Agenda item

Cllr Guest declared an interest as the TRO (Traffic Regulation Order) for Old Fishery Lane mentioned in the report was financed by her County Council Highways Locality budget.

The Chairman declared an interest in his position as Dacorum representative on PATROL, which administers the traffic penalty tribunal.

C Silva Donayre noted that the various services areas of the corporate and commercial directorates had been combined for the report, and each service lead would give a brief summary before opening for questions.

Commercial Development

B Hosier referred to parking services on page 26, in terms of parking sessions, and noted that while Q3 showed a 7% increase from Q3 in 2019-2020 pre-Covid, it remained 48,000 sessions lower for the same 9-month period than in 2019-2020. Similarly, on page 27, Q3 showed an improvement, but remained almost 4,000 PCNs below the same 9-month period than in 2019-2020. B Hosier noted that these had both contributed to reduced income levels from parking services. For leisure, on page 32, B Hosier noted that the average weekly attendance in Q3 showed as reduced, which was attributed to Hemel Gym being closed for refurbishment for 2 weeks, but highlighted that the figures for the weekly average in Q3 2022-2023 were much higher than in the same quarter in 2021-2022.

Cllr Freedman wondered if there should be a more visible link between parking sessions and PCNs (penalty charge notices). B Hosier agreed there would be some correlation, however noted that more PCNs were being issued for on-street parking than off-street parking, confirming that enforcement fluctuates from month to month, but that it appears people are parking more often but for shorter periods.

Cllr Tindall wondered if the variance in enforcement rendered the statistics invalid. B Hosier noted that consistent enforcement is a target, however there is a shortage of enforcement officers, and further noted that there was also uncontrollable variance in the numbers of people parking illegally on any given day. Cllr Tindall wondered if this indicated drivers getting savvier in not parking illegally, and B Hosier conceded that whilst this was possible, there would be new motorists each year, so it was difficult to say.

Cllr Adeleke wondered if there was a breakdown of percentages within and outside of Hemel Hempstead, including attributed revenue contributions. B Hosier agreed that the data exists, but couldn't answer off the top of his head, and agreed to the Chairman’s suggestion to instead circulate this information later.

Cllr Symington observed that Berkhamsted has a problem with on-pavement parking due to lack of enforcement, and that the issue is about resident's concerns and usage of pavements as well as revenue. B Hosier agreed that it was an issue, but pointed out that pavement parking outside of London is not illegal unless parking restrictions exist, and the police would be the ones to deal with obstruction issues, but added that restrictions in certain areas might be possible. Cllr Freedman agreed that legal action wasn't possible for pavement parking, but suggested production of a notice pointing out the inconvenience caused, and B Hosier agreed to take the idea back to the parking service. Cllr Douris observed that there was also significant local pressure via social media to get people to think twice.

Cllr Guest wondered if the parking trend and income was being monitored, and B Hosier confirmed that it was being monitored on a monthly basis as part of KPIs.

ACTION: B Hosier to circulate the breakdown of parking sessions and PCNs, and the associated revenue contributions, for Hemel Hempstead and outside Hemel Hempstead.

ACTION: B Hosier to raise the idea of a warning notice regarding pavement parking and obstruction of pavements with the parking service.

Legal and Democratic Services

M Brookes noted three main cases and fifteen cases prosecuted through the single justice procedure, and also noted that in November and December the elections team had delivered the business improvement district ballot, and the Kings Langley neighbourhood plan, which had all gone well.

Cllr Tindall noted on page 32 that the Dacorum leisure contract was still under negotiation, and wondered if there was a timescale for completion. B Hosier confirmed when an announcement regarding the negotiations could be expected.

Regarding page 37, Cllr Tindall wondered if there were any statistics on applications for voter identification. M Brookes stated that he didn't have the figures to hand, but agreed to ask the team to circulate them to members[TD1] .

The Chairman mentioned hearing anecdotally that provisional driving licenses, old-style driving licenses and some other forms of ID do not have photos, further noting that the requirement for passport-style photographs might be a barrier, and Cllr Tindall added that Student ID is not on the list of accepted identification, which M Brookes agreed to investigate.

