Agenda and minutes

            The Minutes of the meeting held on 29^th June 2016, having been circulated were signed as a correct record.

            The Board considered the Minutes of the meetings of the Executive Board relevant to the Environment and Urban Renewal Policy and Performance Board.

            RESOLVED: That the Minutes be received.

            The Board received an update from the Divisional Manager, Waste and Improvement, which provided information on Garden Waste collections, fly tipping in the Borough and the introduction of the pilot Food Waste collection service.

            In respect of the pilot Food Waste collection service since its introduction in the summer, the Pilot Food Waste collection service had been extended on two occasions.  The service now covered 2,347 homes in the Hale, Ditton, Heath and Beechwood Wards.

            It was reported that there had been a positive response to the service with participation in some areas reaching upwards of 85%.  Officers would be carrying out direct engagement with householders to gather feedback on the scheme and to help further increase participation levels.

            The pilot service was subject to scrutiny by the Waste Topic Group and a report on the scheme would be presented to Members in the new year which may contain recommendations to the Executive Board in respect of its potential expansion to other areas.

            With regard to garden waste:

·         the chargeable collection service had 16,872 households subscribed to date; this number was up by 1,600 compared to 2015/16;

·         take-up of the service had risen from 37% in 2015/16 to 40% this year; and

·         income so far this year was £448,000, which as increased by £40,000k compared to the previous year due to the increase in subscriptions. Income received was sufficient to cover all service operating costs.

            In respect of Green and Blue bins it was noted that Members of the Topic Group have been asked to review the Council’s Policy on charging for green and blue bins.

            Members of the Board were also advised that efforts to reduce incidents of fly-tipping and tackle those responsible included:

·         On-going investigations into all reported incidents of fly-tipping;

·         Working closely with Housing Associations and delivering joint initiatives;

·         Targeted campaigns in areas identified as experiencing high levels of fly-tipping and other forms of environmental nuisance;

·         The planned delivery of a campaign to remind householders of their legal responsibilities when paying individuals to remove rubbish from their homes;

·         Joint patrols with Police Officers in residents were causing unacceptable levels of nuisance due to fly-tipping and not complying with the Council’s Waste Collection Policy; and

·         The issuing of Fixed Penalty Notices for fly-tipping offences. Members of the Waste Topic Group were asked to consider the Council’s approach to the use of Fixed Penalty Notices for the fly-tipping offences, such as suggested Penalty Notice levels; with a report to be present to the next meeting of the Board.

            RESOLVED: That the update report be noted.

The Board was advised that Appendix A to the report set out full details of the numbers of road traffic collision and casualty numbers in the year 2015, and compared these figures with those from previous years. These results were very encouraging, with significant decreases in the numbers of people being slightly injured (SLI) and those killed/seriously injured (KSI) compared to the figures for recent years. Within the KSI total, both the number of adults and children decreased but the latter figure was known to be volatile in Halton and could fluctuate from year to year.

A summary for 2015 was set out in the report. It was noted that whilst nationally, road casualties decreased by 4% in 2015, as set out in the Department for Transport 2015 Comprehensive Annual Report on Road Casualties, it remained to be seen if the decreases seen locally were a result of a downward trend or a temporary drop. However, in terms of casualty reduction in 2015 Halton was one of the best performing Local Authorities, both regionally and nationally.

RESOLVED: That the overall progress made on casualty reduction in Halton over the past decade be noted and welcomed