Agenda and minutes

There are no questions from members of the public or the press.

There are no declarations of interest.

There are no items to be considered.

Cabinet Member for Waste, Roads and Community Safety, Councillor Hoddinott introduced the report

Tackling environmental crime is a corporate and public priority: fly-tipping, litter and dog fouling blight communities and are a strain on public resources. Removal and disposal of fly-tipping alone costs the Council in excess of £250,000 per year. Street cleansing, litter picking, environmental enforcement activity, and engagement increases the annual cost of dealing with environmental crime significantly to around £1.7 million.

Over the past few years, the focus on tackling littering and dog-fouling has declined through re-engineering of the function. Whilst Wardens continued to issue fines where offences were witnessed whilst carrying out statutory work around nuisances, this role was supplementary rather than a priority. Subsequently, the Council only issued 344 fines for littering and dog fouling during the three years prior to the ‘Time for Action’ initiative

On 12^th September 2016, the Cabinet and Commissioners’ Decision Making Meeting adopted a ‘Time for Action’ initiative to deal with the problem, demonstrating a desire to strengthen enforcement activity around littering, dog fouling and fly-tipping.

Following this at the Cabinet and Commissioners’ Decision Making Meeting of 9^th January 2017, a number of options were considered to deliver enhanced enforcement and it was agreed that a shared service with Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council is progressed, to deliver enhanced environmental crime and parking enforcement within Rotherham.

A pilot exercise in Rotherham has been underway since 26^th April 2017 to test the effectiveness of any potential future contractual arrangements to enhance the Council’s enforcement approach to environmental crime. This pilot is to end on 24^th January 2018 with the formal termination of the agreement.

The pilot has proven to be successful having delivered an unprecedented number of environmental offences being dealt with by the Council. Moreover, patrols and actions to tackle littering and dog fouling offences have been delivered across all wards in the Borough.

Up until 19^th November 2017, 4,716 environmental crimes had been dealt with: 99.40% were littering offences; 0.60% was for dog fouling. In addition, some 164 parking offences were tackled. Of the littering offences identified, 54.26% were in the town centre and 45.74% across other wards.

The desire to deliver shared service arrangements is to ensure that enforcement of environmental crime offences is enhanced, which in turn will provide a deterrent and in the long term influence behavioural change. Shared service will provide for increased flexibility, with staff from other areas being drawn on to enhance project and hot spot work, along with ensuring effective and immediate cover for leave and sickness issues. Additionally, shared service arrangements ensure synergy of enforcement across Borough boundaries and consistency of approach, administration, and tolerances.

Whilst it is difficult to measure any long term effects in relation to deterrent or reducing street cleansing costs, the short term aim of increasing enforcement against environmental crime offences can clearly be demonstrated. Consequently, it is considered appropriate to ensure that further progress is made to deliver enhanced enforcement.

It was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 96.

Resolved:-  That a further meeting be held on Wednesday, 3^rd January, 2018, commencing at