Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Bliss, Councillor Carragher and her Substitute Member Councillor Roche and Councillor Owens.

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Skills, Councillor Atkinson also submitted her apologies.

Members are requested to give notice of any disclosable pecuniary interest, which is not already included in their Register of Members' Interests and the nature of that interest, relating to any item on the agenda in accordance with the Members Code of Conduct, before leaving the meeting room during the discussion on that particular item.

No declarations of any disclosable pecuniary interest were received.

Minutes of the meeting held on 19 January 2016.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Regeneration and Skills) held on 19 January 2016 be confirmed as a correct record.

To receive a presentation from Mr. Steven Howell from United Utilities in relation to the measure in place to mitigate flooding across the Borough of Sefton including why certain areas across the Borough had not been included in any future plans.

Further to Minute No. 40, Recommendation (3) – Work Programme and Key Decision Forward Plan – 1 February – 31 May 2016 of the meeting of the Committee held on 19 January 2016, the Committee considered a presentation from Mr. Steven Howell, representative from United Utilities in relation to flooding across the Borough of Sefton.

The following headlines were presented:-

·       United Utilities provided water and wastewater services to a population of approximately 7 million people in the North West of England, stretching from Carlisle to North Shropshire including 48 individual District Councils.

·       United Utilities collected a total of approximately 1,271 million litres of wastewater each day in the North West, transporting it along 72,000 kilometres of pipes and sewers to over 580 wastewater treatment works.

·       United Utilities prepared 5 yearly Asset Management Plans that included Performance Metrics, Customer Promises and Outcome Delivery.

·       Flooding and the boundary responsibilities of land owners/privately owned properties and the boundary responsibilities of the water and sewerage company. 

·       That United Utilities were not responsible for Highway drains or roadside gullies; Land drains or run-off from fields; Streams and rivers; Culverts and private drains and sewers. 

·       That there were two main types of sewer system; “Combined” which included both foul and surface water conveyed in the same pipe; and “Separate” whereby foul water and surface water would be conveyed in separate pipes.

·       That there were two main types of sewer flooding: Operational problems such as blockages, collapses and equipment failure; and Hydraulic problems such as sewers overloaded due to capacity problem; and surface water.  It was reported that in Sefton 70% of flooding results from operational problems and 75% of all flooding problems result in external flooding.

·       That there were two elements to Strategic Flood Planning: Reactive, responding to a problem as and when its reported; and Proactive, planned maintenance; CCTV; desilting and root cutting; Hotspotting and thematic mapping; and predictive analysis – analysing trends and problem types.

Mr. Howell reported on the following outcome target of the Asset Management Plan 6:

·       Derived from an index score that equated to an overall reduction of approximately 40% of internal flooding; 15% of external flooding and repeat flooding by 45%.

·       The index being accordingly weighted to favour resolution to internal flooding; and

·       An overall reduction in risk to future flooding because of new development.

Mr. Howell reported that the targets would be achieved by:

·     Prioritising investment for example flood mitigation to internal flooding.

·     Targetting local improvements to sewers.

·     The removal of surface water (highway drains)

·     Partnership working (Fouracres and Formby model)

·     Keeping further surface water out of sewerage system.

Mr Howell reported on the following ways in which the impact of new developments could be addressed by:-

·       The Surface Water Hierarchy being included in Sefton’s Planning Policy;

·       United Utilities continue to be consulted upon and advise on preferential areas for development;

·       Developers be advised to consult United Utilities on proposals of new developments, offering free pre-application advice;

·       United Utilities confirming that planning conditions are in place and adhered to.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.

Report of the Head of Locality Services – Commissioned.

The Committee considered the report of the Head of Locality Services – Commissioned in relation to Sefton’s performance as a member of the Merseyside Waste Partnership in delivering the objectives of Merseyside’s Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy (JMWMS) during 2014/15 financial year.

The report stated that:-

·       All Merseyside Authorities had ratified the 30 year Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy “Resources Merseyside” that was developed following comprehensive resident and industry consultation.  It was also reported that the Strategy was designed to meet and support relevant European and national statutory drivers for Resource (Waste) Management, Climate Change and Low Carbon Economy aspirations.  

·       The aim of the joint waste strategy “Resource Merseyside” was to deliver waste management within the context of wider resource management and climate change by:

-        Recognising waste as a valuable resource

-        Minimising the environmental impact of waste management

-        Preventing the creation of waste on Merseyside in the first place

-        Increasing re-use, recycling, composting and the recovery of energy from waste

-        Reducing the amount of waste to land fill

-        Raising awareness and promoting education in resource efficiency, making it easier for everyone to contribute to sustainable waste management activities

-        Consuming less but producing more

-        Tackling climate change by the reduction of carbon emissions from waste management and support for our Low Carbon economy

-        Protecting and enhancing our environment

-        Using and generating renewable energy fuels

·       Progress against the JMWMS is included in the annual work programme of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Regeneration and Skills).  The report highlighted that Sefton Council was unable to deliver the objectives of the strategy alone and that collective action from all Merseyside Waste partners was required in order that the objectives of the Strategy are achieved in the most economic manner and future direct financial and environmental liabilities minimised.  All partners had previously signed a memorandum of understanding to work together for the best mutual interest and this bolsters the statutory based joint working relationships.  

