Agenda item

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 Cleansing and Street Scene; Communities and Partnership Engagement; Housing and Highways; Public Health and Wellbeing (Green Sefton element); and Regeneration, Economy and Skills.

Councillor Dowd, Cabinet Member - Communities and Partnership Engagement presented her report and highlighted the following issues:

·       The all-Easter Holidays Activity Fund and that in particular that 253 secondary aged young people attended HAF provision over the Easter holidays across 6,595 individual sessions

·       The two procurement exercises currently underway with regards to domestic abuse

·       The recent successful bid to the Library Improvement Fund that had secured £80,000 of capital funding to pay for improvements to Bootle Library

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

·       Why Fly Tip? that was part of a £50,000 grant to tackle rear entry and on street fly-tipping; and whether an evaluation of the scheme would be undertaken to measure outcomes and be reported to Committee

·       Compliments were paid for the community engagement activity associated with the Sefton Pride event held in Southport on 15 June 2024

·       Satisfaction was expressed at the good news regarding the successful bid to the Library Improvement Fund to secure funding to pay for improvements to Bootle Library

·       With regard to the Youth Engagement team, the selection of sites for the youth bus across the borough

·       With regard to work with migrants and sanctuary seekers, the selection of sites in the borough for weekly advice and support sessions

 Councillor Harvey, Cabinet Member - Cleansing and Street Scene presented his report and highlighted the following issues:

·       That he would be shortly visiting Sefton Arc to gain an understanding of how the service operated

·       The prevalence of fly-tipping incidents

·       The weed control programme which was now in the second of four sprays for the season; and that sample inspections were undertaken to capture evidence of ‘die back’ of weeds approximately 10-14 days following the scheduled spray

·       Grass cutting on the Formby Bypass

·       The continual problem of waste being fly-tipped in rear entries

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

·       The supervisory/inspection regime in place to ensure road sweepers undertook their duties to agreed standards

·       Problems associated with properties that had no refuse storage facilities and whose residents placed their refuse on the highway

·       The use of seagull-proof refuse sacks to prevent the spillage of litter due to scavenging animals

·       Regarding grass cutting on the Formby Bypass, it was often difficult to balance the views of those residents who were in favour of the activity against those who were opposed and would rather allow a wildflower verge to flourish

·       Weed issues on Marine Drive in Southport that did not give a good impression to visitors to the town

·       Performance monitoring of the weed control contract

·       Complaints received about the cleanliness of Chapel Street, Southport

·       Street scrubbing operations in Southport town centre

·       Upkeep and maintenance of small parcels of council land by community and voluntary groups

·       Proposals to change the enforcement regime to combat the problems of residents dumping rubbish in their rear entries

·       It was stated that some areas of the borough appeared to receive better weed control services than others

·       The impact of schools planning to implement changes to the structure of their school day from September 2024 on the School Crossing Patrol service

·       Resources associated with the burial and cremation service

·       The Careline call response time for 99.3% of calls answered within 60 seconds was praised; and it was acknowledged that additional time would have to be taken into account for referrals to other organisations as these too would have their own response targets   

Councillor Lappin, Cabinet Member - Regeneration, Economy and Skills presented her report and highlighted the following issues:

·       LCR Metro Mayor’s Young Persons Guarantee

·       Sefton@Work’s achievement at passing the annual Customer Service Excellence assessment for 2024

·       Mersey Care and Sefton Council’s collaboration to develop plans for a Mental Health Digital Research Centre at Maghull Health Park

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

·       The welcome news in relation to the Fast Track to Counselling for Sefton@work clients

·       The level of profit achieved for the Council from the Southport Food and Drink Festival

A Member of the Committee asked a question in respect of Councillor Doyle’s Cabinet Member - Public Health and Wellbeing portfolio (Green Sefton element) regarding what would happen when the legacy money for Hesketh Park was spent.

RESOLVED: That