Agenda item

To consider the update in respect of enviro-crimes and to agree that future reporting be via an annual enviro-crime report in June – detailing the types and quantities and effectiveness of the Council’s approach to enviro-crimes - and a six monthly update which also sets out the forward plan for the forthcoming year.

14.1           The report of the Head of Community Services, circulated at Pages No. 112-131, provided an update on the current activity and actions being taken by the Council in respect of enviro-crimes.  Members were asked to consider the update and to agree that future reporting to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee be via an annual report in June – detailing the types, quantities and effectiveness of the Council’s approach to enviro-crimes – and a six monthly update which also set out the forward plan for the forthcoming year.

14.2           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 which had included an action plan.  Since that time, six monthly updates had been provided to the Committee on progress against that plan, attached at Appendix 1 to the report.  It was noted that enviro-crimes had previously been dealt with on an ad-hoc basis but there were now proper procedures and processes in place which would be refined on an ongoing basis to reflect regulatory requirements and efficient working practices.  As such, it was proposed to continue to report to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on a six monthly basis but to focus more on outcomes, such as number of fly-tips reported, number of fixed penalties issued etc.  The six month report would therefore be an interim report on the basic metrics, and any particular issues that had arisen, and the annual report - which was proposed to be brought to the Committee in June - would provide a more detailed review of the achievements and outcomes of the previous year.

14.3           The table at Paragraph 2.5 of the report provided a summary of the metrics that were currently collected: noise; dog fouling; fly-tipping; and abandoned vehicles.  The successful enforcement action taken during 2017/18 was detailed at Paragraph 2.7 of the report.  It was noted there had been six successful prosecutions for fly-tipping and failure to have the appropriate documentation relating to the transfer of waste, and 24 fixed penalty notices had been served for a range of offences.  Members were advised that new legislation had been introduced in April giving local authorities the power to issue fixed penalties to the registered keepers of vehicles from which litter was thrown.  Previously, local authorities could not issue fixed penalties to the keeper and there had been no obligation for the keeper to advise who was responsible for throwing the litter.  As such, it was expected to see an increase in the number of fixed penalties going forward which would hopefully act as a deterrent.  In terms of the action plan itself, the majority of actions had been completed or were ongoing. 

14.4           A Member questioned whether the figures for abandoned vehicles, set out in the table at Paragraph 2.5, were correct for 2015/16.  It stated that there had been 793 abandoned vehicles in 2015/16 compared to 237 in 2016/17 and 122 in 2017/18 which was a significant reduction; furthermore, in 2015/16 the same figure had been provided for the number of flytipping incidents i.e. 793 – it was unlikely that these numbers would have been exactly the same so he questioned whether it was an inputting error.  The Member also pointed out that the performance tracker, which had been considered at Agenda Item 9, had shown there had been 967 reported enviro-crimes during 2017/18 which did not coincide with the table at Paragraph 2.5 which totalled 1,211.  The Head of Community Services indicated that he would review the data following the meeting and report back to Members.

14.5           A Member questioned whether the signage used in relation to enviro-crimes was mobile and confirmation was provided this was the case.  In response to a query as to how the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) had affected the use of CCTV cameras, the Head of Community Services advised that it was no longer possible to use cameras which stored data on a removable card that was inserted into a computer as there was a risk that the cards could be stolen.  A Member raised concern that the recycling centre at Morrison’s was still in operation despite it having been publicised that it was closing.  The Head of Community Services advised that, at the time of writing the report, the intention was for the recycling centre to close and he was unsure why this had not happened; however, he undertook to look into this following the meeting.  The Member sought confirmation that members of the public were being advised where the other recycling sites were located and the Head of Community Services indicated that the locations were listed on Tewkesbury Borough and Gloucestershire County Councils’ websites and Customer Services also held this information.  The sites were actively promoted and shared with the public but more promotion could be done via the Borough News.

14.6           A Member drew attention to Page No. 130 of the report which included an action around developing a network of communities to report enviro-crimes, enabling them to act as eyes and ears for the Council, and particular reference was made to community groups, Town and Parish Councils and volunteer litter pickers.  The Member questioned why Councillors had been omitted from that list.  In response, the Head of Community Services explained that Councillors were considered to be part of the community network.  A simple witness statement was being produced to facilitate the reporting of enviro-crimes and this would be provided to staff and Councillors.  The Deputy Chief Executive indicated that this was a multi-faceted piece of work and Borough and Parish Councillors would be instrumental in its delivery.  Another Member was delighted with the summary of enforcement action, particularly as this did not seem to be reflected across the county.  He questioned how prosecutions were advertised as he felt it was important to promote the fact that action was taken.  The Head of Community Services advised that much of the success was down to the hard work of Officers. He provided assurance that prosecutions were advertised in the Borough News and press releases were issued, although these were not always picked up.  The Interim Communications and Policy Manager confirmed that they were also promoted via social media and every press release was posted on the Council’s website.  She reminded Members that they received email notifications regarding press releases and they could be confident that this meant they were also being pushed out on social media as standard practice.  It was suggested that it would be useful to provide an update at the next Parish and Town Council Seminar on the work the Borough Council was doing and to ask them for assistance with promotion.  A Member pointed out that not everyone used social media and he felt it would be beneficial to produce a poster showing how many prosecutions had been made which could be displayed in hotspots.  The Head of Community Services welcomed communication and promotion through all channels and he indicated that signs could be designed to include that information.

14.7           The Chief Executive indicated that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had been at the forefront of driving the enviro-crimes agenda and he felt that vast improvements had been made over the past year.  Nevertheless, he felt that more work could be done with Ward Members around helping them to report enviro-crimes, and ensuring that they understood the various mechanisms available, and he suggested that a Member seminar be arranged for later in the year.  A Member commented that she had used the facility for reporting enviro-crimes online on two occasions; she had found it very simple and had received a response within 24 hours.

14.8           In response to a query, the Head of Community Services advised there would be a similar action plan for 2018/19 which would include a number of operations with the Environment Agency and the Police and the introduction of the new Public Space Protection Order.   He assured Members that he was committed to building on the progress that had already been made.  It was

RESOLVED          1. That the update in respect of Enviro-Crimes be NOTED.

2. That the Committee continue to receive reports on a six monthly basis with a detailed annual report in June based on what had been achieved in the previous year and an interim report on basic metrics and any particular issues that had arisen.