Agenda, decisions and minutes

At the Annual Meeting, Council determined that the Independent Alliance Group will chair this Committee.  The Committee is advised that Councillor Rosetta Dolphin is the Chair of the Committee for the municipal year.

That the appointment of Councillor Rosetta Dolphin as Chair of the Committee be noted.

It had been confirmed at the Annual Meeting of the County Council that the Chair of the Committee should come from the Independent Alliance Group. The Committee was advised that Councillor Rosetta Dolphin had been appointed to this role for the municipal year.

The Chair welcomed Councillor Andy Hughes to his first meeting of the Committee, and congratulated Councillor Glyn Banks and Katie Wilby on their new appointments.

RESOLVED:

That the appointment of Councillor Rosetta Dolphin as Chair of the Committee be noted.

To appoint a Vice-Chair for the Committee.

That Councillor David Evans be appointed Vice-Chair of the Committee.

Councillor Sean Bibby nominated Councillor David Evans as Vice-Chair of the Committee and was seconded by Councillor Joe Johnson.  There were no further nominations. On being put to the vote, this was carried.

RESOLVED:

That Councillor David Evans be appointed Vice-Chair of the Committee.

To receive any Declarations and advise Members accordingly.

None.

None.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 9 March 2021.

That the minutes be confirmed as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 9 March 2021 were approved, as moved and seconded by Councillors George Hardcastle and Paul Shotton.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes be confirmed as a correct record.

(a)       That the Forward Work Programme be approved;

(b)     That the Facilitator, in consultation with the Chair of the Committee be authorised to vary the Forward Work Programme between meetings, as the need arises; and

(c)     That the Committee notes the progress made in completing the outstanding actions.

The Facilitator presented the current Forward Work Programme and would liaise with the Chair and Chief Officers on items scheduled for July in order to accommodate the North Wales Economic Ambition Board Annual Report.  Members’ attention was drawn to the briefing session on recycling to be held later on the same date.

The Chief Executive said that in addition to Members submitting items for future meetings, the new Recovery Committee would assist Overview & Scrutiny Committees by identifying topics and risk areas for consideration, to help with the recovery phase.

The recommendations were moved and seconded by Councillors David Evans and Joe Johnson.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Forward Work Programme be approved;

(b)     That the Facilitator, in consultation with the Chair of the Committee be authorised to vary the Forward Work Programme between meetings, as the need arises; and

(c)     That the Committee notes the progress made in completing the outstanding actions.

(a)       That the actions of Streetscene in dealing with littering and fly tipping events be noted; and

(b)       That officers explore whether the Council could be granted powers for enforcement of litter caused by alcohol consumption in public places.

The Chief Officer (Streetscene & Transportation) introduced a report on the impact of littering and fly tipping events during the emergency situation, as requested by the Committee.  The report also included the agreed performance standards and enforcement responses.

In presenting the report, the Regulatory Services Manager referred to the impact of the emergency situation on the amount of waste collected from routine street cleansing and reported littering.  Whilst the Council could investigate fly tipping, it was unable to remove waste from privately owned land.  Information was also shared on enforcement and the focus on educating members of the public.  Although less Fixed Penalty Notices had been issued due to the emergency situation, proactive enforcement work continued with a number of fly tipping cases currently being progressed and various initiatives underway including partnership working.

The Chief Officer provided information on the Caru Cymru initiative across Wales to encourage collective community action to minimise environmental waste.  Fly tipping was a widespread issue with research analysis suggesting an increase of around 300% across the UK and was due to a range of factors.

The Chair suggested that a twice-yearly market stall could help to raise awareness of the team’s activities.

Councillor Paul Shotton asked about the provision of additional public litter bins and was informed that sites were assessed against criteria and that Members were able to contact their area co-ordinators with suggested locations.  The challenges in addressing fly tipping on private land would be raised at the next general enforcement all-Wales meeting to establish if any support was available from Welsh Government.  A separate response would be provided to Councillor Shotton on parking provision outside Wepre Park.

As suggested by the Chief Executive, officers agreed to circulate the waste bin location criteria to Members and Town/Community Council Clerks and consider a forward plan of approved requests for bins with deadlines for incoming requests to help manage orders.

Councillor David Evans commented on the data which was generated by reported incidents being recorded on the system, which officers confirmed included those from litter-picking groups.  Steps would be taken to ensure that cases referred directly to area coordinators by elected Members were also included.  The Chief Officer responded to comments on the collection of supermarket trolleys by cleansing teams and said that the team could consider ways of engaging with supermarkets to reduce such instances.

