Agenda and minutes

When the continuous alarm sounds you must evacuate the building by the nearest available fire exit. Members and visitors should proceed to the visitors’ car park at the front of the building and await further instructions (during office hours staff should proceed to their usual assembly point; outside of office hours proceed to the visitors’ car park). Please do not re-enter the building unless instructed to do so.

In the event of a fire any person with a disability should be assisted in leaving the building.

35.1           The evacuation procedure, as noted on the Agenda, was advised to those present.

35.2           The Chair introduced the new Head of the Gloucestershire Joint Waste Team, Wayne Lewis, and welcomed him, and the other representatives from the Team, Rachel Capon and Julie Davies, to the meeting.  He indicated that they were in attendance for Item 9 – Gloucestershire Joint Waste Committee 2017/18 Business and Action Plan Update.  It was noted that Councillor Gill Blackwell was also present to observe the meeting in her role as Lead Member for Organisational Development which included Overview and Scrutiny. 

36.1           Apologies for absence were received from Councillors H C McLain and P D Surman.  There were no substitutions for the meeting. 

37.1           The Committee’s attention was drawn to the Tewkesbury Borough Council Code of Conduct which was adopted by the Council on 26 June 2012 and took effect from 1 July 2012.

37.2           There were no declarations made on this occasion.

To approve the Minutes of the meeting held on 5 September 2017.

38.1           The Minutes of the meeting held on 5 September 2017, copies of which had been circulated, were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair. 

To determine whether there are any questions for the relevant Lead Members and what support the Overview and Scrutiny Committee can give to work contained within the Plan.

39.1           Attention was drawn to the Executive Committee Forward Plan, circulated at Pages No. 14-18.  Members were asked to determine whether there were any questions for the relevant Lead Members and what support the Overview and Scrutiny Committee could give to the work contained within the plan.

39.2           A Member indicated that the plan had previously included an item in respect of Joint Core Strategy strategic allocation sites and the allocation of affordable housing.  This was due to be considered at the Executive Committee meeting on 15 March 2017 but that meeting had been cancelled and the item had not been taken to the following meeting or included in the plan for a future meeting.  The Head of Community Services advised that this work had been delayed due to ongoing negotiations with Cheltenham Borough and Gloucester City Councils, the other Joint Core Strategy partners, and would now be taken to the Executive Committee meeting on 22 November 2017.

39.3           It was

RESOLVED          That the Executive Committee Forward Plan be NOTED.

To consider the forthcoming work of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

40.1           Attention was drawn to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme 2017/18, circulated at Pages No. 19-24, which Members were asked to consider.

40.2           A Member noted that there was currently only one item on the Agenda for the meeting on 9 January 2018 and queried whether it was possible to bring other items forward.  The Head of Corporate Services advised that there were a number of pending items within the work programme, including the Risk Management Strategy Review and Review of Customer Care Strategy, which may be ready ahead of time and he would liaise with Officers following the meeting to see which, if any, could be brought forward.  It was subsequently

RESOLVED          That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme 2017/18 be NOTED.

To receive an update from the Council’s representative on matters considered at the last meeting.

41.1           The Chair indicated that the Council’s representative on the Gloucestershire Police and Crime Panel was unable to attend the meeting to give an update in person and had instead prepared a written update on matters discussed at the last meeting of the Panel, held on 8 September 2017, which had been circulated to the Committee prior to the meeting.  Members were asked to consider the information which had been provided.

41.2           It was

RESOLVED          That the feedback from the last meeting of the Gloucestershire Police and Crime Panel be NOTED.

To receive an update from the Council’s representative on matters considered at the last meeting. 

42.1           Members received an update from Councillor Ron Allen, the Council’s reserve representative on the Gloucestershire Health and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee, on matters discussed at its last meeting held on 12 September 2017.

42.2           It was noted that Members had received the annual report of the Gloucestershire Safeguarding Adults Board (GSAB) for 2016/17.  Progress was reported in the five main areas: Empowerment; Protection and Prevention; Proportionality; Partnership; and Leadership/Accountability/Governance. In general the path was upward, although it was recognised in the accompanying papers that some elements of risk remained unchanged from the previous report.  The Board worked with more than sixteen partner agencies and timely and adequate sharing of information had long been of questionable quality, both within the county and nationally. The GSAB had taken action to improve transfer of information, particularly with the Police which now had an electronic risk assessment module - the Vulnerability Identification Screening Tool (VIST) - to help in making judgements on risk and share them remotely with the multi-agency safeguarding hub.  Members had been advised that decisions on intervention could be difficult because of the limitations imposed by statute to protect individuals’ privacy; however, there were indications that partner agencies were improving their co-operation in terms of sharing information on vulnerable people and some relevant risks in the GSAB’s register had been satisfactorily removed as a result.

