Agenda item

The Chair welcomed the Tasking Officer to the meeting to provide an update on performance against the Environmental Enforcement Contract.  Members heard how 113 Fixed Penalty Notices and 17 Parking Charge Notices for parking had been issued in quarter 3, October – December, 2015.  Of the 113 Fixed Penalty Notices, 102 of these had been for littering offences and 11 for dog fouling.

It was noted that 15 children had been witnessed littering outside the secondary school, and would therefore be undertaking supervised litter picks. 

Members were made aware of a rise in anti-social behaviour in parts of the area, which were a cause for concern, especially when taking into account the impending changes to policing in the Dearne.

Enquiries were made with regards to increasing the amount of stencilling to discourage dog fouling.    Members were encouraged to suggest any areas suitable for stencilling to the Tasking Officer.

The Private Sector Housing Officer, and Enforcement and Investigations Officer were then welcomed to provide an update on their work in the area.  The meeting heard how many house and garden inspections had been undertaken.  Officers had dealt with numerous cases of anti-social behaviour, engaging with landlords to help overcome issues.

Members noted that the team had referred individuals and families to other agencies such as victim support and the homelessness team, with positive results.

The meeting noted a number of occurrences of fly tipping, which the team had dealt with, engaging the tenant and landlord where possible.  Where tenants had refused any support this had led, in some cases, to the issuing of fixed penalty notices and in a few cases to prosecution.

Members thanked the officers for their continued hard work.

The Area Council Manager provided a financial overview for the Area Council.  £24,508 of the budget for 2015/16 remained unallocated, together with income from Fixed Penalty Notices of £15,720 this equated to £40,228 for use by the Area Council.  Members acknowledged that the year end figure would be considerably higher, due to further income expected from Fixed Penalty Notices.

Members were advised that £31,910 of the Dearne Development Fund had been allocated, and that 10 further applications were due to be considered shortly. 

With regards to the Training for Employment commission, the meeting heard that the service would finish at the end of March, 2016, but continued to deliver well against contracted outcomes.  48 people had entered local employment in the 14 months of operation.  It was noted that an annual review had now been completed, which had highlighted a number of barriers for people to enter the labour market. These included, travel costs to interviews and the cost of specific training.  Members noted the increasing number of referrals to the scheme from Job Centre.

Members discussed the success of the scheme, noting the impact of the service being based in the community made to reduce barriers for people to engage.

The meeting briefly discussed the contract with Twiggs Grounds Maintenance, noting that time had been equally distributed between Dearne North and Dearne South Wards.  It was noted how a number of community groups were now working with Twiggs, and it was suggested that community members need to be encouraged to highlight areas requiring attention by the service.

Members discussed a potential issue regarding Twiggs inability to remove significant amounts of green waste from certain sites, which was thought may be due to the ownership of the site.  It was agreed that the Area Manager discusses this issue with John Twigg.

RESOLVED:-

(i)         that the updated financial position for Dearne Area Council be noted;

(ii)       that the continued progress of the Dearne Area Council commissions be noted and;

(iii)      that the Area Manager discusses issues regarding the collection of green waste from certain sites with John Twigg.