To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillors Blackshaw, Jarvis and Wilcox.

To receive details of members nominated to attend the meeting in place of a member of the committee.

Councillor Nenadich substituted for Councillor Wilcox.

To receive any declarations of interest by members.

No declarations of interest were made.

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 30 June 2014.

The minutes of the meeting held on 30 June 2014 were received.

Although correct in the minutes, Councillor Powers should be omitted from the list of members identified for involvement in the Balfour Beatty Living Places Task and Finish Group (see Appendix 2 of agenda item 7).

The Chairman said a response had been received from the Ministry of Justice in relation to Transforming Rehabilitation (minute 84 of 2013/14, Community Safety Update, refers); the response would be copied to committee members.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 30 June 2014 be approved as a correct record and be signed by the Chairman.

To consider suggestions from members of the public on issues the committee could scrutinise in the future.

(There will be no discussion of the issue at the time when the matter is raised. Consideration will be given to whether it should form part of the committee’s work programme when compared with other competing priorities.)

No suggestions had been received from members of the public.

To note questions received from the public and the items to which they relate.

(Questions are welcomed for consideration at a Scrutiny Committee meeting so long as the question is directly related to an item listed on the agenda below.  If you have a question you would like to ask then please submit it no later than two working days before the meeting to the officer named on the cover of this agenda).

No questions had been received from members of the public.

To provide an update on the services provided by Balfour Beatty Living Places (BBLP) during the first year of the council’s Public Realm contract to enable the committee to provide feedback to Cabinet and inform the work of the Task and Finish Group which has been established to examine this area in more detail.

The Assistant Director Place Based Commissioning introduced the report, his comments included:

i.           The Public Realm Services Contract (the contract) was the council’s largest service delivery contract by value and scope, with annual expenditure expected to be in excess of £20 million.

ii.          Balfour Beatty Living Places (BBLP) was awarded the contract following a major procurement exercise.  The contract had commenced on 1 September 2013 for an initial period of ten years, with options to extend for up to ten further years.

iii.         It was a high profile area of work and it was essential that service delivery and management of the contract was correct and value for money obtained.  Therefore, the Assistant Director welcomed the opportunity to reflect on the first twelve months and to consider opportunities for improvement.

iv.        Council and BBLP staff involved in the contract were introduced.

v.         Attention was drawn to the following points:

·                The contract was designed to focus upon the delivery of highways and directly related services.  The contract was based on the industry standard, New Engineering Contract (NEC), used by many councils.

·                The governance and contract management arrangements were outlined which sought to ensure the appropriate level of management overview and to build a strong partnership that was outcomes focused.

·                The relatively rapid mobilisation period was followed by some of the worst winter weather on record.  It was commented that the winter response and subsequent highway maintenance improvements had made a real difference to road conditions across the county.

·                It was commented that the level of response to reductions in service in terms grounds maintenance had been misjudged.  The position had been reviewed during the summer and resources had been increased to respond to public concerns.

Mr. Andy Williams, Contract Director at BBLP presented the company’s update document (this was appended to the report), the principal points included:

Contract start

1.         It was considered that the six week mobilisation had been undertaken effectively, with BBLP operating from the start with full emergency response teams.

2.         Further to the positive severe weather response, BBLP had helped the council team to secure £3.3 million from the Bellwin scheme and £3.5 million from the severe weather recovery scheme.

Rethinking the way we deliver the service

3.         The budgets had changed significantly from the previous financial year, with reductions in revenue budgets but increases in capital budgets. 

4.         BBLP had completed Herefordshire’s first Annual Plan for public realm services, setting out the services that would be delivered and the outcomes that communities should expect.

Starting the process of culture change

5.         A full organisational restructure had been undertaken, resulting in five new teams: Commercial and Finance; Design and Build; Operations; Knowledge Centre; and Locality Team.

6.         Although some positions in the new structure had yet to be filled, a full set of thirteen locality stewards were now in place.

What have we achieved in the year

7.         The severe weather had an impact upon roads already in poor condition, with over 67,000 defect reports identified from  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

To receive the Executive’s response to the Task and Finish Group Report on Household Recycling Centres.

Further to minute 9 of 30 June 2014, the Waste Disposal Team Leader presented the Executive response to the Task and Finish Group review on Household Recycling Centres (HRCs); the Summary of Recommendations and Response was appended to the report.  An overview was provided of the recommendations that had been ‘accepted’ (11), ‘accepted in part’ (1), ‘to be investigated’ (7), and ‘not accepted’ (4). 

