Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Brodie-Browne, Brough and McKinley.

Members are requested at a meeting where a disclosable pecuniary interest or personal interest arises, which is not already included in their Register of Members' Interests, todeclare any interests that relate to an item on the agenda.

Where a Member discloses a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest, he/she must withdraw from the meeting room, including from the public gallery, during the whole consideration of any item of business in which he/she has an interest, except where he/she is permitted to remain as a result of a grant of a dispensation.

Where a Member discloses a personal interest he/she must seek advice from the Monitoring Officer or staff member representing the Monitoring Officer to determine whether the Member should withdraw from the meeting room, including from the public gallery, during the whole consideration of any item of business in which he/she has an interest or whether the Member can remain in the meeting or remain in the meeting and vote on the relevant decision.

No declarations of interest were received.

Minutes of the meeting held on 22 October 2019

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 22 October 2019 be confirmed as a correct record.

Report of the Head of Highways and Public Protection

The Committee considered the report of the Head of Highways and Public Protection that updated on air quality management and recent air quality developments in Sefton.

The report indicated that Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) was introduced under the Environment Act 1995, that evidence had shown that certain atmospheric pollutants were linked to poor health and that the Act placed a statutory duty on all Local Authorities to review and assess air quality in their areas at regular intervals; that arising from National Air Quality Standard (NAQS) Objectives 2 pollutants, Nitrogen Dioxide and Particulate Matter PM10 were still of concern in Sefton; that the ongoing review and assessment process had confirmed that in most of Sefton Air Quality was of a good standard and complied with the NAQS objectives; but that four localised areas in South Sefton had been identified where levels of Nitrogen Dioxide had exceeded or were close to the annual average standard of 40 µg/m3. Accordingly, Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) had been declared in the four locations at:

·       A5036 Princess Way and Crosby Road South Junction, Seaforth

·       A5058 Millers Bridge and Derby Road Junction, Bootle

·       A565 Crosby Road North and South Road Junction, Waterloo

·       B5422 Hawthorne Road and Church Road Junction, Litherland

The report also provided information on real time automatic monitoring stations and the monitoring results in respect of Nitrogen Dioxide and Particulate Matter PM10; in accordance with a previous decision of the Committee (Minute No. 24 (4) of 22 October 2019) the report detailed the air quality impacts associated with traffic redistribution due to the opening of Broom’s Cross Road; and air quality actions and developments associated with the Air Quality Members Reference Group, Clean Air Zone feasibility study, Schools Air Quality project, DEFRA Air Quality grant fund and the Taxi Electric Vehicle project.

The report concluded that air quality in the majority of Sefton was within NAQS Objectives and that action plans were in place to work towards compliance in the four AQMA areas; that there  remained areas where there were major challenges to air quality including the expansion of the Port of Liverpool and the associated increase in HGVs; that officers would continue to develop and implement air quality improvement actions under the direction of the Air Quality Members Reference Group; and a more detailed report, specifically on the development of the business case for a Sefton Clean Air Zone, would be submitted to a future meeting of this Committee.     

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

·       Complaints continue to be received about parents parking their vehicles with their engines running outside school premises and the opportunity to issue fixed penalty notices to remedy this problem

·       The introduction of Clean Air Zones and the specific areas in which they would be implemented

·       Vehicle types, which had the most significant impact on increasing NO2 exceedances, to be the subject of charging in Clean Air Zones and potential exemptions from the scheme for Sefton residents

·       Collaborative work being undertaken across  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

Report of the Head of Health and Wellbeing to follow

The Committee considered the report of the Head of Health and Wellbeing that provided information about the Public Health Annual Report 2018/19 (PHAR) on the issue of Air Quality in Sefton; and advising that the PHAR was the independent annual report of the Director of Public Health and was a statutory duty.