42.3           The Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group had begun to consult residents in the Forest of Dean on a proposal to build a new hospital.  Four options were being presented to the public: firstly, maintaining the two existing community hospitals - the Dilke Memorial in Cinderford and the Lydney and District Hospital; secondly, redeveloping to provide two community hospitals; thirdly, creating a single new community hospital; and, fourthly, closing both existing hospitals and offering home-based services as an alternative.  The Trust’s favoured option was to offer a completely new community hospital, similar to those in other parts of the county, using the capital receipts from the sale of currently used land to support the financing of the new structure.  A number of consultation events had been advertised between 27 September and 5 December 2017 and it was anticipated there would be a lively and emotional response, particularly to the proposal to demolish the Dilke Memorial Hospital. 

42.4           It was noted that Deborah Lee and Peter Lachecki had joined Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in 2016 as Chief Executive and Chair respectively, following a widely reported unexpected and significant deterioration in the Trust’s financial position.  They had presented the key findings and recommendations from a four month independent review of the Trust’s governance between April 2013 and March 2016.  Currently, the Trust remained in the NHS Improvement Financial Special Measures regime as a consequence of apparent failings in governance.  It was noted that the former Chief Executive, Chair, Finance Director and Chair of the Finance and Performance Committee were no longer employed by the Trust and the presentation from the new team leaders was upbeat  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42.

To consider the progress made in relation to the 2017/18 Gloucestershire Joint Waste Committee Action Plan.  

43.1           The report of the Head of Community Services, circulated at Pages No. 25-48, provided an update on the progress against the Gloucestershire Joint Waste Committee business plan and action plan for 2017/18.  Members were asked to consider the progress made to date.

43.2           The Head of Community Services explained that Tewkesbury Borough Council was a member of the Gloucestershire Joint Waste Committee together with four other local authorities within the county.  It was represented on the Committee by the Lead and Support Members for Clean and Green Environment.  The Gloucestershire Joint Waste Committee business and action plans covered a three year horizon and were updated on an annual basis; the current plan covered the period 2017-20.  The current business plan was set out at Appendix 1 to the report with the action plan for 2017/18 set out in full at Appendix 2.  The key achievements with a Tewkesbury Borough Council focus were highlighted at Page No. 27, Paragraph 4.1 of the report.

43.3           A Member raised concern that it was not clear from the appendices which actions had been completed and there was no explanation as to what was meant when actions were classified as ‘amber’ or ‘green’.  He also queried whether there were any actions outstanding as nothing had been marked as ‘red’.  The Contracts Manager (Collection and Street Scene West) from the Joint Waste Team confirmed that the actions marked as ‘amber’ were in progress and those marked as ‘green’ were complete.  She went on to explain that, when the report had last been considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee at its meeting in October 2016, Members had expressed the view that, going forward, the report should only highlight the key achievements with a Tewkesbury Borough Council focus and Members were advised that all of those actions had been achieved. 

43.4           The Head of the Gloucestershire Joint Waste Team indicated that this was his second week in the role having joined the team from WRAP which provided recycling advice to local authorities around the country.  During his first week, he had been meeting the team and partner councils in order to build an understanding of the current work programme and start to plan for the following year.  In terms of what to expect going forward, there would be a strong focus on reducing waste, which was essential for all partner councils, along with achieving value for money across the services and meeting customer expectations.  It was a significant task to maintain the existing service and ensure that waste continued to be collected, treated and processed across the county as well as trying to improve recycling rates from an already impressive 55% in Gloucestershire.  A Member sought the Head of the Gloucestershire Joint Waste Team’s view as to what recycling rate could realistically be achieved and was informed that Gloucestershire was already a high performer given that the national recycling rate was 40%; however, some local authorities in England were achieving rates of around 60% and there  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43.

To consider the Tewkesbury Borough Council Waste & Recycling Collection Services Policy and make a recommendation to Executive Committee   

44.1           The report of the Head of Community Services, circulated at Pages No. 49-63, attached, at Appendix 1, the Council’s draft Waste and Recycling Collection Service Policy.  Members were asked to recommend to the Executive Committee that the policy be adopted.

44.2           Members were informed that the proposed policy set out the standards that could be expected from the Council as a waste service provider and covered a range of elements of the waste and recycling collection service e.g. frequency of collection, how to present waste and recycling for collection etc.  If adopted by the Executive Committee, the policy would be a clear guide for officers, members of the public and Councillors.  A Member queried whether dog bins and street bins were included in the scope of the policy.  The Head of Community Services explained that, in view of the significant changes within the service, the policy intended to set out the expectations in relation to collection of household waste from domestic properties. Street cleansing was in the process of being reviewed and it might be that a different policy could be produced for those services.  The Member felt that it should be made clear that the policy related to domestic waste and the Head of Community Services undertook to amend the policy to reflect that.