The Waste Disposal Team Leader said that the recommendations in relation to improved information sharing, advertising and signage, targeted enforcement activity, and site user surveys were particularly welcomed.

In terms of the ‘not accepted’ recommendations, the committee was advised:

Recommendation 11, ‘That the number of permits per user is increased to 14 a year’:  The Commercial Vehicle and Trailer (CVT) permit scheme sought to restrict waste input, particularly from traders and the current 12 permit limit had been arrived at after careful consideration of usage statistics.  An increase to 14 permits could increase levels of waste and associated costs.

Recommendation 19, ‘That consideration should be given to allowing one-off emergency permits to be issued on site’:  Emergency permits were provided under a previous scheme but the system had been difficult to administer and had been exploited by some traders wishing to dispose of commercial waste unlawfully.  Site operatives had the discretion to allow entry in exceptional circumstances.

Recommendation 21, ‘That research should be undertaken to determine the viability of a north Hereford HRC in view of the increased housing numbers coming forward’:  It was estimated that the development of a new site could cost in the region of £1.5 million and, with the six existing HRCs and one due to be constructed in Kington in 2015, it was considered that there was good coverage.

Recommendation 23, ‘That where Herefordshire Council are able to make identified changes to service, especially unilaterally, that these be carried out’:  The partnership arrangements with Worcestershire County Council were paramount and any changes would need to be discussed and agreed jointly.  However, some local elements, such as promotion of composting, could be considered.

The Vice-Chairman, who had chaired the group, broadly welcomed the response but was disappointed about the number of recommendations that were either ‘not accepted’ or ‘to be investigated’ and he made a number of observations, including:

i.           An IT solution could be found to control and monitor emergency permits, whilst improving the service for users.  He added that there was no visibility of the database at the HRCs currently.

ii.          The group had heard evidence that there was a degree of confusion about the allocation of 12 permits, as many people believed incorrectly that only one could be used per month.  Although home composting should be encouraged, the group had also heard evidence that the 12 permit limit was not sufficient for people with large gardens.

iii.         Many people had commented that double-axle trailers of reasonable dimensions should be permitted at the HRCs, especially as such trailers were often considered a safer option compared to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

To consider the committee’s work programme and to allocate tasks to task and finish groups, as necessary.

The committee considered the work programme, the main points included:

i.        Referring to the item on smallholdings, scheduled for 4 November 2014, the Director of Economy, Communities and Corporate advised that there was a lot of work to be undertaken on the various options before a report was submitted to Cabinet.  The committee would receive an update presentation at the earliest opportunity.  The Chairman noted that the matter needed to be examined properly and it appeared likely that a decision would not be taken before the next municipal year.

ii.       It was noted that three meetings of the Community Infrastructure Levy Task and Finish Group were scheduled in coming weeks to progress phase three of its work.  It was also noted that arrangements were being made for task and finish groups in relation to Balfour Beatty Living Places, Development Management (Planning), and Digital Strategy.  The scoping statement for the Development Management (Planning) group was appended to the report; it was suggested that the Chairman of the Planning Committee be included as a potential witness.

iii.      Briefing papers had been issued to members of the committee on: Education Strategy for Herefordshire; Early Years, Schools, Free Schools, Academies, Colleges and the Relationship with Herefordshire Council Update; and Update on Home to School Transport.

iv.      Outline scoping statements on Pupil Premium and Hidden / Actual Costs of Education were appended to the report.  The Chairman requested that Education officers prepare further background information on these topics.   Comments from committee members included: faith schools should be invited to contribute to the research; it was important to understand how Pupil Premium was being used; and, as eligibility for free school meals was used as the main measure of deprivation at pupil level, the introduction of universal infant free school meals could have consequential impacts upon Pupil Premium.

RESOLVED:  That

(a)     the work programme be noted;

(b)     a Development Control (Planning) Task and Finish Group be established to undertake the work outlined in the scoping statement; and

(c)     Education officers be requested to prepare further background information on Pupil Premium and the Hidden / Actual Costs of Education to inform potential future scrutiny work.

The next scheduled meeting is Tuesday 4 November 2014 at 10.00 am

Tuesday 4 November 2014 at 10.00am