Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Mrs Bower, Hipperson, Hopkins, Parish and Taylor.

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting held on 4^th September 2018 and the special meeting held on 11^th October 2018 (to follow).

RESOLVED: The Minutes from the previous meeting held on 4^th September 2018 and the Special Meeting on 11^th October 2018 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Please indicate if there are any interests which should be declared.  A declaration of an interest should indicate the nature of the interest (if not already declared on the Register of Interests) and the agenda item to which it relates.  If a disclosable pecuniary interest is declared, the Member should withdraw from the room whilst the matter is discussed.

Those declarations apply to all Members present, whether the Member is part of the meeting, attending to speak as a local Member on an item or simply observing the meeting from the public seating area.

There were no declarations of interest.

To consider any business which, by reason of special circumstances, the Chairman proposed to accept as urgent under Section 100(b)(4)(b) of the Local Government Act, 1972.

There was none.

Members wishing to speak pursuant to Standing Order 34 should inform the Chairman of their intention to do so and on what items they wish to be heard before the meeting commences.  Any Member attending the meeting under Standing Order 34 will only be permitted to speak on those items which have been previously notified to the Chairman.

There was none.

If any.

There was none.

Representatives from CAN and Shelter will be present at the meeting to provide an update.

The Panel received an update on Advice Services.  Michael Deakin from Shelter gave a presentation (as attached) which provided an overview of the services provided and compared information and data from year one to year two.

The Chairman thanked Michael Deakin for his presentation and invited questions and comments from the Panel as summarised below.

Councillor Mrs Spikings commented that there was another side to this in that the businesses and landlords which had to hold debts could be affected.  She explained that it was all too easy to borrow money and get in debt, but little consideration was given to the effect on landlords and businesses.  Michael Deakin commented that the only way to tackle this was to change the banking system so that there were more checks in place and interest rates were capped.  He explained that Shelter did help landlords where possible by advising them to take insurance against rent arrears so that they were protected.

Councillor Mrs Fraser commented that she appreciated the work carried out by Shelter and asked if it was instilled in the individual that they needed to take responsibility for their actions when Debt Relief Orders were put in place.  Michael Deakin explained that Debt Relief Orders were on a twelve month moratorium so the individual could not borrow any more money during that period.  The Debt Relief Order would also be put on their credit rating for six years.

In response to a question from Councillor Bubb it was explained that a Debt Relief Order froze the debt and after twelve months it could be written off.  The debt would be passed onto the creditor.  Councillor Mrs Fraser commented that this could have an impact on small companies, landlords, interest rates and also funds which were invested in other customer’s savings and pensions.

Councillor Mrs Westrop asked if the introduction of Universal Credit would impact the use of the service.  Michael Deakin explained that he did not have data for this area at the moment, but in other areas it had increased rent arrears and the use of food banks.

Members were informed that a briefing on Universal Credit would be provided to Members in advance of the Full Council meeting on 18^th October 2018.

The Vice Chairman, Councillor Bambridge referred to people not showing up for appointments.  Michael Deakin explained that initial advice was offered over the phone and individuals were encouraged to contact their creditors to say that they were in the process of getting debt advice and put their account on hold.  Shelter would then provide assistance and an individual budgeting statement.  Michael Deakin commented that text reminders were sent out the day before the appointment, but there were still some people that did not attend.

The Chairman invited Jon Clemo from Community Action Norfolk to update the Panel.  A copy of his presentation is attached.  Jon Clemo reminded the Panel that Community Action Norfolk held the Housing Advice Contract.

The Chairman thanked Jon Clemo for his  ...  view the full minutes text for item EC60:

The Senior Policy and Performance Officer presented the report which contained information on the corporate performance monitoring undertaken during quarter one 2018/2019.  He explained that at the end of each year, indicators were reviewed and this had resulted in fourteen indicators falling under the remit of the Environment and Community Panel.  The additional indicators which had been added related to the number of fly tipping incidents, changes to housing services and the private sector housing policy.  Further information on the indicators was available in the report.

The Senior Policy and Performance Officer reminded the Panel that in the previous monitoring report considered by the Panel targets relating to Careline, disabled facility grants and adapt services were underperforming.  These indicators were now on target.

The Chairman thanked the Senior Policy and Performance Officer for his report and invited questions and comments from the Panel, as summarised below.

Councillor Bubb referred to the fly-tipping indicator and asked if incidents recorded included private land.  The Senior Policy and Performance Officer agreed to find out and report back to the Panel.

Councillor Mrs Westrop referred to the indicator relating to affordable housing completions.  She felt that the target could be problematic and asked if this could be reported separately in more detail, possibly jointly with the Planning Committee.  The Senior Policy and Performance Officer suggested that this was something that could be added to the Panel’s Work Programme as a separate item.

The Portfolio Holder for Environment, Councillor Devereux referred to fly-tipping and explained that the Council did pick up from residential and private land in special circumstances.

In response to a question from Councillor Bubb, the Waste and Recycling Manager explained that fly-tipping weights were defined by descriptions, which were translated into weights and this was a national scheme.  Tonnages collected by the Borough were calculated using this scheme.

The Panel discussed the misconception that you were charged for taking items to the waste and recycling centres.  It was confirmed that you were only charged for DIY waste.  The Waste and Recycling Manager explained that Norfolk County Council had tried to make this clear.

The Portfolio Holder for Environment, Councillor Devereux referred to his report which he would be presenting to Full Council on 18^th October 2018 and a recent article in the Lynn News which provided detail on future work relating to fly-tipping.  He explained that the Norfolk Waste Partnership was looking at an enforcement campaign which would involve a range of organisations such as the police, land owners and local authorities. 

