Agenda item

The Committee considered an annual report outlining the roles and responsibilities of the Environmental Health and Licensing Service. The service encompassed food safety, communicable disease, health and safety, licensing, pollution (including air, land and noise), nuisances (including noise, odour, smoke etc), pest control advice and dog warden services. The work was predominantly statutory and illustrated the demands on the service and the challenges faced in 2016/17.

The following issues were discussed during consideration of the report:

It was asked if any funding was being received from WG in order to cover the costs of the additional responsibilities placed on the Council.  The Environmental Protection Manager informed the Committee that the Council was not receiving any funding, however, teams were managing by reviewing and changing the way they work in order to provide meet expectations.

A query was raised as to why 2016/17 experienced a high volume of campylobacter cases and what was being done to reduce the number of cases in the future. The Head of Housing and Public Protection explained that number of cases in 2016/17 had reduced from peak number in 2014/15 and that this may have been as a result of campaigns to raise public awareness to report illnesses and that as the campaigns reduced, the numbers reported remained constant.  The Head of Housing and Public Protection informed the Committee of the proactive work that would be undertaken in order to prevent cases of campylobacter.  This would be done by working with the press and media team to educate the public in the safe storage of raw meat and particularly in the lead up to Christmas the safe storage and cooking of turkey.  Furthermore, the Committee was informed that there were two teams working within food safety, one located in Trading Standards and the other in Environmental Health and that both teams have a considerable impact on protecting the public.

It was asked how robust the data collection of the infectious diseases was.  The Environmental Protection Manager stated that the national information was supplied by Public Health Wales which would be scrutinised by the team to identify any trends and determine if there were any common links that would require further questioning.

In response to a query regarding the current position of shellfish sampling, the Environmental Protection Manager informed the Committee that during 2016/17, officers were requested to increase the sampling/monitoring regime in Three Rivers. This was as a result of Welsh Government proposing to open the beds for commercial gathering. However, as the section were not recompensed for the increase in activity the numbers and frequency of sampling was reduced from the original request through knowledge, experience and negotiation by officers to ensure that there was a reasonable, representative programme.  Furthermore, Members were informed that since the Welsh Governments proposal it was decided not to open the beds for commercial shellfish gathering.

With regard to a query raised on the seriousness of illegal gathering of shellfish, the Environmental Protection Manager explained that policing the issue was difficult due to the geographical challenges and that the whilst a co-ordinated approach was being taken the work of various agencies continued to be hampered by the issue of continuity of evidence. 

In reference to the pollution provided on page 18 of the report, a suggestion was made that it would be beneficial to the Councillors and the public if a list of environmental permit holders were made available on the Council website.  The Environmental Protection Manager agreed that this would be beneficial and would seek to publish a list onto the Council website.

In light of the vision to increase community involvement, a query was raised as to how the Council was involving communities with regards to emergency planning.  The Head of Waste and Environmental Services stated that he was unable to provide the Committee with any specific information on this matter today, however, he would liaise with the Civil Contingency Manager and inform Members accordingly.

Reference was made to the table containing the top 20 categories of Service Requests – Pollution set out on page 15 of the report.  A concern was raised in relation to the high number within the ‘accumulation of refuse’ category and if this was an early indication of the impact of closing recycling centres.  The Head of Waste and Environmental Services informed the Committee that this figure was largely to do with hoarding on private properties.

Furthermore, reassurance was provided that currently there were no issues arising from the closure of the Llangadog recycling centre, however this was being closely monitored.

The Head of Housing and Public Protection further added that it would be beneficial to provide the Committee with additional comparative data and trending information.

A concern was raised regarding the recent decision made by Executive Board held on 23^rd October 2017 (Minute 13 refers) to cease the current bathing water monitoring programme which included the Burry Inlet location.  The Head of Housing and Public Protection provided an explanation which informed the decision and stated that whilst the Authority had a responsibility to safeguard public health, bathing water sampling was not a statutory function.  Furthermore, with regard to the Burry Inlet, due to the fact that high tides, periods of heavy rainfall and possible agriculture pollutants the water quality deteriorates in the Burry Inlet.  Therefore, in order to protect public safety and health, it was decided to signpost the public to the approved bathing beaches in Pembrey and Pendine which are both sampled and have appropriate facilities.

Reference was made to page 17 of the report which contained a table providing the number of Dog Warden Enquiries. A comment was raised on the reducing trend of enquiries since 2013/14 where it was felt that the trend in enquiries should be increasing not decreasing.  The Environmental Protection Manager stated that this figure related to stray dogs only and that the increased use of social media by the public to locate owners of stray dogs was proving very powerful which by-passes the need for dog warden intervention.  Furthermore, microchipping in dogs, providing the chip was current and up to date was also successful.

The Head of Waste and Environmental Services added that the Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) was in place and that currently there were 4 teams of Enforcement Officers County wide who work closely with the police in the event of attacks involving dogs.  Following an example provided by a Committee Member where a dog warden was required out of hours, it was asked what the current provision was for providing an out of hours dog warden service.  The Environmental Protection Manager stated that currently there was no provision for a 24hour dog warden service due to the limited staffing capacity.

In response to a query raised regarding the location of scrap dealers within Carmarthenshire, the Environmental Protection Manager stated that she did not have the information available to hand but would provide the requested information to Councillors following the meeting.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be noted.