Agenda and minutes

To agree the minutes of the previous meeting.

The minutes of the Strategic Planning and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 14 June and 19 July 2016 were confirmed by the members present and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillors Ashbourn, Matthews and S Hearn.

Councillor Birnie substituted on behalf of Councillor Matthews.

To receive any declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of interest

There was no public participation.

None.

D Skinner introduced the report to the committee and said there had been a £613,000 overspend in Q1. In the same quarter last year, there was a larger overspend and the year finished with a surplus so is confident that the same will happen this year. The areas that are responsible for the overspend are: employees, waste services, supplies and services. The overspend in relation to employees is mainly centred on staffing issues in Building Control. Challenges in staff recruitment are being addressed to ensure the correct levels of staffing are in place.

A lot of work has been done regarding the capital programme with rephasing. Page 7 shows the projected rephasing for future years which includes: the play area refurbishment programme, waste and recycling improvements, fleet replacement programme, town centre access improvements and improvements to Gadebridge Park.

Councillor C Wyatt-Lowe referred to the historical position last year and she said was concerned with the significant reduction in budgets. Why are you confident that the council can manage possible overspends?

D Skinner said there is a continuous programme to examine budgets. There will be a decrease in budgets every year for the next four years. Some activities undertaken by the Council are one off pressures and the Council will look at the possibility of bringing forward some activities that are planned into the next year’s budget. 

Councillor C Wyatt-Lowe said that many councils are experiencing huge financial pressures but Dacorum are not.

D Skinner said that the budgets are carefully scrutinised and examined by officers and members at the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committees. The Council is in a good position financially, has got a good track record of delivery and is confident they will achieve the savings required.

Councillor C Wyatt-Lowe said she had huge admiration in the management and to keep up the good work.

Councillor Howard arrived at 7.40pm

Councillor Hicks questioned the loss in commercial waste – do they do more recycling than local authorities?

D Austin said that larger companies have a competitive advantage if they can offer larger schemes.

Councillor Anderson asked how much money would be lost from the budget if Dacorum lost all commercial waste collections.

D Austin said there would be a loss in income but also a loss in operational costs. Loss in net terms is not an issue. Local authorities deal with small companies which the larger commercial waste companies don’t tend to deal with.

Councillor Birnie questioned the £75,000 slippage on line 148 and why the recycling for flats has been delayed?

D Austin said that providing recycling for flats is more complex and not one size fits all. A Task and Finish group has been set up to look in depth at this problem so that is why the project has been delayed.

Councillor Birnie asked if this £75,000 would be from efficiency savings.

D Austin said this was an indicative sum to provide extra bins.

Councillor Riddick asked about the roads being difficult to access  ...  view the full minutes text for item 174.

D Austin introduced the report and told members of some of the highlights in Q1. These included:

• A successful compost giveaway
• A successful ISO audit
• The release of Belted Galloway cows to Bunkers Park
• Charging for additional green bins
• Work of summer bedding – especially the Phoenix roundabout
• Significant improvements in sickness levels
• Corvu report is mostly green

Councillor C Wyatt-Lowe asked if the risk register was showing all the risks or was an edited version.

D Austin said there are two risk registers; strategic and operational. The operational risk register is the Group Manager’s responsibility and C Thorpe has revised this to include difficult weather and fuel shortages.

Councillor Marshall referred to page 2 of the risk register which referenced the Cupid Green Magazine. Councillor Marshall asked members if they would like to have this distributed to them.

The committee agreed that this would be a good idea.

Outcome

That the Strategic Planning and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee noted the report.

J Doe introduced the report and said that performance was strong with just one amber indicator on the performance report. Income from planning fees is down and it is likely that there will be a short fall at the end of the year. The department try and anticipate when big applications will be submitted but there has been less large applications being submitted than expected. However, small developments have increased.

Councillor Birnie asked about the planning fees on the risk register.

J Doe said that the Council had no control over the planning fees, they are set nationally. 2015/6 was a strong year with a £200,000 surplus and it was hoped this would continue. Over the five years from 2011, there was an average 8% increase in income and this year, a 5% increase has been planned and built into the planned income. This increase is unlikely to materialise as house builders have become cautious in the light of economic uncertainties.

Councillor Hicks asked about the assurance column on the risk register and if there was an easier way to provide information than just attaching links to huge documents.

J Doe said the column was there to provide evidence. The middle column shows what the service is doing to mitigate the risk.

Councillor Anderson said the committee had asked for information on the appeals allowed.

J Doe said the indicator has not appeared on the performance report and will look into it.

Councillor Fisher asked how many of the 167 new homes built were affordable.

J Doe said he would find out but would expect it to be quite high because there have been significant developments by Hightown and DBC. The planning policy states that 35% of units must be affordable if the development is over ten units.

Councillor Hicks mentioned developers building in chunks on gardens. They develop 4-5 houses at a time to avoid providing affordable housing.

J Doe advised that Government policy had recently changed to only seek affordable housing on ten units or more in urban areas. This policy had been challenged by two other Councils, but the Courts had upheld the Government’s position. Cabinet has recently amended Dacorum Borough Council’s policy to reflect this.

Outcome

That the Strategic Planning and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee noted the report.

C Troy introduced the report to members. He said there has been a slippage in Q1 for food hygiene inspections. There is a staff shortage and the current officers have been working overtime to get inspections up to date. Over the year, it is hoped that the department will be back on target. Legionella has been found in a water cooler in Maylands Business Centre. Legionella is an aerosol borne bacteria and it is hoped more work will be done on this in the future.

The department has carried out a ‘Love you Community’ day which aims to educated people and helps identify bad behaviour or practices. As a result, 5 tonnes of fly tipped waste was collected, 19 reports to Herts County Council for highways issues, 6 incidents of graffiti removed and there was a lot of engagement with residents.

In relation to corporate health and safety, further work has been carried out to control hand arm vibration. 

Councillor Birnie referred to paragraph 2.1 of the report and asked why agency recruitment had not worked out.

C Troy said a number of agencies were contacted and they could not provide the calibre of staff needed. It was hoped that some staff would join the department from one agency but their personal circumstances changed and could no longer fill the role. Staff must pass a DBC assessment and have to be monitored by other members of staff for 2-3 weeks.

Councillor Birnie asked the officer if he was confident that inspections will be completed. He said there were some issues in his ward regarding vermin.

C Troy said that he expected food hygiene inspections in Q2 to be behind but hoped to see the work caught up by Q3. There aren’t that many complaints about vermin so that is covered. If vermin are detected in a food premises kitchens, they are immediately closed down. Vermin in yards is more complicated because of multiple ownership and a lot of work is done around changing people’s behaviours.

Referring to yards Councillor Birnie asked if officers revisit the premises even after the vermin problem has been resolved.

C Troy said the issues can’t always be resolved. Education is a key factor, if this does not resolve the issue then enforcement action will be taken. Officers will try and revisit.

Councillor Riddick asked if there was a morale problem within the department with staff shortages and agency workers.

C Troy said he accepted this could be an issue particularly as officers have left and there are problems recruiting. The EHO’s working for DBC are some of the lowest paid in Hertfordshire so it is difficult to attract staff. Officers have been working overtime to complete inspections and mentor agency workers. We have tried to recruit three times but unfortunately, there is no other option at the moment.

Councillor Riddick asked about the recent headline in the Gazette where two Chinese restaurants in Hemel Hempstead had been given a hygiene rating of 0.

C  ...  view the full minutes text for item 177.

Councillor Marshall requested an item on park by-laws for the October agenda.

Members agreed the work programme for 2016/17.