Agenda item

Dave Richmond, Director of Housing & Neighbourhoods, to report.

-  to report actions taken to deliver one of the identified areas of saving required by Neighbourhood and Adult Services, that is; the “Integration of envirocrime/enforcement and other enforcement activities”.

The Director of Housing and Neighbourhood Services presented a report setting out the Service Review that had taken place on Community Protection Enviro-Crime/Enforcement Service in order to meet the budget savings as agreed at Minute No. 169 of the 23^rd February, 2011, Cabinet meeting.

The integration of Enforcement Services had been undertaken not only to achieve the required budgetary reduction but also to ensure that:-

-        The Service continued to be available to those in the community most in need of them

-        Maximisation of the skills and knowledge capacity of the Enforcement Team

-        Fit for purpose Service in light of current and future anticipated demands.

It was widely recognised that the work of the Enviro-Crime Team had been well respected within the Council, general public and with the local media recognising regularly the success of continued enforcement action.  Whilst it was a frontline customer facing service, the functions undertaken were largely discretionary.  The majority of the Service costs related to staff, therefore, the outcome could only be achieved by reducing the number of posts and by the flexibility of Enforcement Officers and Neighbourhood Wardens to maintain local enforcement capacity.

The Service had been reviewed and a new operating model proposed.  The Enviro-Crime Team comprised of 4 Enviro-Crime Enforcement Officer posts which formed part of a complement of 16 fte Enforcement Officers.  A further 7.6 fte Environmental Health Officers took a lead professional role with respect of the functions also.  The Service Review had identified that 1.5 fte supervision/service support posts could be reduced; this had already been implemented with the posts being removed from the staffing establishment for 2011/12.  As far as possible front line enforcement activity had been preserved with the final implementation resulting in the loss of only 1 Enforcement Officer post in 2011/12 and a further 0.5 fte post in 2012/13.  All had been accommodated by retirement, voluntary severance or vacancy management.

To compensate for the reduced number of Enforcement Officer posts it was proposed, with the roll out of the Locality Review, to widen the breadth of enforcement activity by all the Community Protection Enforcement Officers to bring a more holistic working of the Team to cover all enforcement themes.

The proposal would also need greater enforcement focus by the Rotherham Wardens, an area already identified from the outcome of the Neighbourhood Warden review and being implemented by the Warden Team.  Any positive reductions in the Service would therefore have a significant impact on the delivery of environmental enforcement.

During the Review and, on consideration of consultation response, it had been determined that to ensure the effectiveness of function, Licensing Enforcement would not be integrated into a holistic enforcement role.  The alignment of the Licensing Enforcement function would form part of the considerations of the management review.

The Anti-Social Behaviour Officers within the Community Protection Unit were to be considered as part of the re-integration of the Council House Management Services.

Resolved:-  (1)  That, following consultation, the outcome of the review of the integration of enforcement activities within the Safer Neighbourhoods Team be noted.

(2)  That the consequent achievement of the efficiency savings for 2011/12 and also from 2012/13 where identified plans for the required revenue budget reductions had been made be noted.