Agenda item

To consider progress made and agree future monitoring via the performance tracker with any significant matters to note being reported through the Member Update Sheet. 

73.1           The report of the Head of Community Services, circulated at Pages No. 25-32, provided an update on progress against the Enviro-Crimes Action Plan and asked Members to agree that, as tackling enviro-crime was now fully embedded within the day to day operations of Environmental Health, no further reports would be brought unless there was any change in this position but any significant matters of information would be included on the Member Update Sheet and performance would continue to be monitored in the quarterly performance tracker.

73.2           The Head of Community Services advised that there were 15 actions contained within the action plan at Appendix 1 to the report and he was pleased to report that nine had been completed and the remaining six would be taken forward in due course.  He hoped that Members would agree there had been significant improvement in the way the Council dealt with enviro-crimes in recent years which was in no small part due to interrogation and monitoring by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and tackling enviro-crime was now part of the day to day business of the Environmental Health Team.  He pointed out that the Council had taken delivery of a new waste vehicle earlier in the year which had been branded with the Council’s new waste aware website which was aimed at promoting the Council’s approach to tackling enviro-crime and he encouraged Members to have a look following the meeting.  It was now proposed that monitoring of enviro-crimes should be via the quarterly performance report as opposed to separate reports to the Committee.

73.3           A Member expressed the view that a lot of good work had been done by Officers to get to this point and the approach to enviro-crimes had improved inordinately over the last few years.  The Support Member for Clean and Green Environment echoed these sentiments and extended his thanks to the team who had done a fantastic job for the whole borough.  A Member drew attention to the action to introduce a schedule of Parish Council liaison meetings that would achieve contact with a minimum of 50% of Parish Councils which was due to be completed in June 2019.  She noted that 14 Parish Councils had been visited to date and questioned what percentage that represented and whether the action was ongoing.  The Head of Community Services advised that 14 Parish Councils equated to approximately 28% and he explained that the 50% target had been extremely ambitious; however, this would be a permanent target and Officers would continue to work with all Parish Councils going forward.  A Member expressed the view that there was a need to work together and for Borough Councillors to get out into the Parishes and speak directly to them to promote the service.  It was also suggested that Officers should to ensure Members were aware when they were going to the various Parishes so they could be there as well. 

73.4           A Member noted that one of the actions involved recruiting a GIS/Systems Administrator for mapping reported enviro-crimes onto the GIS system and he queried what the timescale was for that.  The Head of Community Services advised this was a shared post with the Planning team which was undertaking the recruitment and the closing date for applications was 20 January 2020.  The Member went on to draw attention to the action to undertake a minimum of four joint operations with partner agencies and questioned the level of resource required for this.  In response, the Head of Community Services explained that each operation was quite resource intensive and generally involved at least two Enforcement Officers from the Council as well as a number of Police Officers to stop vehicles safely and facilitate checking of documentation.  Depending on what was being targeted specifically, the Environment Agency may also be involved as well as neighbouring local authorities.  It was noted that four operations per year was a significant commitment as these events involved a lot of planning and liaison but it was certainly something which the team aspired to do.  In response to a query as to what was meant by ‘designing out’ enviro-crime which was referenced in the action plan, the Head of Community Services gave an example of a car park where there was a problem with litter or anti-social behaviour and one of the solutions might be to cut back bushes to make the area more exposed etc.  In response to a query as to what was intended by developing a relationship with the National Farmers’ Union and how that would be achieved, Members were advised that it was important to build a better relationship around tackling fly-tipping and rural crime so that the Council could investigate and pick up intelligence across the borough.  The Member indicated that, as a new Councillor, he had not fully appreciated the amount of work that had been done and what had been achieved and he was satisfied this was now business as usual.  It was subsequently

RESOLVED          1. That the progress made against the enviro-crimes action plan be NOTED.

2. That it be AGREED that, as tackling enviro-crime is now fully embedded within the day to day operations of Environmental Health, no further report will be brought unless there is any change in this position but any significant matters of information will be included on the Member Update Sheet and performance will continue to be monitored in the quarterly performance tracker.