The Chairman noted that a lot of people either still didn't know about ID requirements, or hadn't registered yet. M Brookes summarised communication efforts, including those for people without internet access, confirming that information would be included with the polling card, and Cllr Williams confirmed the information is also included in the leaflet going out with Council Tax bills.

Cllr Adeleke noted the likelihood of problems at polling stations, and wondered what protection was being provided for polling staff. M Brookes noted that extra poll clerks were being arranged in areas with higher numbers, that there would be extensive training for poll clerks and presiding officers, and that members of the leadership team would be available for specific issues. Cllr Adeleke clarified that he was referring to physical incidents, and M Brookes noted that discussions were being held with the police, who would have teams available if required. The Chairman observed that the situation is national, not specific to Dacorum.

Cllr Freedman wondered if there had been confirmation of additional central funding to meet related additional costs, and whether it was anticipated that funding would be sufficient or there would be a deficit on DBC general funds as a result. M Brookes confirmed receipt of a payment, and that it was expected to be sufficient.

ACTION: M Brookes to request voter identification application statistics be circulated to members.

ACTION: M Brookes to investigate and confirm variations in identification and photograph requirements.

Finance and Resources

N Howcutt referred to section four in the report and noted one red KPI (key performance indicator), which had been there throughout the quarter, relating to time taken for debtors to pay, but noted that the non-commercial debt is green and being brought down by the commercial debt currently held. It was noted that the situation is improving, and that 2023-2024 was expected to be mostly green. The operational risk register was noted to have no significant changes.

Cllr Adeleke requested an explanation of the comment regarding pressure on waste services on page 46. N Howcutt noted that ongoing pressure is due to additional routes and hiring additional agency staff in 2021-2022 and 2022-2023, and that the waste transformation service is looking at route optimisation to reduce the pressure in 2023-2024 and bring it back in line with budget. Cllr Adeleke wondered how much reliance there was on consumer services. N Howcutt explained that it depended on the time of year, but varied between 10%-15%, depending on sickness.

Cllr Symington referred back to pages 41 and 42, showing £4 million and £2 million respectively, and wondered if it was correct that there had been nearly £6 million for

commissioning[TD2]  around parking enforcement, and additionally wondered if the £800,000 for tree maintenance was linked to trees contracted with Hertfordshire County Council, also noting that a resident had complained about paying for a green bin when its only use was to dispose of leaves from a DBC-owned tree. B Hosier confirmed that the parking commissioning had been split into two parts, one for back office and hardware, and the other for the enforcement team and staff, and that those were on the contract register for a ten-year contract. B Hosier also noted that the tree maintenance had been split into two separate lots, and believed that as part of the contract recommissioning these would be split into four lots, but couldn't confirm whether that included the work for Hertfordshire County Council and agreed to look into this and let Cllr Symington know. In regard to the resident's complaint, B Hosier was unable to comment. Cllr Symington further wondered what criteria had been used to assess how much money should be spent on parking. B Hosier clarified that the amount was from the contract agreed five years previously, and that it would be reviewed when the contract came up for renewal, and Cllr Symington asked if that meant it would be a contractor. B Hosier explained that it would go through the normal process of assessment and tender, and if the budget remained the same it would be the value of the contract over a set period of years.

Cllr Guest wondered how the nurse-led absence management project on page 41 linked in with the occupational health services project on page 42. M Rawdon clarified that the two projects are separate contracts, being a reporting system for sickness, and an assessment by a qualified nurse, respectively.

The Chairman wondered, on page 47, whether it was possible to know the number of GDPR requests rather than the percentage. M Brookes agreed that this could be done once he was back in the office.

ACTION: B Hosier to check whether work for Hertfordshire County Council is included in the tree maintenance contracts and confirm with Cllr Symington.

ACTION: M Brookes to circulate numeric statistics relating to GDPR requests.

Outcome

The reports were noted.