Councillor Evans asked about the potential for the Council to be given powers to enforce against littering from people drinking alcohol in public places which was a growing problem in some areas.  The Chief Executive said that options could be explored, noting that legal advice would need to be sought on whether these powers currently with the Police could be extended to Councils.  Councillor Evans proposed this as an additional recommendation and was seconded by Councillor Sean Bibby.

Following concerns raised by Councillor George Hardcastle about gully emptying, officers provided information on fleet provider arrangements and the teams responsible for waste collection and enforcement.  The Chief Officer (Planning, Environment & Economy)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

That the End of Year Performance Monitoring Report be noted.

The Chief Officers presented the end of year monitoring report to review year-end progress against their respective priorities set out in the Council’s Reporting Measures 2020/21 under the remit of the Committee.  It was reported that 67% of performance indicators had met or exceeded their targets.

Within Streetscene & Transportation, there were two indicators with a red status for current performance against target.  On the ongoing development of the Quality Bus Partnership, the results of a network review by Transport for Wales would be shared with the Committee when made available.  On repairs by utility contractors, despite a decrease in post-completion inspections during the period, the number undertaken was above the statutory requirement.

For Planning, Economy & Environment, the impact from the emergency situation on performance was evident, however some outturns were only marginally below the target.  The number of planning applications determined was improving as good progress was made on the backlog of work which had developed at the start of the emergency situation.

The recommendation was moved and seconded by Councillors Paul Shotton and Joe Johnson.

RESOLVED:

That the End of Year Performance Monitoring Report be noted.

That progress with the biodiversity strategy be supported.

The Chief Officer (Planning, Economy & Environment) introduced an update report on progress in delivering the biodiversity and resilience of ecosystems duty under Section 6 of the Environment (Wales) Act 2016.  The Council’s second biodiversity duty plan entitled ‘Supporting Nature in Flintshire’ detailed ongoing good work in delivering these objectives during the period 2020-2023.

The Access & Natural Environment Manager reported that 85% of actions being taken to deliver the six objectives were either completed or on target.  He spoke about the impact from the emergency situation on different work streams which required a change in the way of working.

The Committee was introduced to Sarah Slater, the Biodiversity Officer, who shared presentation slides covering:

·         Investment in cut and collect machinery

·         Non chemical weed control and cleaning

·         Wildflower campaign

The Biodiversity Officer acknowledged the Chair’s suggestion on the coastal path as a location for the wildflower campaign and said that sites were assessed against various criteria.  She welcomed further suggestions from Members via email.

In response to comments from Councillor Glyn Banks, the Chief Officer (Planning, Economy & Environment) provided information on carbon storage projects including the appointment of Alex Ellis to explore options with Council owned assets.  The Biodiversity Officer spoke about investment in Foamstream chemical-free weed control system which was also used by other services across the Council.

The recommendation was moved and seconded by Councillors Paul Shotton and Joe Johnson.

RESOLVED:

That progress with the biodiversity strategy be supported.

(a)          That the requirements of the Socio-economic Duty be noted; and

(b)          That the Committee is assured of the Council’s preparedness in meeting the new duty.

The Strategic Policy Advisor introduced a report on the Council’s preparations for the commencement of the socio-economic duty.  This was a statutory requirement upon relevant public bodies to have due regard to the need to reduce inequalities of outcomes resulting from socio-economic disadvantage.  The report was being shared with all Overview & Scrutiny Committees to raise awareness of the new obligations.

The Strategic Policy Advisor and Benefits Manager gave a joint presentation covering the following:

·         What is the Socio-economic Duty and what does it do?

·         Key terms

·         Inequalities of outcomes

·         Examples of poverty

·         Demonstrating due regard - audit trail

·         Meeting the duty - what we are doing

·         Better outcomes

·         Case study

The overall aim of the duty was to deliver better outcomes to people experiencing socio-economic disadvantage by listening to those individuals and demonstrating due regard.  The legislation linked with various work streams to tackle poverty which was identified as one of the priorities within the Council Plan.  The Corporate Resources Overview & Scrutiny Committee would be leading on the whole Council Plan poverty theme and would receive regular reports.

Councillor Vicky Perfect welcomed the initiatives to address food poverty, particularly those helping pupils during school holidays.

In response to a question from Councillor Paul Shotton, the Benefits Manager provided information on Welsh Government financial support to tackle food poverty and a joint initiative between the Council and NEWydd Catering & Cleaning Ltd on a referral scheme to provide support to families in need.

Councillor Patrick Heesom welcomed the work being undertaken to manage social changes in society.

The recommendations were moved and seconded by Councillors Joe Johnson and David Evans.

RESOLVED:

(a)          That the requirements of the Socio-economic Duty be noted; and

(b)          That the Committee is assured of the Council’s preparedness in meeting the new duty.

There were no members of the press in attendance.