Agenda item

C Thorpe introduced the report to members and ran through the main highlights of the quarter:

• The department took the opportunity to train staff in Waste Services and Clean, Safe and Green in the winter months. One day refresher training was carried out for all staff and performance appraisals were undertaken. Also, agency staff were brought in for inductions and all annual mandatory driver training was completed.
• There is currently a trial being undertaken with 360 degree cameras on the refuse lorries to help monitor and prevent verbal abuse towards staff.
• There has been a good take up of additional green bin subscriptions.
• 3000 Christmas trees were recycled.
• 40 groups and 1300 volunteers took part in the Great British Spring Clean.
• Clean, Safe and Green have cleaned all the ‘Welcome to Dacorum’ signs across the borough and completed small scale landscaping projects around housing areas.
• In relation to sickness, the department lost 90 days to long term sick leave in January but this had decreased by March. Short term sickness has decreased month on month. One to one meetings are up to date after staff have returned from sick leave and Return to Work interviews took place on average three days after that staff member has returned to work.
• The performance indicators for dog fouling is 100%, graffiti removal is low because the jet wash is awaiting repair.

C Thorpe said at future meetings, he would like to focus on schemes that have happened in the last month of each quarter to ensure members are as up to date as possible.

Councillor Tindall referred to page 17 of the agenda and the 18 days sick leave for gastroenteritis. He was concerned about the potential of the infection spreading to other staff members and if the staff member picked up the illness from the work place or at home.

C Thorpe said the member of staff concerned had 65 days off sick due to complications with the infection.

Councillor Tindall asked if it was established where the illness was picked up.

C Thorpe said it was not medically established where it was picked up from or what it was.

Councillor Birnie asked if the sickness figures were an improvement on the previous year.

C Thorpe said there was a month on month improvement and also an improvement on last year.

Councillor Birnie asked if the 360 degree cameras were just to monitor abuse or to detect cyclists too.

C Thorpe said the refuse vehicles are now more complex and the cameras were mainly to fight insurance claims and prevent abuse towards staff from members of the public which unfortunately, is quite common.

Councillor Timmis asked about grass cutting on the A5 and was concerned that no one seemed to be taking responsibility. It is becoming a problem because the litter cannot be cleared because of the long grass and hedges.

C Thorpe said the road had been detrunked but is trying to get to the bottom of what it actually means and involves. Legal advice is being sought as it does not seem right that responsibility is passed to the local authority without any additional resources.

Councillor Timmis said the detrunking of the road means lorries can no longer use the road as a new route and junction has been added on the M1. It can’t just be left without anyone taking responsibility and she said she would be grateful if that could be resolved. In relation to fly tipping, Councillor Timmis suggested it would be cheaper to provide free tipping for building contractors instead of having to keep clearing the rubbish that is fly tipped.

C Thorpe said there are outlets for companies to dispose of their commercial waste provided by Herts County Council but they do charge.

Councillor Timmis said this was counterproductive as it is small business that need these services not large commercial companies.

C Thorpe said this was covered by Herts County Council not Dacorum Borough Council but there is an on-going project to investigate the reasons for fly tipping.

Councillor Timmis said it would be encouraging to hear the results from the project as this is a national problem.

Councillor Marshall said that fly tipping was on the work programme for the November meeting so a lot of these points will be covered then. It is important to consider that there are costs associated with disposing of fly tipped waste and also to find out what waste it is.

Councillor Howard asked C Thorpe to look at the points raised by members.

Councillor Fisher asked how dependant the department was on agency staff as 70 inductions seems like a large number and how many days do these staff work.

C Thorpe said they are fairly reliant on agency staff to cover sickness and annual leave. The department carries out inductions for a pool of agency staff to ensure they are trained so they have a good idea of what the work involves when they are needed. There are lots of agency staff trained because often, when the department requires agency staff, they are often posted elsewhere and are unavailable.

Councillor C Wyatt-Lowe asked why some of the risks on the operational risk register had incomplete signoffs.

D Austin said he would need to check as he was unsure why the system had picked up the wrong version.

Councillor G Sutton referred to residents leaving household waste being more common than fly tipping. The Council’s collection service should be publicised more widely. It costs just £75 for large household items and this could be an additional revenue stream.

Councillor Tindall echoed Councillor G Sutton’s comments and did not believe it was appropriate to offer a free service through ‘blackmail’. Councillor Tindall asked if the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) applied in cases of fly tipping and wondered if a brief survey could be undertaken to match the cost of enforcement against the income of fines as enhanced enforcement should pay for itself.

Councillor Hicks asked what CPC stood for.

C Thorpe said it was a Certificate of Professional Competence and is part of the continual training of LGV drivers.

Councillor Hicks asked what the opening times of the tips are.

C Thorpe said he did not know the definite times of all the tips but knows they close two days a week.

Councillor Hicks asked if a comparison could be done on the incidents of fly tipping compared to the opening times of the tips.

C Thorpe said fly tipping has increased since the opening hours have decreased.

Councillor Riddick said the council should be introducing deterrents. There was a situation in Kings Langley where a van stopped and dumped a substantial amount of rubbish, it was stopped but the offenders ran off. Should the council be confiscating vehicles of offenders to send out a strong message to others?

D Austin said this is the danger with the quarterly reports as there is a time lag. He said a van had recently been crushed for fly tipping offences and this should be publicised next week. One vehicle is currently being investigated for seven fly tipping offences in the borough and a prosecution case is being put forward. POCA does apply in fly tipping cases and this can be used alongside the new powers to issue higher Fixed Penalty Notices – five have been issued so far at £500 each. Duncan Jones of the Herts Waste Partnership also chairs the Herts Fly Tipping Committee that involves the police, landowners and local authorities and it might be helpful to invite him along to the committee meeting when fly tipping is to be discussed.

Councillor Riddick said it would be useful to take photographs of vehicles being crushed and publicise them. 

D Austin said it has been videoed and some local authorities have placed all the rubbish collected from fly tips in their town centres to highlight the issue.

Outcome

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