Agenda item

Consideration was given to the report which set out the work that had been done in Rotherham to strengthen enforcement activity around environmental crime issues such as littering, dog fouling and fly-tipping following the approval by Cabinet and Commissioners of the ‘Time for Action’ approach on 9^th January, 2017 and to progress discussions with Doncaster Council to develop shared service provision.

A pilot exercise in Rotherham had been underway since 26^th April, 2017 to test the effectiveness of an alternative approach to deliver enhanced environmental crime and parking enforcement within the Borough.

The pilot had proven to be successful as could be evidenced by the increased level of fixed penalty fines and patrols undertaken to tackle littering and dog fouling and whilst it was 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 could clearly be demonstrated.

Discussions with Doncaster Council have continued throughout with consideration of options, potential timescales, likely specifications and potential service level agreement items.

Members expressed concerns that Kingdom were operating on private owned land where the landowner had a duty to maintain cleanliness of their property and felt that Kingdom should operate solely on public land or Council owned property. In response, officers confirmed that a flexible approach could be adopted where a private landowner could pay for the service.

Further concerns were expressed that the initiative was targeting areas with larger footfall to increase the ratio of fine. In response, officers advised that targeting was something that should be pursued, but it should not be about targeting specific individuals, but rather to undertake enforcement activity to challenge behaviours.

Members sought clarification in respect of the number of fines that needed to be pursued through the courts for non-payment. In response, it was confirmed that 4,617 offences had been committed and the expectation was that 70% of these would be collected and 30% would require collection through the courts. It was agreed that specific information would be supplied outside of the meeting.

Clarification was sought as to why attendants were operating in pairs around the town centre. It was explained that this happened occasionally, although staff were provided with body cameras to record proceedings. This was particularly important due to the abuse received by staff and the authority needed to support staff undertaking what could potentially be difficult work.

Resolved:- 

1.         That Cabinet be advised that the recommendations be supported.

2.         That the following recommendations from Improving Place Select Commission be used to inform the negotiations:

              That:

a)   The service should be extended to include issuing of parking fines;

b)   A communication plan be developed to promote the initiative borough wide;

c)   Branding is clearly identified and included as part of the communications plan;

d)   Members are notified when Enforcement Officers are working in their Wards;

e)   Service provision is distributed equally across outlying areas and wards;

f)    The extension of service provision to private sector areas be explored;

g)   That contractors undertaking enforcement activity and issuing of penalties on behalf of the Council work to Rotherham MBC’s code of practice;

h)   When fines are issued, that clear and consistent information is provided to the customer about the process and what happens next;

i)    Details of the contract covering the shared service arrangements should be presented to Improving Places Select Commission;

j)     Six monthly monitoring and evaluation reports are to be presented to Improving Places Select Commission to include details regarding social demographics.