Agenda and minutes

No declarations were received.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Derbyshire and V-A Diouf.

5:00pm

Recycling

The Environmental Services Manager gave an overview of the recycling service provided by the Council. The recycling/composting rate was highlighted as 46.3% compared to North East Derbyshire District Council at 46% and Bolsover District Council at 47%. A new contractor had been appointed and it was noted that no collection times had changed and that there was a good working relationship in place.

The committee heard that the recycling is bulked up at the Waste Transfer Station in Sheepbridge, the mixed recycling was sent to the Veolia Mansfield sorting facility and the glass was bulked up at Veolia Worksop before being sold on.

A member asked what the Council’s position was on recycling aerosols. The committee was advised that they would be collected in blue bins, metal for recycling could still be sold but plastic earned a better price.

It was noted that one of the principal challenges for the Council concerning recycling was communicating the message to the public. The Environmental Services Manager explained that they were looking to recruit a member of staff with an interest in recycling and a media background to help rectify the situation. There would also be an effort to educate people about single use plastics and their effect on the environment.

A discussion took place on the misconceptions surrounding recycling; which rubbish can be placed in each bin and which items the council does actually recycle. It was observed that a new member of staff with media training would be ideally suited to communicating this information to members of the public via social media and other methods such as stickers on bins.

The Environmental Services Manager was asked if they had considered having recycling bins in the town centre but she advised that these are misused by people and therefore become costly.

A member asked if schools within the Borough were recycling. The Environmental Services Manager explained that school waste is classified as trade waste and would therefore be dealt with differently. This was an area currently undergoing development.

Problem areas within the Borough for recycling and contamination of waste were identified as more deprived areas. Many of the residents in these areas were council tenants; Environmental Services were working with the Housing Team to improve the issues. Particular difficulties were highlighted in flats where there was shared ownership of bins and therefore a lack of responsibility. The current system gave residents three chances when contamination of their bins occurred after which their recycling bins would be removed.

Climate Change

The Senior Environmental Health Officer outlined the range of statutory and non-statutory services Chesterfield Borough Council (CBC) provides to regulate and protect the environment including fly tipping enforcement and littering enforcement.

It was explained that Environmental Services regulate 38 businesses that have an environmental permit and that they also have duties around air quality. There are 2 fixed air quality stations and 40 nitrous oxide monitoring tubes located at various roads around the borough.

An air quality management zone was in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.

5:45pm

The Housing Options Manager advised that the consultation on the revised Housing Allocations Policy had been completed. The results were not available but it was noted that there had been a substantial response which would give a representative result. The feedback would be presented to Cabinet on 23 October, 2018.

It was observed that the policy may need minor changes in the future and it would be beneficial for the Cabinet Member for Homes and Customers and the Assistant Director – Housing to have discretion to make these amendments.

The Housing Options Manager explained that a new IT system would be put in place which enables applicants to upload documents and bid for homes at any time. This new system would overcome the current difficulties caused by the limited opening times of the offices. It was noted that this move towards a paperless system had been largely welcomed. There would be a period of time where the old and new systems would run simultaneously before the changeover was complete. The number of applicants on the system was currently around 1800 but this would reduce as the transfer would effectively remove people from the system who were not actively searching for a home.

The Committee thanked the Housing Options Manager for attending.

RESOLVED -

That the policy be noted.

To move “That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act".

RESOLVED –

That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting of the following item of business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

6:00pm

The Careline and Support Service Manager informed members that a full review of the Careline Service was carried out in 2015/16. Since the implementation of the review there had been an increase in the number of clients that receive support and the workload of staff members. This had impacted performance and therefore the service was looking to increase its staffing levels. The committee heard that the recommendation was to increase the number of staff on duty at any time from 2 to 4 and that there was a need to employ more installers of associated services including key safes and smoke alarms.

The committee was advised that Housing Services were preparing to apply for TEC Services Association (TSA) Accreditation which sets the industry standard. This would help with future funding bids. A gap analysis had been conducted and the service had identified that there was insufficient quality monitoring taking place, particularly of emergency calls, and the additional team leader position proposed would help with this.

It was reported that CBC had been approached by Ashfield District Council who were looking to close their monitoring service which currently has over 1500 connections and transfer this to CBC. A review had been carried out of their services and the decision to close was recommended for both financial and resourcing reasons.

