Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence 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 Councillor M Blake and the appointment of Councillor P Baybutt 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 9 December 2021.

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting held on 9 December 2021 be received as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

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 March 2022. A copy of the public speaking protocol and form to be completed is attached.

There were no items under this heading.

There are no items under this heading.

There were no items under this heading.

The following Members item submitted at the request of Councillor A Owens:

Performance in Council Tax Department.

A Members item was submitted in respect of 'Performance in Council Tax Department'.  A written response to this matter was provided and previously circulated to Members of the Committee.

RESOLVED: That the response be noted and that no further action is required.

To consider a presentation from a representative of West Lancashire Community Safety Partnership (CSP).

A presentation was received from the Environmental Health Manager and Community Safety Officer on behalf of the West Lancashire Community Safety Partnership (CSP).  The presentation was supported by a series of slides, the aim of which was to provide the Committee with details of the role and function of the CSP:

• The CSP Vision and Overview
• CSP Partners
• How CSP is funded
• What CSP delivers
• Covid-19-Community Safety Team adapted delivery
• Work undertaken through Multi-Agency -Six Responsible Authorities and Contributions from other Partner Agencies
• Summary of external funding 2021/22
• An overview of crime figures
• CPS Projects Delivered 2021/22:
• Bright Sparx Action Plan
• Welcome Week Action Plan
• New Work Stream – Co-ordination of Domestic Homicide Review
• PSPO for Pimbo Industrial Estate – Consultation
• CS Team worked in partnership with LCC to develop and agree the Lancashire Strategic Assessment and West Lancashire Local Profile

In discussion Members raised comments and questions in respect of motorcycle nuisance, including reports of motorcycle nuisance on the playing fields to the rear of Lathom High School and Our Lady Queen of Peace High School in Skelmersdale.

The Community Safety Officer Informed Members that he would contact the School Head teachers to establish if the issues are being reported to the Police.  He also emphasised that community intelligence is key to addressing this issue to establish where the bikes are stored, so that appropriate action can be taken.

He also advised that he would check and confirm if 'Op Rider' was the best route for residents to report motorcycle nuisance.  He undertook to liaise with the Councils Communications Team to support the Police in promoting this gateway for the reporting of motorcycle nuisance.

The Environmental Health Manager and Community Safety Officer responded to further questions in respect of the following:

·         Funding for Bicycles - Burscough Town Council - PSPO

·         Unauthorised 'car meet-ups'

·         Thanks for effective work on the 'Bright Sparx' Plan

·         Promotion / publication of the work of CSP

·         Deliberate fires / response and out of hours services

On behalf of the Committee, the Chairman thanked the Environmental Health Manager and Community Safety Officer for the presentation.

RESOLVED:  That the Presentation be noted.

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

Consideration was given to the report of the Corporate Director of Transformation and Resources as contained on pages 263 to 290 which was to present the performance monitoring data for the quarter ended 31 December 2021.

The Partnership and Performance Officer outlined the report, referring to Appendix A, detailing the quarterly performance in delivery of the Council Plan. She also informed that Performance Plans are prepared for those performance

indicators where performance falls short of the target by 5% or more for this

quarter, as detailed at Appendix B.

She informed Members of updates to Appendix A as follows:

·         Review fees and charges across all council services Fees and Charges report prepared for submission to Council – achieved in February.

·         Consider the merits of all service options to ensure value for money is achieved – It was confirmed that the Revenues & Benefits Customer Access Service was successfully returned from Lancashire County Council on 1 March.

·         Create innovative ways to listen to different community views - a specific Tenant Hub is now launched, as well as an internal Staff Hub launched in January.

·         The Environmental Sustainability Manager and Climate Change Officer posts have now been advertised that will support the climate change work.

·         Support recovery and growth of existing and new businesses – reached over £40m in business grants awarded since the start of the pandemic.

·         Deliver our people strategy with Council staff that results in a continuously improving culture – Staff Awards held on 9 March

A Comment was raised by a Member in respect of the following:

·         'Support businesses to adapt and prosper' and 'Become a Greener West Lancashire' KPI's - how these interrelate and can have a 'knock on' effect.