The report indicated that the PHAR was an independent report on one or several aspects of health in the local population; that in recent years, PHARs had increasingly been used as an advocacy tool, for example, to highlight specific population health priorities and generate momentum for change and to draw attention towards the needs of specific groups, and to raise the profile of preventative approaches to improving population health; and that the PHAR for 2018/19 focused on the issue of air quality.

The report advised that the issue of air quality was selected for the reasons:

·       Health problems caused by air pollution are falling in Sefton as air quality improves but this remained a significant population health issue

·       Improving air quality was an ongoing top priority for Sefton Council and for many residents, particularly those living in or close to air quality management areas in the south of the borough. At the same time, that awareness-raising activity was needed elsewhere in Sefton

·       Sefton Council had put in place a wide range of measures to improve air quality, often ahead of other local authority areas, but this type of work was not always visible

·       Nationally, air quality had become more high profile both in the media and in national policy following publication of the National Clean Air Strategy in 2019.

Following positive feedback on the use of a film format for last year’s PHAR, a decision was taken by the Air Quality Cabinet Members Reference Group, to us the same format this year; and the Committee watched the film during the meeting. The film highlighted the following:

·       Why Air Pollution and Health?

·       What do we mean by air quality and what is ‘air pollution’?

·       Where does pollution come from?

·       It’s not just the great outdoors…

·       What happens when we breathe polluted air?

·       How big a problem is air pollution for Sefton?

·       What is air quality like in Sefton?

·       Protect yourself and your family

·       So, what is the Council doing to tackle air pollution?

·       What can you do (walking and cycling)?

·       What can you do (drivers)?

·       What’s next (our goals)?

·       Who are the other key people we need to work with?

·       Calls to action

The report concluded that in the context of continuing work to develop a detailed proposal for a Sefton Clean Air Zone, the PHAR was a valuable resource to help local people understand the scale, nature and causes of air pollution in Sefton and why a clean air zone was being considered.

The Committee’s attention was also drawn to a more detailed ‘Factfile’, Air Quality and Health, which accompanied the animation and provided additional information and resources to help people and organisations understand the issue  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

Joint report of the Head of Corporate Resources and Executive Director

The Committee considered the joint report of the Head of Corporate Resources and Executive Director that advised that the Council, at its meeting held on 18 July 2019, agreed a motion to declare a Climate Emergency and this was attached as Appendix A to this report; that in accordance with the terms of the Council motion, work had progressed on developing a programme structure, strategy and initial implementation plan for delivery of the motion and its objectives; that in order to further inform this work, a baseline position was required across the Council of work that was currently underway or planned that could contribute to the Council achieving the aims of the motion; and that the report provided a summary of work undertaken to date and the exercise that was required to be led through each Overview and Scrutiny Committee in order to establish that baseline position.

The report also advised that each Overview and Scrutiny Committee was being asked to lead an immediate piece of work for completion by the next cycle of meetings that:

The report concluded that the output from the work referred to above should be reported back to Overview and Scrutiny Committees in March/April 2020 and be led by the respective Heads of Service in conjunction with the Committee members and Cabinet Member; and that necessary support would be available from the Cabinet Member - Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Service, the Head of Corporate Resources and the Executive Director in addition to the Council wide officer working group.

The Committee also received a presentation from Stephanie Jukes, Section Manager Energy and Environmental Management, Corporate Resources on the background to climate change and the Council’s Climate Emergency Declaration which included information on:

·       Sefton’s target of net zero carbon by 2030; and the establishment of a working group and its commencement of work on a strategy, action plan and partnership working

·       How Sefton quantified its emissions using the scope of the “Greenhouse Gas Protocol”

·       Next steps which included most departments having now received information on the issues associated with the Climate Emergency Declaration, had been tasked with completing an initial scoping exercise and to consider further options

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

·       The Council’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions and to act in line with scientific consensus that emissions must be reduced to net zero by 2030

·       Initiatives to achieve net zero emissions by 2030 which included the involvement of Green Sefton, the use of solar farms and changes to tariffs to electricity and gas contracts

·       Acknowledgement was made of the financial constraints the Council had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

Report of the Head of Corporate Resources

The Committee considered the report of the Head of Corporate Resources that provided details of the review of the local Council Tax Reduction Scheme for 2019/20 and which recommended that there be no change to the scheme for 2020/21 for working age claimants.