44.3           It was subsequently

RESOLVED          That it be RECOMMENDED TO THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE that the draft Waste and Recycling Collection Service Policy be ADOPTED, subject to appropriate amendments to make clear that the policy related to domestic waste and recycling.

To receive a six month update in relation to enviro-crimes. 

45.1           Attention was drawn to the report of the Head of Community Services, circulated at Pages No. 64-74, which provided Members with an update on the current activities in respect of dealing with enviro-crimes.  Members were asked to consider the progress made against the action plan, attached at Appendix 1 to the report.

45.2           The Head of Community Services explained that, at its meeting on 2 May 2017, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had considered a report regarding the Council’s approach to tackling enviro-crime within the borough and Members had asked that a further update on progress against the action plan be provided in six months’ time.  He made specific reference to the fixed penalty policy for environmental offences which had been approved by the Executive Committee at its meeting on 11 October 2017 and would enable Officers to issue fixed penalty notices for a range of offences including flytipping and littering.  This was part of the wider action around ensuring that Officers had the necessary tools available to take robust action against enviro-crimes.

45.3           A Member drew attention to the action around prosecuting flytipping offenders and advertising the results in the local media and indicated that she had seen a list which suggested that Tewkesbury Borough Council had not made any prosecutions which she understood was not the case.  The Head of Community Services was not sure why this would have been reported as there had been four successful prosecutions in the current financial year with more in progress.  In terms of fixed penalty notices, the Principal Environmental Health Officer advised that 20 had been served during the financial year.  The Chief Executive confirmed that press releases were generally issued for successful prosecutions and it was his understanding that they were circulated to all Members via email, albeit under the guise of a press release which was a slightly different format than they may be used to.  He undertook to look into this following the meeting.  A Member indicated that her Ward had a Parish magazine which could be used to report successful prosecutions and the Head of Community Services undertook to speak to the Communications Team about producing a standard article for Parish Councils to include in their newsletters and magazines.

45.4           In response to a query regarding waste left behind by the gypsy and travelling community, the Head of Community Services confirmed that they could be provided with black bags etc. for waste disposal.  If evidence was found within any material left on site then it may be possible to take action in line with the usual procedures.  Another Member expressed the view that dog fouling continued to be a problem and she suggested that local dog walkers may be willing to volunteer to wear high visibility jackets to act as a deterrent, in a similar way to the volunteer litter pickers.  The Head of Community Services felt this was an excellent idea and he undertook to take it forward outside of the meeting.

45.5           A Member  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

To consider the progress made in respect of the recommendations arising from the Housing, Renewal and Homelessness Strategy Review Action Plan. 

46.1           The report of the Head of Community Services, circulated at Pages No. 75-91, provided Members with a summary of the key activities that had been achieved in relation to the Housing, Renewal and Homelessness Strategy Review Action Plan.  Members were asked to consider the achievements made to date.

46.2           Members were reminded that the Housing Strategy 2017-21 had been developed by an Overview and Scrutiny Working Group and was adopted by the Council in January 2017.  The strategy contained four key priorities to meet the housing needs of the borough: increasing the supply of housing; preventing homelessness; meeting the housing need of specific groups; and improving the health and wellbeing of local people.  The report provided an update on the progress made against the action plan over the last nine months. 

46.3           The Housing Services Manager advised that she had tried to highlight the areas where there had been significant changes.  In terms of the first priority in relation to increasing the supply of housing, she indicated that the team had been looking at alternative construction methods which tended to be cheaper than traditional houses.  Officers had been working with Severn Vale Housing Society but, unfortunately, many of its sites were unsuitable for the new methods and it would be necessary to look at the Council’s own sites.  The work on empty homes would continue when the Environmental Health Manager was in post.  The implications of Universal Credit on private landlords were currently unknown and promotional activities had stopped until the assistance that could be offered, and the mechanisms for payment in order to incentivise landlords to accept low income residents, became clear.  With regard to the priority around homelessness and homelessness prevention, she advised that Tewkesbury Borough Council had been peer reviewed by the Department for Communities and Local Government in July 2017 and had exceeded the 60% required to make an application for the bronze award under its Gold Programme.  The main thrust of the work in this area had been around implementing the new homelessness reduction legislation and combating the effect of welfare reform.  She had been to look at the new database which could be used to formulate a housing plan to help reduce the amount of time spent with residents, and the Housing Team had been working with colleagues in Revenues and Benefits and the Financial Inclusion Partnership on how to address the changes brought about by welfare reform.  A large proportion of the work around meeting the housing needs of those who needed it most had been done by the new Strategic Housing and Enabling Officer who had concentrated on establishing a local connection policy to ensure that development via rural exception was prioritised for the needs of a local community; this policy was due to be finalised by December 2017.  With regard to the priority to improve the health and wellbeing of local people, Members were advised that housing condition service requests had all received responses within the required three days and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.