Agenda item

Hannah Thorpe, Head of Strategy and Transformation introduced the report and made the following comments:

·  Greenhouse emissions: the data was not yet available as the data sits in various services areas and collating it was a complex process;

·  Street cleansing performance data was now being collected via the cameras that are installed on the council’s vehicles. 1,200 photos had been inspected so far and the data would be shared in the next performance report;

·  Temporary accommodation: The number of households in temporary accommodation was high;

·  Over 1,000 trees had been planted in the period under review;

·  The Recycling rate had improved although it was still very low. There was a need to increase education to encourage communities to recycle;

·  Street Cleansing public perception was at 26%. There was a need to check and understand the reasons behind this data and to do this in conjunction with the new street cleansing performance indicator to understand perceptions and reality;

·  Freedom of Information requests had increased.

The Chair thanked the officer for a clear and detailed report and invited the Panel to comment.

Members asked questions and made comments as follows:

·  One Member asked why planning appeals were very high and asked whether these were mostly small or big projects;

·  There were now an increased number of households in temporary accommodation, what was the reason behind this increase?

·  What was the net gain of trees in the district?

·  Did the council have information on the number of applications for felling trees?

·  The Enforcement team was doing a fabulous job. However there were some properties that needed enforcement;

·  One Member said that litter was an issue in Central Harbour after waste collection vehicles. This could be addressed by getting street cleaners to follow bin collection vehicles;

·  Graffiti was also on the increase in the same area;

·  Street cleansing was not particularly good. Could a review be conducted on the way of working;

·  Street bins had been in some locations across the district. However people were still leaving rubbish where those bins used to be located. Could this be reviewed as well?

·  Why was the empty homes figure increasing?

Ms Thorpe and Councillor Whitehead, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing responded as follows:

·  There was a  net gain of 1,048 trees;

·  Greenhouse emissions were measured from the TDC properties that include council offices and vehicles. A more detailed response to this question could be made available to Members after the meeting;

·  Clarification was given that the Street Cleansing performance reported is capturing public perception and not service delivery. Confirmation given that new street cleansing standards were in place and would be published soon on the website;

·  Mike Humber, Director of Environment and/or Mark Greening, Commercial Waste Manager could be invited to attend the next meeting of the Panel to make a presentation on street cleansing if members wanted further information on the service;

·  Cabinet was focusing on street cleaning;

·  Officers were going to provide information on the increase in temporary accommodation after the meeting.

Members noted the report.