The Careline and Support Service Manager advised that if the recommendations in the report were agreed the service would be in a much stronger financial position in the future.

A discussion took place around the provision of smoke alarms for people aged over 65 years. It was noted that the Fire Service would install basic smoke alarms free of charge for those over 65 but these would not be compatible with Careline Services. Members were concerned that tenants with low incomes that require additional services, often recommended by a healthcare professional, may not be able to afford them, but as a landlord the Council has a duty of care. The Careline and Support Service Manager suggested that a review of the charging policy could be carried out and a paper presented to Cabinet.

RESOLVED –

1.   That the review be noted.

2.   That the concerns with affordability be raised with the Cabinet Member for Homes and Customers and a response be circulated to members of the Committee.

RESOLVED –

That, after consideration of an item containing exempt information, the public be re-admitted to the meeting.

6:30pm

-      Play Strategy

-      Skills

-      Leisure, Sport and Cultural Activities

-      Development of the site of the former Queen’s Park Sports Centre

Leisure, Sports and Cultural Activities

The committee were advised that the final outstanding issues at the new leisure facility had been resolved. The Chair agreed to check with the Assistant Director for Health and Wellbeing and email an update to all members of the committee.

Future use of the former Queen’s Park Sports Centre

Councillor Simmons, Lead Member of the Scrutiny Project Group, advised members that the planning application for the development of the sports pitch had been approved. There had been no objections from Historic England. The final surveys would take place in early November and the start date for the work would be confirmed by the Assistant Director for Health and Wellbeing as soon as possible. Work was expected to be completed at the end of January or in early February 2019.

Skills

Councillor Simmons, Lead Member of the Scrutiny Project Group, informed the Committee that the project group had formulated a project start report using the current Skills Action Plan and looking at the areas that required improvement.

The group planned to explore a number of specific topic areas including:

·        local labour agreements;

·        apprentice starts;

·        18-24 year olds not in education or employment; and

·        working with schools to develop skills tailored toward future jobs in the HS2 industry.

It was noted that a meeting had been held with Parkside School to discuss opportunities and the Cabinet Member for Economic Growth was satisfied with the plan.

Play Strategy

The Principal Green Space Strategy Officer informed members that the Play Strategy was written in February 2017 but there was no action plan in place. It had been decided that an open space assessment needed to take place. Consultants were appointed in March 2018. They undertook a desktop review, a site based assessment and in tandem ran a consultation on play. The members were consulted on a ward by ward basis and workshops were carried out with senior managers and cabinet members.

The Principal Green Space Strategy Officer explained that a local standard for all land use typologies had been agreed upon. The review had looked beyond ward boundaries and more at how settlements aligned themselves with play spaces.

The Play Strategy 2018-2028 report would set out what the process has been, highlight the consultation findings and detail what the standard will be going forward in terms of distribution of LAPs, LEAPs and NEAPs.

It was noted that most of spend in the past two years had been done through grants and in conjunction with community or friends groups. Funding had been secured for the skate park at King George V playing field and Derbyshire County Council funding had been agreed for Manor Road and Princess Street. The report would also request funding to address some of the immediate concerns around safer surfacing and a recurring budget to deal with significant repairs. The Cabinet Member stated that they would like to see a 5 year programme of work in the strategy.

A member asked the Principal Green Space Strategy Officer  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

6:50pm

The Committee considered the Scrutiny recommendations monitoring schedule.

RESOLVED -

That the Scrutiny monitoring schedule be noted.

6:55pm

Forward Plan of Key Decisions for the period 1 October, 2018 to 31 January, 2019.  Available via link below: http://chesterfield.moderngov.co.uk/mgListPlanItems.aspx?PlanId=95&RP=134

The Forward Plan for the four month period 1 October, 2018 to 31 January, 2019 was presented for information.

RESOLVED –

That the Forward Plan be noted.

7:00pm

The 2018/19 Work Programme for the Enterprise and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee was reported for information.

RESOLVED –

That the work programme be noted and updated to include the decisions of the current meeting.

7:05pm

RESOLVED –

The Minutes of the meeting of the Enterprise and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee held on 24 July, 2018 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.