Agenda item

The Committee received a report presented by the Executive Board Members for Environment and Public Protection covering the elements within their portfolio Environment and Public Protection respectively on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Environment Department’s services within the remit of the Scrutiny Committee as follows:-

The Executive Board Member for Environmental Services covered the following:-

·       “Waste and Environmental Services.

·       Building Cleaning (including Schools, where relevant)

·       Transport and Streetscene including Highways, Street Lighting, Bridges, Traffic Management, Parking Services, Cycle paths and Rights of Way

The Executive Board Member for Public Protection covered the following:-

·       Environmental Enforcement including Litter, Dog Fouling; Abandoned Vehicles etc

·       Planning Enforcement

·       Biodiversity”

The report described how the Authority managed during the pandemic and covered the service priorities going forward.

The Executive Board Members advised that the pandemic had significantly impacted on the Department’s budgets, both in terms of additional costs and loss of income. Some of the costs had been covered by Welsh Government grants but many unfunded areas remained impacting upon on the Council’s future budget.

A number of questions / observations were raised on the report. The main matters were as follows:

·         An observation was made in relation to the recycling performance which was predicted to exceed the statutory target of 64%.  It was asked what advantage was being made of the situation and what plans are in place to maintain the recycling rates?  The Executive Board Member for Environment stated that during the lockdown period many homes took advantage of the situation to have a clear out and thanked residents for utilising the recycling provisions.  Ongoing work with the marketing media team would take place to help raise the recycling profile and inform residents of what recycling services are available.  It was hoped that a performance target of 70% would be achieved by 2024/2025.

·        In response to a query regarding the kerbside collection and if there had been any extra provision made during the pandemic, the Executive Board Member for Environment explained that whilst the Council no longer delivered blue bags to individual households the stocks of blue bags in dedicated blue bag stockists had increased, a list of which was available on the Council website.  In addition, the annual delivery of blue bags and food liners had commenced and was likely to be completed by March 2021.

·       Reference was made to the online booking system for the Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC).  It was asked if this would continue into the future and what the costs were?  The Executive Board Member for Environment explained that in terms of costs the newly developed online booking system, whilst was easier to manage, did require additional staffing resources on HWRC sites to ensure that Covid-19 restrictions were implemented effectively, together with the necessary entry controls associated with an online booking system were adhered to.

·       As a result of the closure of the Household Waste Recycling Centres in the initial stages of the pandemic, it was asked if there was any evidence of an increase in fly-tipping?  The Executive Board Member for Public Protection reported that unfortunately fly-tipping in general was on the increase and had been for sometime.  The Head of Homes and Safer Communities agreed and added that there had been a significant increase in fly-tipping over the summer months likely to be as a result of householders having a clear out during the lockdown period.

·       In response to a query regarding enforcement matters during the pandemic, the Executive Board Member for Public Protection emphasised that the priority was the safety of staff and therefore only high priority enforcement cases, where there was an imminent risk to life or the environment, had been progressed as normal since lockdown in March.  Investigations in relation to medium and low priority cases as defined in the Enforcement Protocol were largely suspended but work on these had started to gradually re-commence late August.  Furthermore, it was reported that during the pandemic it would appear that a great level of potentially unlawful activity had occurred which had put a significant strain on the Planning Division since the follow up work on the potential breaches had started.  In recognising that many of the cases would be complex and would also require a multi-disciplinary approach in order to reach a resolution, the Head of Planning stated that it was recognised that additional staff would be required and was currently being considered.

In acknowledging the dedication, commitment, flexibility, and personal resilience shown and applied by staff, the Committee wished to commend their aptitude and contribution of which was invaluable in continuing to provide a service to the Communities within Carmarthenshire. 

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be received.