Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received on behalf of Councillor Pryce-Roberts.

To be apprised of any changes to the membership of the Committee in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 4.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 4, Members noted the termination of membership of Councillors Currie, G Hodson, Lockie and C Marshall and the appointment of Councillors D Westley, R Cooper, S Evans, Mrs Westley respectively, for this meeting only, thereby giving effect to the wishes of the political groups.

Note:  No other business is permitted unless, by reasons of special circumstances, which shall be specified at the meeting, the Chairman is of the opinion that the item(s) should be considered as a matter of urgency.

There were no items under this heading.

If a member requires advice on Declarations of Interest, he/she is advised to contact the Borough Solicitor in advance of the meeting.  (For the assistance of members a checklist for use in considering their position any particular item is included at the end of this agenda sheet.) 

There were no declarations of interest.

In accordance with Overview and Scrutiny Committee Procedure Rule 16, Members must declare the existence of any Party Whip, and the nature of it, when considering any matter in the following categories:

-        The review of any decision of Cabinet or

-        The performance of any Member of the Cabinet

N.B. The Secretary of State believes whipping is incompatible with Overview and Scrutiny.

There were no declarations of a party whip.

To receive as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on Thursday, 11 October 2018.

RESOLVED:     That the Minutes of the Meeting held on the 11 October 2018 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman, subject to Councillor Blake being recorded in the list of apologies and minute 29 (A)(iii) being amended to read: 'Director of Development and Regeneration'.

Residents of West Lancashire, on giving notice, may address the meeting to make representations on any item on the agenda except where the public and press are to be excluded during consideration of the item.  The deadline for submissions is 10.00am on Friday, 30 November 2018.  A copy of the public speaking protocol and form to be completed is attached.

There were no items under this heading.

The Chairman advised that a press release providing details of items being considered at future meetings would be circulated in advance of future meetings, which was aimed at encouraging public participation.

To consider the follow item included on the agenda at the request of a Member:

Consideration was given to the following item included on the agenda at the request of a Member:

To consider an item included on the agenda by Councillor Paul Cotterill.

Consideration was given to an item included on the agenda by Councillor Paul Cotterill, as contained on pages 77 to 78 of the Book of Reports, in relation to a Meeting with officers on Firswood Road planning issues.

The Director of Development and Regeneration provided an update in respect of the matter and details of the process and actions undertaken in respect of the particular planning application.

Comments and questions were raised in respect of the following:

• The role of Members
• The Member/Officer protocol
• Member Induction

RESOLVED:   That the item raised be noted and the matter of ensuring that Members are clear on their roles, be referred to the Member Development Commission, with a view to including in the Induction process for new Members.

There are no items under this heading.

There were no items under this heading.

To consider the report of the Director of Housing and Inclusion.

Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Housing and Inclusion, as contained on pages 79 to 94 of the Book of Reports, which presented the performance monitoring data for the quarter ended 30 September 2018.

Comments and questions were raised in respect of the following:

• WL18 – Use of leisure and cultural facilities (swims and visits)
• R1 - % of Council Tax collected
• WL90 - % of Contact Centre calls answered
• NI192 – Percentage of household waste sent for reuse, recycling and composting

RESOLVED:     That the Council's performance against the indicator set for the quarter ended 30 September 2018, be noted.

To receive an update from Michelle Williams, Operations Manager Street Scene, following a topic submitted by Councillor Nicola Pryce-Roberts.

This item was deferred until the next meeting.

To consider the report of the Director of Housing and Environment (Lead Officer).

Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Leisure and Environment (Lead Officer), as contained on pages 95 to 102 of the Book of Reports, which presented the draft final report and recommendations following a review entitled 'Community Involvement in Service Delivery'.

RESOLVED:   That the draft final report, attached as an Appendix, and the recommendations therein at paragraph 1 to 4, page 3, be approved, subject to some minor amendments to the introduction, and the final report be submitted to Cabinet on 15 January 2019.

Consideration was given to the following 2 items following the decision of the Committee to undertake a review entitled  ‘Litter Bin Policy’:

To receive a presentation from the Director of Leisure and Environment.

The Committee received a presentation from Michelle Williams, Operations Manager, Street Scene, which outlined the current provision of litter bins across the borough and the aim of the review, in particular:

1.     That litter bins are currently provided by 3 different services across the Council:

·       Street Scene Services

·       Leisure Services

·       Town Centre Management Team within Development & Regeneration

2.     That all servicing of litter bins is undertaken by Street Scene

3.     That in relation to Dog Waste Bins:

·       In February 2016, Council agreed to remove dog waste bins across the Borough and promote the use of litter bins for disposal of dog waste

·       No specific programme of removal was devised or funds allocated

·       Stickers were applied to existing litter bins to promote dual usage

4.     That a Service Review had identified that a litter bin strategy was needed.

5.     That as part of the review, the Committee would consider:

• The Scope of the review
• Location criteria for litter bin installations
• Style and size of litter bins
• Centralised management of litter bin provision within the Council
• Innovation opportunities e.g. bins containing fill level sensors and compaction bins
• Educational strategies e.g. Nudge theories
• Future budget provision

6.     That future meetings would consider:

·         The outcome of the condition survey

·         Installation criteria

·         Differing styles of bins

·         Demonstrations of litter bin innovations

RESOLVED:   That the presentation be noted and the scope of the review be endorsed.

The Committee considered the draft project plan for the review, as contained on pages 105 to 108 of the Book of Reports.

RESOLVED: That project plan be approved.

To consider and note the work being undertaken by the Member Development Commission.

Consideration was given to the Notes of the Member Development Commission meeting held on 20 September 2018, as contained on pages 109 to 112 of the Book of Reports.

RESOLVED:   That the Notes of the Member Development Commission meeting held on 20 September 2018, be noted.

To consider the Committee's future work programme.

Consideration was given to the Committee's future work programme, as contained on pages 113 to 114 of the Book of Reports.

RESOLVED: That the future work programme be noted.