Issue - meetings

Potential to Establish a Working Group to Review the Topic of Dog Fouling in Public Places and Methods to Combat it

 

 

Meeting: 08/03/2022 - Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Regeneration and Skills) (Item 37)

37 Potential to Establish a Working Group to Review the Topic of Dog Fouling in Public Places and Methods to Combat it pdf icon PDF 90 KB

Report of the Head of Highways and Public Protection

Minutes:

Further to Minute No 6 (2) of the informal meeting of the Committee held on 18 January 2022 the Committee considered the report of the Head of Highways and Public Protection on the potential to establish a Working Group to review the topic of dog fouling in public places and methods to combat such an anti-social practice.

 

The report stated that failure to pick up dog fouling and the inappropriate disposal of dog ‘fouling bags’ (littering) by irresponsible dog walkers were  legitimate concerns for Members, residents and visitors to the Borough as such unpleasant and anti-social acts could significantly impact upon the use, appearance, and enjoyment of public spaces; that the recent consultation regarding implementation of a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) for dog Control, including dog fouling, saw a 95.95% positive response to the proposal to allow Fixed Penalty Notices to be issued across the Borough for dog walkers who failed to pick up dog fouling; and detailed the several ways how the Council currently tackled this issue.

 

The report also detailed the tools available to ensure compliance and change to this anti-social behaviour and that they were often categorised as Education, Engineering and Enforcement (the three E’s); that there was a potential to review the topic of dog fouling centred on these 3 E’s; that a working group could consider:

 

·       Current Council policies and practices in dealing with dog fouling and disposal of dog ‘fouling bags’

·       Areas of good practise within the Council

·       Good practise within other local authorities or similar organisations

·       Areas for improvement within the Council’s policies and practice

 

However, there was a danger that any new working group to review the impact of dog fouling in public places and the methods to combat this may see significant duplication in the matters already considered by the previous, recently completed Effectiveness of the Council’s Enforcement Activity Working Group.

 

The report concluded by suggesting two options for consideration, namely:

 

(1)

that the Committee recognises the negative impact of dog fouling in public places but agrees not to establish a Working Group to consider this issue at this time, in recognition of the potential duplication of work and themes only recently covered by the Effectiveness of the Council’s Enforcement Activity Working Group; or

 

(2)

that the Committee notes the work and recommendations already made by the Committee’s Effectiveness of the Council’s Enforcement Activity Working Group, and agrees to establish a Working Group to review the topic of dog fouling in public places and methods to combat such anti-social practice that seeks to explore relevant issues not already fully explored by the earlier Working Group.

 

Members of the Committee asked questions/commented on the following issues:

 

·       The establishment of a Working Group to review the topic of dog fouling may duplicate work recently completed by this Committee’s recently concluded Effectiveness of the Council’s Enforcement Activity Working Group

·       bearing in mind this was the last meeting of the Committee in the Municipal Year; that a new Committee would be established  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37