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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, 52 Derby Street, Ormskirk, L39 2DF

Contact: Julia Brown 

Items
No. Item

1.

APOLOGIES

Minutes:

The Chairman made introductions and welcomed new Members to the Committee.

 

There were no apologies for absence received.

 

2.

MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMITTEE

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

Minutes:

There were no changes to Membership of the Committee.

3.

URGENT BUSINESS, IF ANY, INTRODUCED BY THE CHAIRMAN

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.

Minutes:

There were no items of urgent business.

4.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST pdf icon PDF 299 KB

If a member requires advice on Declarations of Interest, he/she is advised to contact the Legal and Democratic Services Manager 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.) 

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

5.

DECLARATIONS OF A PARTY WHIP

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.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of Party Whip.

6.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 405 KB

To receive as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 11 March 2021.

Minutes:

RESOLVED:That the Minutes of the meeting held on 11 March 2021 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

7.

PUBLIC SPEAKING pdf icon PDF 180 KB

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 4 June 2021. A copy of the public speaking protocol and form to be completed is attached.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no items under this heading.

8.

ITEMS FROM THE MEMBERS' UPDATE INCLUDED ON THE AGENDA AT THE REQUEST OF A MEMBER

There are no items under this heading.

Minutes:

There were no items under this heading.

9.

MEMBERS ITEMS / CCfA (COUNCILLOR CALL FOR ACTION)

There are no items under this heading.

Minutes:

There were no items under this heading.

10.

CORPORATE PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (Q4 2020/21) pdf icon PDF 594 KB

To consider the report of the Corporate Director of Transformation and Resources.

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the report of the Corporate Director of Transformation and Resources as contained on pages 15 to 32 of the Book of Reports, which presented the performance monitoring data for the quarter ended 31 March 2021.

 

The Partnership and Performance Officer provided an update on the latest key performance indicators and informed Members that performance had been consistent.

 

She explained that the performance indicator WL132-c19 – working days lost due to sickness absence per average FTE had recently been included for COVID absences, although these are not included in the QPI 'count'.

 

She also explained that ICT data given was up to February, this was to the point of transfer from BTLS to LCC Digital Services.

 

A question was raised in respect of WL85a Website: no. visits, as to how this performance indicator is measured.  The Partnership and Performance Officer explained that this is measured by each seperate visit to the website.

 

RESOLVED: That the Council's performance against the indicator set for the quarter ended 31 March 2021 be noted.

 

11.

ACTION ON CLIMATE EMERGENCY REVIEW pdf icon PDF 2 MB

To receive a Presentation on the Climate Emergency Consultation.

Minutes:

The Environmental Strategy Officer and Head Ranger provided the Committee with a Presentation in respect of a Climate Emergency Consultation which was launched on 14 May 2021 until 30 May 2021.

 

Members were informed that PR was undertaken for the launch and that Community Groups known to the Council were also encouraged to promote.  She explained that the Consultation tied in with the four areas linked into the Climate Emergency Action Plan 2030; Renewable Energy Generation; Waste Reduction Strategy; Developing/Supporting Biodiversity Projects and the Development of Water Management Strategies.

 

The Presentation provided information, which included the following:

·         Results – 123 responses

·         86% very concerned / fairly concerned about Climate Change

·         Areas currently taking action to reduce impact on the Environment – 93% recycle and reduce waste, examples included; home compost, litter picking, allotment, vegan/ vegetarian diet

·         Community Group Action - 48 interested in being involved

·         Rewilding/wildlife friendly planting - majority would like to see this delivered in the Community, followed by generating renewable energy and tree planting

·         The considered top priority for reducing emissions from homes was Generating renewable energy and insulating buildings

·         Green Homes Grant CHiL Scheme – 32 would like details of the Scheme

·         Renewable Energy Generation – It was considered by the majority that it would be helpful to receive more information in respect of the Community Group purchasing scheme. (details/data to be placed on the Councils website)

·         44% would like to be involved in a Community Energy Project in West Lancashire

·         Transport is the highest source of emissions in West Lancashire – 32 new vehicle charge points have been fitted in Ormskirk and Skelmersdale

·         The main considerations for people to be more likely to consider an electric vehicle in the future were being convenient / prominent electric vehicle charging infrastructure in communities / Home electric vehicle charging/ more information and details of the running costs

·         Waste reduction – More information on product packaging; buy local and seasonal; donation of unwanted items; work with businesses on credentials; work with Community/Schools

·         Biodiversity – areas to prioritise including tree planting; habitat protection; reduced mowing regime; natural woodland/wildlife corridors; water conservation measures

·         77% support reduced mowing regime in open spaces to encourage wildflower regeneration

·         49% interested in helping with a community planting or biodiversity/habitat creation project

 

The Environmental Strategy Officer listed numerous other areas of interest raised as a result of the Consultation, some of which included food waste/compost collection, cycling infrastructure and litter picking. 

 

Questions and comments were raised in respect of the following:

·         Public information on meadows and locations

·         If there was a breakdown of the Consultation by Ward

·         Varieties of crops on fields for bees

·         Accredited companies / schemes for renewable energy

·         Tree planting in Wards/ residential areas (appropriate species)

·         Recycling education and promotion

·         Community Action / Citizen Assembly

·         Behavioural change

 

The Environmental Strategy Officer outlined the next steps identified following the Consultation:

 

·         To provide further information to the interested households of details of the Cosy Homes in Lancashire Scheme (CHiL) and encourage to take up free  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

12.

PROJECT PLAN - Action on Climate Emergency pdf icon PDF 331 KB

To consider and agree the Project Plan.

Minutes:

The Draft Project Plan as circulated on pages 33 to 38 of the Book of Reports was considered by the Committee.

 

RESOLVED: That the Draft Project Plan be noted.

13.

WORK PROGRAMME OF THE COMMITTEE pdf icon PDF 194 KB

To consider the 2021/22 Work Programme of the Committee.

Minutes:

RESOLVED: That the 2021/22 Work Programme of the Committee be noted.