Should
you wish to refer any decisions contained in these minutes to Policy and
Resources Committee, please submit a Decision Referral Form, signed by three
Councillors, to the Head of Policy and Communications by: 3
January 2018
MAIDSTONE BOROUGH COUNCIL
COMMUNITIES, HOUSING AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE
Minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 12 December 2017
Present: |
Councillors Barned (Chairman), M Burton, Garten, Joy, D Mortimer, Perry, Mrs Ring and Mrs Robertson |
|
|
73. Apologies for Absence
It was noted that apologies had been received from Councillors Webb and Webster.
74. Notification of Substitute Members
It was noted that Councillor Perry was substituting for Councillor Webster.
75. Urgent Items
There were no urgent items.
76. Notification of Visiting Members
There were no Visiting Members.
77. Disclosures by Members and Officers
There were no disclosures by Members and Officers.
78. Disclosures of Lobbying
There were no disclosures of lobbying.
79. Exempt Items
RESOLVED: That the items on Part II of the agenda should be taken in private, as proposed, due to the likely disclosure of exempt information.
80. Minutes (Part I) of the Meeting Held on 14 November 2017
RESOLVED: That the Minutes (Part I) of the meeting held on 14 November 2017 be approved as a correct record and signed.
81. Presentation of Petitions
There were no petitions.
82. Questions and answer session for members of the public
There were no questions from members of the public.
83. Committee Work Programme
The Committee considered the Committee Work Programme.
Councillor D Mortimer asked for an item to be put on the Committee Work Programme which related to changing places. It was requested that this be incorporated into the community toilets update report which would be coming back in March 2018.
The Chairman advised that there would be a Crime and Disorder Committee meeting on 13 February 2018 and the March meeting would be postponed until July. It was further proposed that the Police Crime Commissioner would be invited along to the meeting in September.
The Committee also noted that a report would come back in March on Heather House providing an update.
RESOLVED: That
1)
The changes to the Committee Work Programme be noted;
2)
That the Chairman and Vice-Chairman meet to discuss how to take forward
the changing places issue;
3) A site visit be arranged for Committee Members to visit Heather House before the report comes back in March.
84. National Strategy for England 2017
The Committee considered the report of the Head of
Environment and Public Realm which related to a Litter Strategy for England
2017.
It was noted that in April 2017 the Government launched a new Litter Strategy
for England with an ambition to be “the first generation to leave the natural
environment of England in a better state than it found it”.
The report detailed the further information that had been received from the
Government which set out three key areas of focus which were:
· Clear and consistent anti-litter message
· Improve enforcement against offenders
·
Cleaning up the Country
The Officer detailed the ways in which the Council was
already working to these initiatives.
The Committee noted that the Strategy highlighted an area where the Council had
had difficulty tackling before which was litter being thrown from vehicles,
where enforcement had been difficult unless a clear description could be given
of the offender. Legislation had been proposed which would enable local
authorities to take enforcement action against the registered keeper of
vehicles from which litter was proven to originate. The guidance is expected
to come forward in January/February 2018.
In October 2017 the Government announced new steps to be introduced for
littering following completion of the public consultation.
The announcement included that from April 2018 the maximum on the spot fine
local authorities could issue for dropping litter would nearly double from £80
to £150. The minimum fine would increase from £50 to £65, whilst the default
fine would increase from £75 to £100.
It was also noted that for the first time, local authorities outside of London
would also be able to apply these penalties for littering to vehicle owners if
it could be proved litter was thrown from the car, even if it was discarded by
someone else.
The Head of Environment and Public Realm also drew Members’ attention to the available options as set out in the report which were to:-
Option 1 – note the actions proposed by Government in the Litter
Strategy for England but take no specific action to change the approach to
engagement or enforcement in Maidstone and to leave the FPN at £80.
Option 2 – to increase the value of the FPN to the maximum of £150 for
littering, including from vehicles.
Option 3 – to increase the value of the FPN to £120 for
littering, including from vehicles as a proportionate penalty and offer a
reduced charge of £90 for early payment (within 14 days) of the FPN.
In response to questions from Members, the Head of Environment and Public Realm
advised:-
·
That the contract with Kingdom had been terminated and the Waste
Crime Team were now carrying out the work. A recruitment process would be
carried out in January 2018 to appoint two Enforcement Officers and this would
be for an initial trial period of 18 months and that they would be employed
directly by the Council and would receive no incentives or bonuses for the
amount of fines issued.
·
That the new Enforcement Officers would not just be working in
the town centre, they would carry out enforcement action across the Borough.
·
An anti-littering sculpture would be put up to encourage people
not to litter. This was a new initiative instead of putting up signs which
people get used to and ignore.
·
That Officers were continuing to work with local takeaways to
minimise the amount of litter on the streets and great successes have already
been had with companies such as McDonalds who sweep up their own area outside
the restaurant to keep it litter free.
·
It would not be a good idea for incentives to be given to those
providing footage from their dashcams of litter being thrown from cars
· That Officers would investigate reports of the refuse vehicles leaving behind rubbish as they should return to pick it up.
RESOLVED:
1. That the national actions for the Litter Strategy for England 2017
be noted and that the continuation of local actions as set in
Appendix A to the report be supported.
2. That the current Fixed Penalty Notice be increased
from £80 to
£120.
3. That the offer of a reduced charge of £90 for the
early payment
(within 14 days) of a Fixed Penalty Notice for Littering be agreed.
Voting: For: unanimous
85. Exclusion of the Public and Press
RESOLVED: That the press and the public be excluded from the meeting due to the possible disclosure of exempt information.
86. Minutes (Part II) of the Meeting held on 14 November 2017
RESOLVED: That the Minutes (Part II) of the
meeting held on
14 November 2017 be approved as a correct record and signed.
87. Temporary Accommodation Strategy Review
The Committee considered the exempt report of the Head of Housing and Community Services which related to a review of the Temporary Accommodation Strategy.
RESOLVED:
1. That the Committee continues to support the recommendations and
objectives set out in the Temporary Accommodation Strategy
originally submitted to the Committee in December 2016.
2. That the Committee adopts Option B as set out in
paragraphs 3.3 –
3.6 (inclusive) to further assist the Housing Service in changing the
type and making a reduction in the amount of temporary
accommodation it uses.
Voting: For: unanimous
88. Duration of Meeting
6.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.