Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies of absence for this meeting.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Streetscene Policy Development and Review Panel held on 6 September 2018.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Streetscene Policy Development and Review Panel held on 6 September 2018 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

The Chairman announced that the annual recycling leaflets, containing information about the Christmas Refuse and Recycling Collections have now been delivered to households across the Borough. She reminded members that the calendars are split between East and West so when talking to residents regarding this please ensure that the resident has the correct calendar for their area.

To receive any declarations of interest from members in accordance with Standing Orders and the Council’s Code of Conduct and disclosures of advice or directions received from Group Leaders or Political Groups, in accordance with the Council’s Constitution.

There were no declarations of interest made at this meeting.

To receive any deputations of which notice has been received.

There were no deputations made at this meeting.

To receive a presentation by the Head of Democratic Services which outlines the role and functions of the new Scrutiny Panel.

The Panel received a presentation from the Head of Democratic Services which provided an introduction to the newly formed Streetscene Scrutiny Panel, and outlined the role and function of this new Panel. (The presentation is attached as Appendix A to these minutes).

At the invitation of the Chairman, Councillor S D Martin, Executive Member for Streetscene, and Councillor Mrs T L Ellis addressed the Panel on this item.

In addition to the presentation members were asked to consider the items of business that they felt would be relevant for the Panel to consider over the next 5 years, which would be added onto the Scrutiny Priorities list. These items would be driven by the Council’s Corporate Strategy which currently runs from 2017-2023.

Members were directed to the Corporate Priorities that fall within the remit of the Streetscene Portfolio. Members put forward the following topics for consideration on the Scrutiny Priorities:

·         Tax Relief on Public Toilets – Will this affect Fareham Borough Council and if so could this saving be used for grounds maintenance, for example weed killing treatment?

·         Recycling Rate – Could this be improved by the Introduction of kerbside Glass Collection?

·         Refuse Collection – Could there be a report examining how other authorities manage waste collection, to see if there are ways in which Fareham could improve this service?

·         Changes to the Materials Recovery Facility and the Energy Recovery Facility and how this would impact on local authorities.

·         Recycling Confusion – What are the issues and how can this be better reported to residents.

·         Dog Fouling – What are the main issues and how can these be resolved. Are there enough Enforcement Officers in place to be able to deal with this ongoing issue? How can the Council better educate repeat offenders to prevent this from happening in the future?

·         Fly Tipping – What measures could the Council put in place to try to prevent this from happening.

·         Titchfield Country Park – Do we have enough Countryside Rangers to be able to maintain this country park alongside the others that are already managed by the Council?

·         Hedge Cutting – Now this service has been brought back in house, how is operating, is it performing better now than when it was contracted out? How does it compare cost wise, has there been any savings?

·         Graffiti – Are we hitting our Service Level Agreements?

·         Speed Tracking for Council Vehicles – Have we considered using this on the Council’s fleet, it has been proven via other companies to not only prevent accidents but to also reduce fuel consumption.

·         Grounds Maintenance – What are the challenges and priorities for the team, how is the service performing, how has the Vanguard intervention changed the service?

RESOLVED that the Chairman and Head of Streetscene discuss suggestions made by Members and work them into the new Scrutiny Priorities Plan.

To consider any item of business dealt with by the Executive since the last meeting of the Panel, that falls under the remit of the Streetscene Portfolio. This will include any decisions taken by individual members during the same time period.

The Panel considered the Executive items of business which fall under the remit of the Streetscene Portfolio, including Individual Executive Member decisions, that have taken place since the last meeting of the Scrutiny Board on 4 June 2018.

The Panel considered the decisions shown as item 7 (1) of the agenda.

RESOLVED that the Streetscene Scrutiny Panel considered the following items of Executive Business:

No comments were received.

To provide an opportunity for Members to consider the scrutiny priorities for the Streetscene Panel.

The Panel considered this item in conjunction with Minute Item 6 (Introduction to the Streetscene Scrutiny Panel).