports of potholes.

·        Although this winter had been relatively mild, arrangements were in place to ensure that snow wardens were adequately equipped.

·        A revised litter policy was due to be considered at a Cabinet Member Decision Session at the end of the month.  The work to address this issue included education as well as enforcement.  In addition to the community payback arrangements that were in place, the support of local businesses and volunteers would be utilised.  A spring clean would begin in late May to tie in with the Smarter York Challenge.

Referring to the Quarter 2 Finance Monitoring Report that had been considered at the last meeting, Members asked if the situation in respect of the predicted overspend had improved.  The Cabinet Member stated that it had and that the directorate would come in on budget.  Consideration was being given as to how to reduce the overspend in waste, including strategies for waste minimisation.

The Cabinet Member was asked about the situation in respect of Allerton Park.  He stated that officers were looking at ways of putting in place alternative funding arrangements following the Government’s decision on the Private Finance Initiative. He was restricted as to the information that could be disclosed at this stage but would be pleased to attend a future meeting of the committee once the information was in the public domain. 

The Cabinet Member requested that if Members had specific issues that they wished him to look into, these be forwarded to him via  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.

This scoping report presents initial information on city centre street cleaning and asks that objectives for the review be identified and a methodology for completing the review work be agreed.

Members considered a report which provided an update on the city centre street cleaning review. 

It was noted that, to support the Night-Time Economy corporate theme, an online survey “Yorkafter5” had been undertaken. Members gave consideration to the results of the survey (Appendix A of the report).  Members also noted the work that other scrutiny task groups were carrying out as part of the Night-Time Economy review, including work in respect of the viability of extending or adjusting retail hours and issues in respect of transport.

In January 2014 members of the committee had met with Public Realm officers to discuss the ongoing issues around flyers and commercial waste collections and the additional work they generated for the city centre street cleaning teams.

Discussion took place regarding the feasibility of introducing a “no flyer zone” in the city centre.  The committee noted the scheme that had been introduced by Leeds City Council to prevent designated areas of Leeds being blighted by litter and stickers, including the use of authorisation badges. Members agreed that there would be merit in investigating whether it was appropriate to implement such arrangements in York city centre but were mindful that there would be administration costs involved as well as issues in respect of enforcement. 

Members gave consideration to the problems raised by the untimely collection of commercial waste and discussed measures that could be put in place to address this issue.  It was noted that City of York Council Waste Services had arrangements in place with its city centre customers to ensure that their refuse was not left on the street for longer than was necessary.  However, there were also eight private sector waste collection companies operating in the city centre and evidence suggested that the waste they collected was left on city centre streets overnight.  This caused problems with litter associated with anti social behaviour.  Members suggested that it would be useful for work to be carried out with city centre waste services providers and city centre businesses in order to seek ways of addressing the problems. 

Resolved:  (i)      That the survey results shown at Appendix A of

                             the report be noted.

(ii)      That the recommendations arising from the city centre street cleaning review include investigating ways of tackling the issues in respect of flyers and commercial waste collection times within the city centre. 

Reason:     To conclude this review in line with scrutiny procedures and protocols, and the committee’s workplan.

(i)           Members are asked to consider the Committee’s work plan. 

(ii)          A verbal update will be given on the A-Boards Scrutiny Review and the Domestic Waste Review.

(i)           Consideration was given to the committee’s work plan.  It was noted that item 2 on the agenda for the meeting on 22 April 2014 should read “Cabinet Member for Crime and Stronger Communities”.  Members agreed that if the Cabinet Member was not able to attend the meeting on 22 April, she be invited to attend the meeting on 11 March 2014 instead.

(ii)          A verbal update was given on the ongoing scrutiny reviews:

A-Boards

The Chair gave details of the public consultation event that had taken place on 5 February 2014 and the views that had been put forward.  A representative from the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) had also offered to arrange a blind folded walk around the city to raise awareness of the issues faced.  Referring to the discussions that had taken place regarding alternatives to the use of A-Boards, it was suggested that consideration be given to making other forms of advertising more readily available, for example advertising on litter bins. 

 A further meeting of the A-Boards task group would be arranged.

Domestic Waste Recycling Review

There was nothing further to report on this review.

Resolved:  (i)      That the work plan be approved.

(ii)      That the update on the work of the ongoing scrutiny reviews be noted.

Reasons:   (i)      To ensure that the committee has a

                             planned programme of work in place.

(ii)      To ensure that the committee is kept updated on the ongoing work of the scrutiny review task groups and can monitor progress.