Agenda item

E Walker introduced the item to the committee and ran through the main highlights:

-       53.3% of A-C food inspections have been completed in Q1. There has been successful recruitment in the department at the beginning of Q2 so this should improve.

-       The Corporate Health and Safety team has been working on 12  work streams to improve management of health and safety risks.

-       The enforcement team has served two prohibition notices

-       There are continuing investigations into two accidents in the borough

-       The Environmental Protection and Housing Team Leader post has been filled.

-       A vehicle has been seized for fly tipping offences and has been crushed.

-       The dog warden was involved in an animal welfare case where the owners licence has been revoked and the 100 rabbits affected have all been found new homes.

Councillor Riddick referred to paragraph 3.2 and the two major accidents that the department is investigating. He asked what happened in these cases.
E Walker said one accident involved someone slipping and suffering a fractured pelvis and the second one involved a large heavy gate falling on an employee and they suffered crushing injuries.

Councillor Birnie asked about the enforcement investigation into a staircase at a public house.
E Walker said a member of the public complained about the staircase being rotten. It was investigated by officers and they confirmed it was rotten. Repairs were carried out in 2-3 days.
Councillor Birnie asked if the department only acts on complaints from members of the public.
E Walker said there is a work plan to carry out pro-active inspections but they are limited in their scope.
Councillor Anderson said this topic had come up in last week’s Member Development session and thanked E Walker for a great presentation.

Councillor Matthews asked about the seized vehicle. He asked if the vehicle had been dumped as part of the fly tipping.
E Walker said the vehicle was being used to fly tip.

Councillor Timmis referred to the action taken by the dog warden and asked what establishment it was.
E Walker said it was a home for rabbits and there were 100 rabbits living there full time.

Councillor Riddick referred back to the seized vehicle which has come up previously at this committee. He asked if this case will be given a high profile to get the message out there that the Council will not accept fly tipping.
E Walker said she believed there had been a couple of press releases but the case is still ongoing.
M Parr said agencies have worked together to produce a video of the vehicle being crushed which will be released to the public.

Councillor Riddick referred to paragraph 4.4 and said he had been deeply involved in the noise complaints from Bovingdon Airfield. He asked if E Walker could confirm that officers were staying on top of technical information and data. Councillor Riddick said he was being contacted regularly from constituents who believe they are not getting anywhere.
E Walker said officers are working hard to get all the data that is necessary.

Outcome

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