Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Halsall, Lewis, Sathiy, Evans (Substitute Member), and Pullin (Substitute Member).

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 any disclosable pecuniary interests or personal interests were received.

Minutes of the meeting held 21 January, 2020.

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 21 January, 2020 be confirmed as a correct record.

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 reports from the Cabinet Members for Communities and Housing; Health and Wellbeing (Green Sefton), Locality Services; Planning and Building Control; and Regeneration and Skills. 

RESOLVED: 

That the update reports from the Cabinet Members for Communities and Housing; Health and Wellbeing (Green Sefton), Locality Services; Planning and Building Control; and Regeneration and Skills be noted.

Presentation by the Executive Director of Corporate Resources and Customer Services

The Committee received a presentation from Stephanie Jukes,Section Manager Energy and Environmental Management, Corporate Resources, on Climate Emergency Information and initial baseline results. The presentation outlined the following:

·       Climate Change;

·       Greenhouse Effect;

·       Carbon;

·       Offsetting;

·       International Context;

·       Quantifying Sefton’s Emissions;

·       Key Features;

·       Scope 1 and 2:

o   Council Operations;

o   How the information was collected and what is included;

o   Big emitters, some examples;

o   What does 15,547 tonnes equate to;

·       Scope 3 what is included:

o   Regeneration and Skills;

·       Evaluating the Baseline;

·       Next Steps;

·       Contact Details;

·       Why a CO2 Focus; and

·       Offsetting - Diagram.

Member of the Committee raised the following issues:

·       The power of Planning Services to impose stringent conditions to planning applications; and

·       National Government and the Housing Market Renewal Programme.

RESOLVED:

That the presentation be noted, and the Section Manager Energy and Environmental Management be thanked for her attendance.

Presentation by the Head of Locality Services

The Committee received a presentation and report from Carl Beer, Chief Executive – Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority (MRWA). The report  highlighted:

·       162.380 tonnes of waste each year were received at the 15 Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC) in Merseyside and Halton. 68% currently recycled and 75% was diverted (including rubble). Target was 52.91% minimising costs by £700,000 this year.

• The biggest waste management issue across the region, Food waste remained at 39% (148,000 tonnes).
• Textiles discarded in household bins had fallen by almost 4,000 tonnes

The presentation explained MWRA’s Climate Action Plan, and detailed:

·       Initial Plan

·       Carbon reduction to date

o   Moving to Energy Recovery from Landfill

o   HWRC’s recycling

o   Re-use

o   Education

o   Behavioural Change and waste prevention

·       Annual carbon performance

o   Metrics

o   Baseline

o   Targets

o   Energy use

o   Solar

o   Renewable supply

o   Energy efficiency – pumps

o   Ending landfill even as contingency

o   Food waste

o   Carbon sequestration project Foul Lane

o   Gas control

o   Veolia 10-year Contract Review

o   Re-use cooperative models

o   Compositional analysis

o   E vehicles

o   Targets

o   Energy use

o   Solar

o   Renewable supply

o   Energy efficiency – pumps

o   Ending landfill even as contingency

o   Food waste

o   Carbon sequestration project Foul Lane

o   Gas control

o   Veolia 10-year Contract Review

o   Re-use cooperative models

o   Compositional analysis

o   E vehicles

Members asked questions on:

·       The effect of Lancashire introducing a limited charge at recycling centres;

·       Permit schemes for household waste;

·       The option of bringing the recycling contracts ‘in house’;

·       The mixing of green waste and food waste;

·       Levels of food waste, and whether poor families wasted more as they might not own large freezers;

·       Initiatives to reduce street litter;

·       The geographic destination of recycling materials;

·       Potential reward schemes;

·       Food waste and whether the best before / use by date was set for marketing and distribution benefits rather than for the consumers’ benefit; and

·       The supply of skips at recycling centres.

RESOLVED:

That Mr. Beer be thanked for his presentation.

Report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer seeking the views of the Committee on 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 and the identification of any items for pre-scrutiny by the Committee from the Key Decision Forward Plan; and provided an update on the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The report also updated on issues associated with United Utilities and increases in their charges.

Members asked raised the following matter:

·       For the Housing Support Working Group to be deferred to the new Municipal Year.

RESOLVED: That

(1)           the Work Programme for 2019/20, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report, be approved;

(2)           the report on Leasehold House Sales be included on the Work Programme in the next Municipal Year;

(3)            the commencement  of the Housing Support Working Group to be deferred to the new Municipal Year; and

(4)           the update on the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Overview and Scrutiny Committee be noted.