The report would also be considered by Cabinet and Council and changes were recommended to discretionary Council Tax Empty Homes discounts following the outcome of a public consultation, and an additional increase to the Council Tax long-term Empty Homes Premium following a consultation exercise that took place in 2018; and the report also recommended an increase in the Exceptional Hardship Fund (EHF) budget from £150,000 to £170,000 from 2020/21 onwards.

The report also provided an updated Council Tax Base for Sefton Council and each Parish area for 2020/21.

Attached as annexes to the report were the Council Tax Base Report 2020/21; a summary of feedback from the consultation on changing Council Tax Empty Homes discounts and the associated equality impact assessment; and a summary of feedback from the consultation on increasing Council Tax long-term empty homes premium and the associated equality impact assessment.

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

·       Exemptions for landlords to pay Council Tax as part of the Empty Homes Discount Scheme

·       Landlords owning properties in local communities also had a responsibility to those communities

·       Difficulties in identifying owners of vacant properties and the recovery of costs/charges placed against such properties

·       Council must be prepared to use compulsory purchase or enforced sales legislations to combat the most serious cases of long-term vacant properties  

RESOLVED:

That the report providing details of the review of the local Council Tax Reduction Scheme for 2019/20 and which recommended that there be no change to the scheme for 2020/21 for working age claimants be noted.

Report of the Head of Corporate Resources

The Committee considered the report of the Head of Corporate Resources that provided information on the current forecast revenue outturn position for the Council for 2019/20; the current forecast on Council Tax and Business Rates collection for 2019/20; and the monitoring position of the Council’s capital programme to the end of October 2019, the forecast expenditure to year end, variations against the approved budgets and an explanation of those variations for consideration by Members. The report also updated on spending profiles and proposed amendments to capital budgets necessary to ensure the efficient delivery of capital projects.

In respect of the forecast outturn position as at the end of November 2019 the report indicated that significant pressures had been identified in several service areas, particularly Children’s Social Care, Locality Services and Home to School Transport; that the latest forecast of service expenditure indicated an overspend of £3.587m; and a table was included within the report highlighting the variations. The report also set out the measures to close the residual gap in 2019/20 to ensure there was no year-end deficit.

In respect of the current forecast on Council Tax it was anticipated that there would be a forecast surplus of £1.160m of which Sefton’s share was £0.996m; whilst in respect of Business Rates collection for 2019/20 a forecast surplus of £1.768m was anticipated with Sefton’s share of this being £1.750m.

In respect of the Capital Programme the report detailed the Capital Budget and profile of expenditure for the three years 2019/20 to 2021/22 and provided information on new schemes added to the Programme; and detailed the current position of expenditure against the budget profile to the end of November  2019 and indicated that it should be noted that budgets were profiled over the financial year which skewed expenditure to the final three quarters of the financial year; and a full list of the capital programme by capital scheme was attached to the report as Appendix A.  

The report concluded that the Head of Corporate Resources would continue to manage the financing of the programme to ensure the final capital funding arrangements secured the maximum financial benefit to the Council.

RESOLVED: That

Report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer that presented formally the final report of the Council’s Ethical Business Practices Working Group.

Report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer that sought views of the Work Programme for 2019/20, the identification of potential topics for scrutiny reviews to be undertaken by a Working Group(s) appointed by the Committee; the identification of any items for pre-scrutiny by the Committee from the Key Decision Forward Plan; and which provided an update on the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

RESOLVED: That

Report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer that included the most recent report from the Cabinet Member – Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services.  

Councillor Lappin, Cabinet Member – Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services presented her report.

RESOLVED:  That