Issue - meetings

          Q & A

Apologies were received from Cllr Canver who was unwell and unable to attend the meeting.

          Waste and recycling recommendations – part 1

The panel noted that the recommendations from the interim report on the waste and recycling service had been presented to Cabinet in November and a response provided at its December meeting.  It was noted that with the exception of two, all recommendations had been accepted by Cabinet.

The panel were concerned about the process through which scrutiny panel recommendations were approved.  It was noted that at present, recommendations of the panel need to be agreed by the main Overview & Scrutiny Committee and subsequently presented and approved by Cabinet.   It was the view of the panel that this process was lengthy and may not be responsive or flexible enough to respond to recommendations made. 

The panel agreed that whilst recommendations that affected council policy should obtain Cabinet approval, those recommendations which were operational in nature could be approved by the Cabinet member themselves through a more informal process.  The panel indicated that if such a two tier system could be agreed, this would help to create a more streamlined decision making process.

Agreed:   That the Chair of the Environment & Housing Scrutiny Panel would approach the Chair of Overview & Scrutiny and the Chairs of other scrutiny panels to indentify and agree new arrangements for approval of recommendations.  This can then be followed by a meeting of Overview & Scrutiny Committee and the full Cabinet.

The panel noted that there had been some problems with the Christmas collection times with waste and recycling not being collected on the specified dates.  The panel understood that this problem was due to issues with the Veolia website which was not sophisticated enough to include Bank Holidays and therefore displayed inaccurate collection dates. 

Agreed:   The panel agreed that on future Bank Holidays, if the Veolia website could not be updated appropriately a ‘special notice’ should be placed on the website informing residents of clear up arrangements.

The panel acknowledged that Single Front Line had been very supportive of its work with the new waste and collection recycling service and had responded quickly to issues raised.  It was agreed that Single Front Line would provide an update to the panel (briefing/ future panel meeting) on its agreed recommendations and on the cases study areas where the panel visited.

Agreed:   That an update be provided on the implementation of the waste and recycling recommendations (part 1) and on the case study areas visited by the panel (briefing at next meeting).