Agenda and minutes

No declarations of interest were received.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Derbyshire.

5:05 – 5:30pm

Progress report of Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing on Dog Fouling

The Senior Environmental Health Officer submitted an updated Implementation Plan that provided progress on the Scrutiny Review Panel’s recommendations for dog fouling.

The Assistant Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing attended to present the report and provided the Committee with a colour coded version of the Implementation Plan that demonstrated how effectively targets were being met. On the plan, the targets that were making good progress were coloured green, the targets that had some complications or were due to be implemented soon were amber and the red targets needed further development. The Assistant Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing noted that the target dates on the Implementation Plan should all have been March 2017 except for recommendation 5 which was March 2016.

Two changes had occurred since the Implementation Plan was published and included confirmation from Great Place: Great Service that smart phones would be issued to Officers. In addition, new signage, designed by the Communications and Marketing Manager, was presented to the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum in January, 2016 and was ready for printing at the time of that meeting. The Assistant Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing reported that the move of the Environmental Services team to the Operational Services depot had improved cross-team working and communication.

Members commented that they were particularly impressed with Pest/Dog Control Officer, Mark Rawson, as he had reacted quickly to several complaints Members had reported to him. In addition, the Committee noted its appreciation that he had followed up complaints by going into schools to give talks to children about the effects of dog fouling.

The Committee thanked the Senior Environmental Health Officer and Assistant Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing for providing the update.

RESOLVED –

1)   That the Scrutiny Monitoring Report be agreed.

2)   That a further progress report on Dog Fouling be brought to this Committee in 6 months.

3)   That a communication be made from the Committee stating its support for the roll out of smart phones to the Environmental Services team.

4)   That a communication be made from the Committee thanking the Pest/Dog Control Officer, Mark Rawson, for his prompt service.

5:30 – 5:55pm

The Assistant Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing and the Waste and Street Cleaning Manager submitted a report on the Maintenance of Footpaths and Pavements. The Chair also provided a verbal statement that fed back on issues that faced the County Council that were discussed during a training session at Derbyshire County Council.

The Chair noted that the main problem that faced the public when reporting a footpath or pavement was identifying which authority to report it to. The Derbyshire County Council (DCC) website contains a Mapping Portal which designates between Local Authority and privately owned highways however it does not show which Local Authority is responsible. In addition, the DCC website has the facility to report faults with pavements and rights of way which also allows the reporter to specify the fault for example, damage to kerb or subsidence.

The report from the Waste and Street Cleaning Manager detailed the different responsibilities of the Local Authorities. Chesterfield Borough Council (CBC) would only be responsible for paths on public land that had not been adopted by DCC, for example footpaths within parks, therefore should only be contacted about concerns with those paths. However CBC undertakes the cleaning of most of the adopted paths on an agency basis for DCC. Footpaths within the borough are maintained depending on the frequency of footfall and additional clearance visits could be requested by a member of the public or by local councillors.

Members commented that due to the different parties involved in footpath and pavement maintenance, it could be a lengthy process to solve an issue. The Chair advised that, in order to tackle problems with footpaths and pavements efficiently, they needed to be reported as soon as possible to allow the Local Authority responsible to contact any landowners or domestic properties that might be involved. Members also asked if there was a list of footpath numbers available in order to accurately report which footpath had the problem. The Chair responded that the information was on the DCC website.

The report noted that, following a review of the Street Care service, savings totalling £100K had been achieved. Since the review there had been no rise in the level of complaints or other indications of dis-satisfaction. Following on from the success of the review, the report advised that there would be no capacity at the current time to make further efficiency savings without affecting the standards of service delivery.

The Chair asked the Committee if a Scrutiny Review was needed to continue monitoring the maintenance of footpaths and pavements. The Committee agreed that no review was needed as the current reporting system and maintenance worked well and there was a need for residents to be pro-active and report issues directly through the available systems. The only matter that needed further clarification was the process and impact of Councillor reporting; for example to which Council should Councillors report, and what was the impact on ‘hot spot’ identification when a councillor reports once on behalf of a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

5:55 – 6:10pm

The Chair provided a verbal update on the Sports and Leisure Strategies, focussing on the development and opening of the Queen’s Park Sports Centre (QPSC). The Chair informed the committee that the Sports and Leisure Manager had attended the pre agenda meeting to provide an update on the newly opened QPSC. The Committee noted that the new QPSC was a fantastic building and the development had been a success.

The Chair informed members that there would be a meeting arranged with the Sports and Leisure Manager and the Board that oversaw the development and opening of the new QPSC. The members of the Scrutiny Project Group would be invited to the meeting to receive feedback on the new leisure centre. The Chair noted that the meeting would provide an appropriate conclusion to the work of the project group.

The Committee agreed that the development of a broader strategy that focussed on Health and Wellbeing as an alternative to the Community Sports Strategy should be considered in the work programming day. The Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing advised that a project group’s work can evolve after the group is set up and these changes needed to be reflected in the work programme.

RESOLVED –

1)   That the Chair’s request for the Scrutiny Project Group to meet with the Leisure Centre Build Programme Board to sign off the Phase 1 work from the Scrutiny Project Group be noted, and that the Scrutiny Project Group report back to the Committee.

2)   That it be noted that the Community Sport and Physical Activity Strategy is now being seen as a broader Health and Wellbeing Strategy and could be a Council or Partnership Strategy.

3)   That it be considered at the Work Programming day whether the Community Sport and Physical Activity Strategy (Health and Wellbeing Strategy) is to be included in the future Work Programme.

6:10 – 6:15pm

The Forward Plan was considered.

RESOLVED –

That the Forward Plan be noted.

6:15 – 6:20pm

There were no new developments. The Policy and Scrutiny Officer suggested that, to avoid repetition, the item on Overview and Scrutiny Developments should only be included on the agenda for the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum meetings.

RESOLVED –

That the Overview and Scrutiny Developments item be included only on the agenda for the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum meetings.

6:20 – 6:30pm

-      Consideration of appointment of Project Groups regarding

·        Development of the town centre.

·        Increasing the supply and quality of housing.

The Committee considered its Work Programme.

The Chair noted that the items on the Work Programme would be considered again at the Work Programming day on 8^th March, 2016, and the appointment of the two Project Groups, development of the town centre and increasing the supply and quality of housing, would also be considered on that day.

RESOLVED –

1)   That the Work Programme be agreed.

2)   That the Work Programme and Project Groups be considered at the Work Programming Day on 8 March, 2016.

6:30 – 6:35pm

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 6 October, 2015 were presented.

RESOLVED –

That the Minutes be accepted as a correct record and signed by the Chair.