Agenda item
Streetcare - Update on Services highlighted on the Forward Work Programme
Minutes:
The Committee
was presented with a report covering the topics Members requested an update on
following their recent Streetscene and Engineering Forward Work Programme
Workshop; those topics included waste and recycling, review of potential to
extend the use of public space protection orders (PSPOs) and cemeteries.
Waste and
Recycling
It was queried
whether the bulk collection service could reinstate the second vehicle that was
temporarily added to the service as there was currently a demand for bulk
collection and the additional vehicle assisting could potentially decrease the
issue of fly tipping. Officers stated that one vehicle had been adequate
previously however due to the temporary suspension of the service between the months
of March and May, there was a backlog of demand on the service that needed to
be dealt with; the pressures on the service including dealing with Covid 19
related absences and the backlog of demand, meant that the service temporarily
had extra crew assisting in the bulk collection. It was highlighted that before
taking on more staff, vehicles and a permanent budget liability, the service
needed to be certain of factors such as the income and covering services; this
particular demand was identified as a short demand, therefore providing two
vehicles wouldn’t currently be needed throughout the year.
Detailed within
the circulated report it stated that there had been an increase in demand of
the recycling kit during the pandemic; Members asked if the Council had seen an
increase in the figures for recycling because of this. It was noted that the
kerbside collection was growing, for example last year the food waste grew by
600 tonnes; however there was a number of different materials that made up the
Councils performance, and there were issues surrounding the recycling of these
other materials, such as wood waste, which impacted on the performance levels.
Officers added that the figures showed a mixture of both new kit being ordered
and replacement kit being ordered.
In relation to
Absorbent Hygiene Products (AHP), it was asked whether there was any links or
systems in place with the Social Services Directorate and the Health Board. It
was noted that the Council had a hygiene service in place for people with
medical conditions who needed certain waste collected that wasn’t covered by
the NHS collections; the service was prioritised and continued throughout the
pandemic and further details of this could be found online. Officers confirmed
that if there was a need to link with other services areas around this matter,
they would be happy to do so.
The report
mentioned that PACE interviews were taking place in the Civic Centres; Officers
were asked to explain these in more detail. It was clarified that Police and Criminal
Evidence (PACE) interviews were used to gather criminal evidence for cases
where people were suspected of committing environmental crimes; there were
facilities set up for these interviews, however due to the outbreak of Covid 19
these facilities were no longer safe to use. It was stated that this issue had
now been resolved and there were rooms available in Neath Civic Centre which
Officers could book to conduct socially distanced and risk assessed interviews.
Review of
potential to extend the use of PSPOs
Members were
informed that it was possible to extend the scope of PSPSOs; the report set out
the details including what they were and what they could cover, including what
would need to be done in terms of identifying priorities and resources to take
them forward. It was stated that Members would need to determine how they would
like to progress PSPOs, for example where they felt there was an opportunity to
extend the scope or if there was a particular issue that needed resolving which
was currently being dealt with; however the points detailed within the report
would need to be taken into consideration before they were taken forward.
A discussion
took pace in relation to potential PSPOs for the Council owned car parks, in
particular the car parks near the beach, as Members had received multiple
complaints from residents regarding anti-social behaviour in these car parks;
it was asked whether it would be beneficial to put in place a blanket PSPO for
all Council owned car parks at the same time. It was confirmed that orders
could be put in place across the Country Borough for public spaces, including
those which were not on Council land. Officers stated that the requests would
need to be considered in detail and a consultation would be legally required to
take place as the issues that Members were looking to address would need to be
justified, and the possible restrictions would need to be reasonable and
proportionate; research would need to be undertaken in relation to what was
possible and not possible. It was mentioned that the Head of Engineering and
Transport (Dave Griffiths) had responsibility of all car parks, so would need
to be heavily involved in the process.
Concerns were
raised in relation to the potential issues that could occur if PSPOs were to be
introduced across all Council car parks, for example the safety of Council
staff who currently monitored the PSPO in place at Aberavon Seafront;
anti-social behaviour was a police matter whether there was a PSPO in place or
not. It was suggested that Officers, on behalf of the Committee, ask the
corporate Anti-Social Behaviour Team to raise the issue of anti-social
behaviour in car parks across the County Borough in a future meeting of the
Community Safety Partnership Group; it was mentioned that the Police attend the
meetings, therefore their feedback on what they thought would be necessary and
justified could be obtained.
Officers were
asked whether information in regards to the current PSPOs would be displayed on
the Councils website, explaining to the public why they were in place along
with the advice from the Home Office. It was noted that the PSPOs currently in
existence around Aberavon Seafront had recently been renewed and a full
consultation process had taken place involving the public; Cabinet had agreed
for them to be extended for a further three years and the details for this
could be found on the Councils website.
Detailed within
the circulated report it stated that the restrictions did not apply to disabled
persons as defined by the Equality Act 2010 where the person suffers from a
disability which would prevent them from collecting their dog’s faeces; Members
highlighted that there were a lot of vulnerable, elderly people who were not
registered as disabled but struggled to collect their dog faeces, and asked if
this issue was included within the Act. It was noted that the wording included
in the report was taken as an example from Bridgend Council and the wording
applied to their restriction they had in place; if Members decided to look into
new PSPOs, this issue could be considered going forward.
It was suggested
that Members could raise any issues or make any requests in regards to PSPOs in
the upcoming Streetcare surgeries.
Cemeteries
The burial
demand chart included in the report displayed a large decrease (-20) when
comparing July 2019 to July 2020; Members asked if there was any particular
reason for this. Officers confirmed that historically looking back, the levels
of burials go up and down throughout the years and could be that more people families
were choosing cremation instead.
Supporting documents: