Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the first meeting of the Environment Overview and Scrutiny Panel and outlined the remit of the new Panel.  The responsibilities of the Economy and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Panel had been split and two new Panels created – the other Panel being the Economy Overview and Scrutiny Panel.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Emma Marshall and Councillor Mike Rouse (Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport).

None.

Members of the public wishing to take part should notify the Assistant Director for Legal and Governance in writing or by e-mail indicating both the nature and content of their proposed participation no later than 9.00am on the working day before the meeting (in this case 8 July 2022).  Further details are available on the Council’s website.  Enquiries can also be made through the telephone number/e-mail address listed in this agenda and on the website.

None.

(Indicative timing 2.05pm – 2.45pm)

Performance Monitoring

The Management Information Analyst gave a brief overview of the areas of success and challenge as outlined in the report.

Members raised a number of questions, which were responded to as follows:

·       With reference to the highways’ safety inspections, the Panel would be provided with details of the number of claims which were made against the Council annually and the cost of dealing with these.

·       A new graph had been provided on potholes. The Panel was reminded of the timescales for categories of defect repairs. The information was based on the statistics contained in the weekly report received from Ringway. It was noted that timescales were based on when Ringway received the defect report, rather than when the Council was notified of a defect.

·       A query was raised as to how the figures on potholes under public enquiries (PEM’s) tallied with the overall pothole figures. The Head of Highways Operations explained that the potholes reported via PEM’s represented about a quarter of the overall total, with the Highways Inspectors reporting the bulk of the remainder. The Chairman asked that this be confirmed following the meeting and also that information be provided to demonstrate both routes.

·       The Panel was informed that defects with manhole covers were usually a Severn Trent matter. The Council’s Inspectors would raise the defect directly with Severn Trent and then monitor the situation to ensure the work was completed. If a dangerous situation arose, the Council would close off that section of road until urgent repairs were completed.

·       Members were pleased to note that the recent additional investment had contributed to a noticeable improvement in the condition of the county’s roads and footways.

·       A Member raised a query about waste collection in respect of the kilogram per head of population or household calculations used by the County Council and District Council’s to produce their data. The Assistant Director confirmed that clarification would be provided on this matter following the meeting.

·       The positive reduction in spend on street lighting had been achievable through the roll-out of LED’s. The Council had agreed to an accelerated LED programme which should be completed in the next 18 months.

·       Referring to street lighting data which the Panel had been provided with outside of the meeting, concern was expressed at the reduced percentage of repairs completed on time for certain categories and they were keen to know what action was being taken. A query was also raised regarding the lack of inspections of completed jobs referred to in the data. The Assistant Director advised that these issues would be followed up and responses provided.

·       The Panel was pleased to see that the days taken to complete a Section 278 agreement had been significantly reduced, although there was further progress to be made. The Strategic Director commented that an improved working relationship and effective communication with developers had been a key factor in this progress being achieved. This was anticipated to be developed further going forward.

·       The Strategic Director advised that there  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

(Indicative timing 3.30pm – 4.00pm)

The Head of Highways Operations presented an update on the countywide footways programme. The total available budget for 2022/23 Budget was £6.8m which was made up of 3 categories:

·       the £2.4m asset-based core budget

·       the additional £4m strategic funding for this financial year

·       the Members’ Highways Fund of which £400k was committed to date.

Members asked a number of questions which were responded to as follows:

·       A query was raised about whether the funding of schemes that were not completed last year due to covid had been rolled over into this financial year. The Panel was informed that this was the case and that some of the £400k referred to above would relate to funding of schemes which had been rolled over. The Assistant Director added that any capital money rolled over might not be reflected in these figures. The Chairman asked that this situation be looked into, with confirmation and clarification then being provided.

·       In relation to the £4m additional footways fund, Members expressed their disappointment that Members had not yet been given the opportunity to have input into the works planned, although it was evident that by Q1 the majority of the budget had already been allocated. They explained that previously Members had been able to provide local knowledge as to what were key priorities in their division. The Panel was informed that the Highways Liaison Officers had been carrying out their role and that a letter would be going out to all Members confirming the works that were completed or planned and highlighting that there were still divisions where some monies were to be allocated. The Panel requested that for the next financial year, Members should be given an early input into how the £4m was allocated. The Strategic Director agreed to follow up this matter and clarify the timeline for consultation with Members.

·       The Panel was advised that Members were entitled to spend their highways fund allocation on any capital highways that they chose, on works to do with carriageways or footways.

(Indicative timing 2.45pm – 3.30pm)

The Chairman welcomed the Cabinet Member with Responsibility (CMR) for the Environment and also the Head of Planning and Transport Planning. The CMR had accepted an invite to share the priorities for the year ahead and beyond with the Panel.

The CMR advised that whilst it was very early days, he was excited to have taken on this new role and he was looking forward to building on the momentum that his predecessor Councillor Miller had established with the work that he had carried out. There were a lot of threads to the Environment portfolio which interlinked with a number of the other Cabinet positions.

In terms of priorities, which were linked to the Corporate Plan, there were 4 key areas of focus:

·       Net Zero Challenge (including biodiversity)

·       Waste

·       Flooding

·       Partnership Approach

Net Zero Challenge – it had been a year since a Climate emergency was declared in Worcestershire, and to mark that date  the CMR was chairing his first meeting of Carbon Reduction Advisory Group session which had been established last year to move matters froward. The target of net zero by 2050 was a great challenge which would involve a lot of work for the Council working with partners, but it was vitally important that it was achieved.

The Environment Act 2021 underpinned much of the Council’s work in this area, with its key aims to improve air and water quality, tackle waste and improve biodiversity. There had already been significant achievements towards the net zero challenge, for instance with emissions being halved in the last decade, and there were a number of plans to support and guide the Council in this work. Further areas of focus included waste disposal, street lighting and biodiversity. One requirement of the Act was that applicants were now required to demonstrate biodiversity net gains on planning applications. There was also now a Local Nature Recovery Strategy with a tree planting goal, of 150,000 trees in 5 years, which was included in the Corporate Plan.

Waste – the details of the key legislation and national strategy changes relevant to this area were set out, including the requirement for weekly food waste collections to be set up by 2025, which therefore meant as a Waste Disposal Authority, the requirement for the Council to set up infrastructure to treat this waste. Other key changes included from 2024 food producers would be responsible for their packaging waste, which would hopefully encourage them to reduce waste or become carbon neutral. The introduction of a deposit return scheme for plastic and cans was also a new initiative arising from the 2021 Act. The CMR highlighted that part of this role was that of Chairman of the Strategic Waste Management Board, working with a variety of partners and building those relationships in that capacity.

Flooding – The Panel was reminded of the flood alleviation schemes which were in the pipeline. The work on surface water drainage plans on new developments was also referred to. The CMR advised that he  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

(Indicative timing 4.00pm – 4.10pm)

The Chairman advised that the Panel’s Work Programme had been included as part of the overall Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme which had been considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Performance Board, the latter which would now go forward to Council for approval.

The Chairman highlighted that Community Transport had been added to the September Panel meeting, as it was an opportunity for the Panel to shine a light on the proposed funding levels for the year ahead, in advance of the November Cabinet meeting where funding levels would be considered. 

It was agreed that the Chairman and Vice Chairman would discuss the Panel’s Work Programme suggestions at the next agenda planning meeting.