·         Support for businesses in respect of electric vehicles and solar panels.

RESOLVED:That the Council’s performance against the Council Plan for the quarter ended 31 December 2021 be noted.

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

Consideration was given to the report of the Corporate Director of Transformation and Resources as contained on pages 291 to 316 of the Book of Reports, which was to consider the recommendations of the Topic Scoring Panel held on 22 February 2022 and additional recommendations from Council held on 23 February for Task & Finish Groups.

The Head of Corporate and Customer Services outlined the details of the scoring exercise process undertaken as contained at Appendix A.  She explained that Council held on 23 February presented recommendations to the Committee for Task & Finish Groups as detailed in paragraph 2.3 of the report. 

She informed the Committee that if both topics as recommended at paragraph 2.2 of the report in addition to the Council recommendations, would involve resource implications, this was due to the topics falling under the one Service area and to also enable the delivery of effective outcomes.

In discussion Members agreed for the selection of Topic 9 – Litter clearance in Skelmersdale and other areas, however, wished for the title of this review to be entitled 'Litter clearance in West Lancashire, including 'fly-tipping' and 'grot spots' to encompass the whole of the Borough and inclusion of issues with fly-tipping and grot spots.

The following comments and questions were raised:

·         Members felt that both topics 4 & 9 were equally important, and each held its own merits

·         Resource implications

·         Membership of Task & Finish Groups

·         Terms of Reference / Remit of Task & Finish Groups

·         Examples of how similar LA's Task & Finish Groups work.

RESOLVED:

A.        That the results of the scoring exercise (Appendix A) undertaken by the Panel be noted and endorsed.

B.        That the following topic recommended by the Panel be selected for review by a Task & Finish Group in 2022/23, be approved:

"Litter clearance in West Lancashire, including 'fly-tipping' and 'grot spots'"

C.        That Task & Finish Groups requested by Council at its meeting held on 23 February 2022 be established in respect of:

·         Community Environmental Improvements, including community orchards

·         Shop Front Improvements

D.        That the actions identified in Appendix A be approved in respect of those topics not selected for review and an update report on what action has been taken in respect of these suggestions, be reported to the Committee in September 2022.

E.        That a press release be prepared and issued to inform local residents of the chosen review topic(s) selected for review by Task & Finish Groups and the actions identified in Appendix A, in respect of those topics not selected for review.

F.        That a presentation on the selected topic be provided and a draft Project Plan for the review be prepared for the first meeting of Task & Finish Group.

G.        That the Work Programme for the Corporate and Environmental Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the established Task & Finish Groups, as set out in paragraph 4.6, subject to any amendments agreed by the Committee, be confirmed and included on the Council’s web site.

            "‘Corporate and Environmental Overview and Scrutiny Committee'

            The Committee considers, as part of its  ...  view the full minutes text for item 56.

The Committee considered the Work Programme 2022/23 as contained on pages 317 to 318 of the Book of Reports.

The Head of Corporate and Customer Services explained that in relation to the 'Annual Report of BT Lancashire Services', that the Revenues and Benefits Service returned in-house from BTLS on 31 March 2021, and informed that we now have a collaboration with LCC for ICT, and as such, it was requested that this item be removed from the Committee Work Programme.

She also informed that the item 'West Lancashire Leisure Annual Report' shall continue to be shared with the Committee.

She informed the Committee that in relation to the item, Review of Public Conveniences - 'one hit item' that work is currently being undertaken in respect of costings and options, and that a report would now be provided to the June 2022 or September 2022 meeting of the Committee.

RESOLVED:

That the 2022/23 Work Programme of the Committee be agreed subject to:

1.    The 'Annual Report of BT Lancashire Services' be removed from the 2022/23 Committee Work Programme.

2.    The 'West Lancashire Leisure Annual Report' shall remain on the 2022/23 Committee Work Programme.

3.    The Review of Public Conveniences 'one hit item' be presented to the June 2022 or September 2022 meeting of the Committee.