RESOLVED: The Panel reviewed the performance in the monitoring report and agreed the actions outlined in the Action Report.

To consider the Report and make any appropriate recommendations to Cabinet.

The Environmental Health Manager presented the report.  She explained that the Gambling Act 2005 required all local authorities to agree a Statement of Principles which needed to be reviewed every three years.  This report presented the latest review of the Statement of Principles.  The main changes were highlighted in the report.

The Chairman thanked the Environmental Health Manager for her report. 

RESOLVED: The Panel supported the recommendations to Cabinet as set out below:

That the Council be invited to adopt the Statement of Principles in accordance with the requirements of the Gambling Act 2005.

The Senior Policy and Performance Officer presented the report which explained that the Norfolk Health and Wellbeing Board had been developing a new four year Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy to address a range of health and wellbeing issues across the County.  The Senior Policy and Performance Officer drew attention to the four priorities in the strategy and explained that an implementation plan would be developed once the strategy had been agreed and the implementation plan would be presented to the Environment and Community Panel for consideration in the future.

The Chairman thanked the Senior Policy and Performance Officer for his report and invited questions and comments from the Panel, as summarised below.

Councillor Mrs Fraser referred to the Borough Health Profile, as set out in the report.  She commented that it was worrying because the situation had been like this for a long time and complex issues needed to be addressed.  Councillor Mrs Westrop agreed with the comments made by Councillor Mrs Fraser and suggested that a dual diagnosis service was required.

Councillor Mrs Wilkinson commented that changes to GP services had meant that at some surgeries it was difficult to speak to a GP as a new triage service was carried out by receptionists.  She commented that this could have an impact on the amount of people going straight to A&E, and queried if they were adequately trained to conduct a triage.  Councillor Mrs Wilkinson’s comments were reiterated by some other Members of the Panel.  Comments were also raised about confidentiality and Councillor Mrs Spikings commented that people did not always want to tell the receptionists their issues as they could be sensitive. 

The Portfolio Holder for Culture, Heritage and Health explained that GP services did not come under this strategy, however, she advised anyone experiencing issues with the services provided by surgeries to contact their local patient users group, especially with serious issues relating to confidentiality. 

The Portfolio Holder for Culture, Heritage and Health explained that it was important to endorse the strategy so that the Borough could work with Norfolk County Council.  She explained that the Strategy had been put together as Norfolk County Council acknowledged that they needed to work with local councils in order to meet targets.  She explained that this was the first time that a joint strategy had been put in place and it recognised the important work that the Borough did in relation to health and wellbeing.  She stated that she was pleased that the Borough had been included in Norfolk County Council’s plans and the joint working was welcomed.

RESOLVED: The Panel reviewed the draft Norfolk and Waveney Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2018/2022 and endorsed the strategy.

To receive an update from officers and the Portfolio Holder.

At the invitation of the Chairman the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Councillor Devereux provided the Panel with an update on emerging national policy direction relating to waste and recycling.  He explained that his report would provide an indication of what was planned for the future, but could be subject to change.  He explained that there may be the opportunity for the Panel to become involved in consultations as appropriate.

He explained that the autumn budget could have measures in it such as an incineration tax and taxes on raw materials.  It was also explained that a National Resources and Waste Strategy was likely to be published after the budget and was expected to have extended producer responsibility as a key feature.

The Panel was informed that there would also be a range of consultations such as:

·        Extended producer responsibility including looking a models for how funding would flow from producers to local authorities, new targets for recycling packaging and deposit return schemes.

·        Consistency of collections, which could include consulting on separate food waste collections, specifications for a core of materials to collect and a minimum standard on collections, including frequency of residual.  The key would be a focus on collection models that delivered quality.

·        Single Use Plastics – linked to the EU Directive implementation.

The Portfolio Holder for Environment explained that consultations were likely to take place throughout 2019 with draft legislation being prepared towards the end of the year.  Any legislation was likely to be introduced in 2023.

It was explained that the purpose of the update was to inform Members that over the next year there could possibly be some Government consultations that the Panel could get involved in and the Portfolio Holder would keep the Panel updated as appropriate.

The Chairman thanked the Portfolio Holder for his update and invited questions and comments from the Panel, as summarised below.

Councillor Mrs Spikings explained that in Singapore they had banned chewing gum and had compostable plastic cups.  The Waste and Recycling Manager explained that one of the consultations would be on producer responsibility and the Panel may want to consider issues which affect rural areas.

The Portfolio Holder for Environment provided examples of actions which had been carried out locally and he encouraged people to do what was best for the environment as Government Legislation would take time to come into force.

The Panel discussed single use plastics and was reminded that the Environment and Community Panel had set up an Informal Working Group to look at this and they would report back to the Panel at the appropriate time.

RESOLVED: The update was noted.

The following items were identified for possible inclusion on the Work Programme:

·        Provision of Sandbags.

·        Invite representatives of the Business Improvement District to a future meeting regarding Markets.

RESOLVED: The Panel’s Work Programme was noted.

To note that the next meeting of the Environment and Community Panel is scheduled to take place on Tuesday 4^th December 2018 at 6.00pm in the Council Chamber, Town Hall, Saturday Market Place, King’s Lynn.

The next meeting of the Environment and Community Panel would be held on Tuesday 4^th December 2018 at 6.00pm in the Council Chamber, Town Hall, Saturday Market Place, King’s Lynn.