Venue: Via Microsoft Teams
No. | Item |
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Minutes: Members
were presented with a draft strategy on stabilisation, the period between
response and recovery, following the COVID 19 outbreak. The strategy set out a
general framework that would support a consistent and co-ordinated approach as
the Council moved towards recovery. It was noted that the draft strategy was
being presented to all Scrutiny Committees for comments before presentation to
Cabinet on 30th July 2020 for approval. Officers
gave a brief overview of the content of the strategy, explaining that it was
split into three sections which consisted of looking back at what the Council
did during the response phase of the crisis, looking forward as the UK moved
out of the response phase and a road map of actions. When
looking back at what the Council did during the response phase, it was
highlighted that a number of key actions were undertaken including setting up a
seven day a week communication service so that guidance from UK Government,
Welsh Government and Public Health Wales could be sent out as and when it was
available. It was added that the Council closed down services to assist in
reducing the spread of the virus and changed the way some critical services
operated in order to operate safely, for example the refuse service. Officers
mentioned that the first part of the strategy also set out the changes that
were made in relation to leadership and governance, including the use of the
Urgency Action provision set out in the Constitution, to ensure that key
decisions were still being taken during the response phase. The
second part of the strategy was explained to Members, which consisted of
looking forward as the UK moved out of response phase into a stabilisation
period which is the stage before moving into the recovery phase. It was
explained that there were three areas identified as a focus as the Council
moved forward: 1.
The Test, Trace and Protect Programme 2.
Standing up of Council services and functions 3.
Understand and respond to the effect and impact that the virus has had on
citizens, organisations and businesses across Neath Port Talbot It
was added that the second part also set out the changes required to be made in
terms of leadership and governance, as well as some of the risks and issues
identified that will need to managed as the Council goes through the
implementation of the strategy. The
third part of the strategy was presented as a road map of actions which was
framed on the basis of a traffic light system, which set out how to move from a
position of total lockdown, through the traffic light system, to a position
where services are back up and running. It was noted that a number of services
on the road map fall within the remit of the Streetscene
and Engineering Scrutiny Committee including
transport, parking fees, parking enforcement and refuse and recycling. Members asked how long the Llandarcy Field Hospital would be in situ, to which it was ... view the full minutes text for item 1. |
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Streetcare - Current Service Delivery & Recovery Planning PDF 117 KB Minutes: Members
were provided with an overview of the current service position in Streetcare and how service delivery was proceeding as the
Council moved towards the recovery phase from the coronavirus emergency. Officers
presented the Committee with a graph of COVID related absence in the Streetcare service area, contained within Appendix A of the
circulated report. It was highlighted that COVID related absences were required
to be recorded and collated on a weekly basis, which Officers had been doing
since 13 March 2020. The graph illustrated how the COVID absences had varied
and in particular, how the rate of absences was progressing towards the end of
March before lockdown was then introduced. As evident in the graph, it was
stated that the biggest element associated with COVID absences for Streetscare was those shielding which now made up the
majority of absences. However, it was noted that the next review for those
shielding was due on 16 August 2020, with letters due to be sent out the week
before that, which would provide a better understanding of the impact. Following
this, the Committee was presented with the Streetcare
service delivery position, contained within Appendix B of the circulated
report, which covered the A-Z of services within the Streetcare
remit. Officers briefly went through some of the comments on the existing
status and updated Members where necessary. In
relation to beach cleansing, it was mentioned that the service was operating as
normal, however more resources were being utilised as the service was trying to
keep up with the clearing up of waste due to more people were visiting the
beach and not disposing of their rubbish. Members
were informed that the recycling centres opened on 26 May 2020 with a booking
system introduced in which the public could book a 15 minute time slot to drop
off their recycling. It was noted that the system was working very well, and
that other Councils across Wales were thinking of keeping their booking systems
in place for the future. Officers highlighted that Neath Port Talbot Council
could also look into keeping their booking system in place. The
Committee were made aware that the £1million street lighting project was going
ahead, in which more LED lighting would be introduced and the high energy
consumption lights would be removed. It was mentioned the contract started the
week commencing 13 July 2020 and the contractor had started to complete the
electrical testing before lights start to be replaced. It
was highlighted that recycling and waste collection was an area that the Streetcare service had prioritised, with staff working very
hard over the lockdown period to keep the service going and to deal with the
increase of waste and recycling that had been generated. Stores
and purchasing was mentioned to have played an important role in helping with
PPE and equipment, not only for the Environment Directorate but also assisting
other areas across the Council. Officers explained that tree maintenance had an additional service pressure to cut back overgrown ... view the full minutes text for item 2. |
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Engineering and Transport- Current Service Delivery & Recovery Planning PDF 340 KB Minutes: Members were provided
with an overview of current service provision across the Engineering and
Transport Service and how the service will look and function as the Council
moves into the recovery phase. Across the five service areas,
it was stated the Highway Development Control (HDC) and Passenger Transport and
Home to School Transport were fully enabled to effectively carry on as normal
as far as being able to deal with correspondence and day to day operations,
following the announcement of the closing of offices. In regards to the
Highway Development Control team, it was noted that they had progressed with
some planning applications that had been dealt with during the lockdown period
and the SAB (SuDs Approval Body) that went live
earlier this year had initially been slow in the uptake, but work is now
progressing in that area. It was added that all risk assessments were in place
for necessary site visits to enable SAB applications to move forward. Officers highlighted
that staff, particularly the Structures team, had been heavily involved with
responding to the three recent storm events, including storm Dennis. Following
this, a great deal of inspections were undertaken of Neath Port Talbots
structures and bridges. It was noted that one bridge in Blaengwrach was
severely affected by structural damage, however following Cabinets support of
its replacement, the new bridge was now in fabrication and work was underway
for it to be completed by the end of summer. It was explained to
Members that some areas within the Road Safety and Business Performance were
affected by the results of COVID 19, mainly due to the closure of schools.
Officers stated that a lot of the training programmes were delayed and staff
had to re-think how they could move forward with the programs; however,
programmes were now being developed that would be delivered online via the hub
and classrooms talks completed via whiteboard technology through Microsoft
Teams. Dave Griffiths, the Head of Engineering and Transport, gave thanks to
their links with Education and IT, as they have helped to maintain important
training programmes for young people. Members were informed of
the new cycle to work scheme that was launched at the beginning of July, in
which the uptake had been very good. It was mentioned that around 73 people had
taken up the opportunity of purchasing bikes through the scheme (33 electric
and over 40 traditional bikes ordered) with both Members and Officers within
the Council, taking up the benefits of the scheme. It was added that there
would be a training programme delivered over the summer so people can learn how
to ride a bike. In terms of business performance, it was noted that some employees within the area had been deployed into Track and Trace service to support the workload and that a number of new ICT driven arrangements had been introduced; due to the positive outcomes of these new arrangements, it was stated that the business and secretarial teams were going to be reviewed ... view the full minutes text for item 3. |