·       It was reported that the Annual Merseyside Waste Partnership performance report was not available for 2014/15 and so the report referred to Sefton’s performance in relation to the District Council Action Plan (DCAP) 2012/21 approved by Sefton Council Cabinet in December 2011 along with the JMWMS.

Members raised the following questions and observations:

·       There have been concerns raised by residents regarding the significant amount of green waste towards the end of the winter months.  In view of this would it be feasible to start the collection of the green waste a little earlier?  Response:  The Council has a programme of work that is based on the available budget and so to vary the programme of work would have a budget implication.

·       Where does the Boroughs green waste go and what happens to it?  Response:  The green waste is collected and taken to White Moss where it’s treated and a process is undertaken to turn into a product.  The Council has to pay a fee; it would be a significant challenge for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

Report of the Chief Executive.

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Executive in relation to recent and planned legislation affecting national housing policy.

It was reported that since May 2015, Government had made housing policy a priority, in response to its election manifesto pledges and the following pieces of legislation had been introduced:

·       The Deregulation Act 2015 section 33, which makes a “Section 21 notice”, served by a landlord invalid in certain circumstances, where it is deemed retaliatory when a tenant is pursuing property repairs.

·       The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 – Setting of penalty fees for landlords who do not provide adequate alarms.

It was further reported that there was a significant piece of housing policy before Parliament namely the Housing and Planning Bill and when enacted could have far reaching effects.  It was explained that amendments to the existing Bill would be proposed in the House of Commons and House of Lords and that the Bill made reference to further regulations to be implemented at a future date meaning that the detail of some proposals would only become clear when those regulations were available.

The report was presented under the following themes that government policy was seeking to address and detailed the implications for the Council:-

·       Private Rented Sector (PRS)

·       Housing Supply and Home Ownership

·       Social Rented Housing Supply & Reforms

·       Government Spending Priorities

It was reported that it was difficult to speculate the impact of the Housing and Planning Bill at that stage; and that the detail would become clear when the proposed regulations were available.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

Report of the Head of Inward Investment and Employment.

The Committee considered the report of the Head of Investment & Employment in relation to the annual update detailing progress made on the implementation of the recommendations contained in the Final Report of the Employment Development Working Group.

RESOLVED:

That the progress made in relation to the implementation of recommendations of the Employment Development Working Group be noted.

Report of the Head of Inward Investment and Employment.

The Committee considered the report of the Head of Investment & Employment in relation to the progress that the Council has made in terms of its duty to increase post 16 participation in education or training and to reduce NEET.

It was acknowledged that the report did not provide the Committee with the expected annual update detailing progress made on the implementation of the recommendations contained in the Final Report of the Not in Education Employment and Training (NEETs) Working Group.

RESOLVED: That:

(1)      the progress made by the Council in terms of its duty to increase post 16 participation in education or training and to reduce NEET, be noted; and

(2)      the Head of Investment and Employment be requested to submit  a report detailing progress made against each of the recommendations set out in the Final Report of the NEETs Working Group. 

Report of the Head of Regulation and Compliance

The Committee considered the report of the Head of Regulation and Compliance that included the most recent report from the following Cabinet Members:-

·       Cabinet Member – Communities and Housing;

·       Cabinet Member – Health and Wellbeing (parks and greenspaces element only);

·       Cabinet Member – Locality Services;

·       Cabinet Member – Planning and Building Control; and

·       Cabinet Member – Regeneration and Skills.

RESOLVED:

That the Cabinet Member update reports be accepted.

Report of the Head of Regulation and Compliance

The Committee considered the report of the Head of Regulation and Compliance in relation to the Committee’s programme of work.  A number of Key Decisions within the latest Key Decision Forward Plan fell under the remit of this Committee and Members were reminded of their right to pre-scrutinise such items.

The Senior Democratic Services Officer, Mrs Ruth Harrison, referred Members to Appendix B to the report, which detailed the programme of work for the Committee for the Municipal Year 2015/16.  It was reported that whilst the majority of work within the work programme had been completed there were some outstanding reports that would be carried forward to the new Municipal Year 2016/17.

RESOLVED: That

(1)      the Committee notes items for pre-scrutiny from the Key Decision Forward Plan for period 1 April to 31 July 2016; and

(2)      the programme of work for 2015/16, as set out in Appendix B to the report, be noted and agreed as completed subject to the following reports being carried forward to the work programme of the Committee for the new Municipal Year 2016/17:-

·       Street Cleansing, Fly Tipping and Litter Bins;

·       Parks Transformation Project – Presentation;

·       United Utilities – Update on Increase in Charges; and

·       Alleged increased risk of flooding as a consequence of the work being undertaken by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) on Marshside Road, Southport.

As this was the last Meeting of the Committee in the Municipal Year, the Chairman thanked Members and Officers for the assistance they had given him throughout the Year.