Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies received.

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, the Committee noted the termination of Councillors West and Mitchell and the appointment of Councillors Burnside and Clandon 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 Urgent Items of Business.

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.) 

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 Party Whip.

To receive as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 15 September 2022.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 15 September 2022, be received as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday, 18 October 2022.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Task and Finish Group, Community Improvements, including Community Orchards, held on 18 October 2022 and the actions contained therein, be noted and endorsed.

To receive as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday, 21 September 2022

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Task and Finish Group, Litter Clearance in West Lancashire including fly tipping and grot spots, held on 21 September 2022 and the actions contained therein, be noted and endorsed.

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 2^nd December 2022. A copy of the public speaking protocol and form to be completed is attached.

There were no items under this heading.

To consider the report of the Corporate Director of Housing, Transformation & Resources.

Consideration was given to the report of the Corporate Director of Housing, Transformation and Resources as contained on pages 117 to 140 of the Book of Reports, which presented the performance monitoring data for the quarter ended 30 September 2022.

The Performance Improvement Lead Officer provided an overview on the report performance, with specific focus on matters with a red or amber status.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the Councils performance against the Council Plan for the quarter ended 30 September 2022 be noted.

2.    That future monitoring reports be submitted to the Budget/Council Plan Committee.

To consider the report of the Corporate Director of Place and Community.

Consideration was given to the report of the Corporate Director of Place and Community as contained on pages 141 to 150 of the Book of Reports, which provides Members with an update on the progress made since the conclusion of the Committee's review 'Action on Climate Emergency, combined with Create/Designate Hedgehog and Wildlife areas in public parks/gardens across the Borough.

The Environmental Sustainability Manager gave an update to the Committee.

In discussion Members raised comments and questions in respect of:

·       Charging points across the UK being individual or standardised

·       Charging points with disability access

·       Criteria to decide where charging points are installed

·       Controls required to prevent short charging in order to gain free parking, taking up vital resources for those who genuinely need to charge their vehicle.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the progress on the actions and recommendations of the Committee be noted.

2.    That all remaining actions be amalgamated into the Climate Change Strategy Action Plan Strategy & Action Plan and reported to Executive Overview & Scrutiny Committee and Cabinet

To consider the report of the Corporate Director of Place & Community, and Legal & Democratic Services Manager

Consideration was given to the report of the Corporate Director of Place and Community and the Democratic Services Manager as contained on pages 151 to 168 of the Book of Reports, which highlighted to Members, areas recommended by Task & Finish Group for development of Community Orchards and seeks approval for Community Consultation around the areas identified, and approval for work to commence at sites which achieve 50%+ positive feedback from consultation

The Environmental Sustainability Manager gave an update to the Committee who agreed that the idea of community boards to give information on maintenance and variety of fruit trees, were a good idea.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the minutes of the Community Environmental Improvements, Including Community Orchards, Task and Finish Group Meetings held on the 18 October 2022 (Appendix 1 of the report) and 17 November 2022 (Appendix 2 of the report) be noted.

2.    That the areas recommended by the Task & Finish Group for potential development of Community Orchards, set out in paragraph 5.1 of the report, be endorsed.

3.    That approval from Cabinet be sought to carry out a Community Consultation around the shortlisted areas identified.

4.    That approval from Cabinet be sought to give Delegate Powers to the Corporate Director of Place & Community, to commence work on those proposed Community Orchard Sites, that receive a 50%+ positive feedback from consultation to enable Planting to commence within the appropriate season.

5.    That the principal of installing Information Boards at each of the Community Orchard sites, subject to budget provision, be endorsed.

To consider the report of the Corporate Director of Place and Community.

Consideration was given to the report of the Corporate Director of Place and Community as contained on pages 169 to 248 of the Book of Reports, which provides Members with an update on cleansing schedules for the borough.

The Clean and Green Operations Manager gave an update to the Committee.

In discussion Members raised comments and questions in respect of:

·       The phasing out of category D litter bins, to be replaced with dual bins which take both waste litter and dog waste.

·       Cameras on bin wagons to track waste and missed bin collections.

·       Education in local schools on the effects of littering.

·       Rights of Enforcement on council and public land

·       CCTV cameras installed in popular fly tipping areas and Enforcement of fixed penalty Notices.

RESOLVED: That the contents of the report and the overview of the deployment of cleansing schedules within West Lancashire, be noted.

There are no items under this heading.

There were no items under this heading.

There are no items under this heading.

There were no items under this heading.

Consideration was given to the Work Programme at page 249 of the Book of Reports.

RESOLVED: That the work programme be noted.