Agenda item

To consider any questions which may have been received from Elected Members and which are asked pursuant to Standing Order No. 11.

(a)  Councillor Fielding

‘The increased costs of the Dodworth Road Improvement Scheme (better known as the Penny Park Gyratory) was approved at Cabinet in October 2020 as £7.448 million. Is it likely that the scheme will now be completed within this increased budget’.

(b)  Councillor Hunt

‘In February 2019 the council announced changes to street bin collections. The changes made included providing residents with the ability to dispose of dog waste in any of the general litter street bins and tagging all street bins with a unique reference number. Following on from this the council were to roll out in-cab technology and use data to inform a second phase of changes to street bin collections. What improvements are planned and when will this second phase be implemented?’

(c)  Councillor Fielding

‘I was pleased to learn that following my earlier interventions on the costs of heat to tenants of district heating schemes that costs have been reviewed but no announcement of the results of this review is planned to be made public until at least November when Cabinet consider the results of the review. Will this announcement be made immediately  so that vulnerable tenants can learn as soon as possible if their heating costs are being reduced to a level that they can afford as they enter the winter heating season’.

(d)  Councillor Hunt

‘The council’s website details litter cleaning schedules. Service levels are shown for various roads in the borough varying from two weekly to four weekly cleaning. Is the council currently meeting these service levels and how has the litter cleaning schedule been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic?’

The Executive Director Core Services, in the absence of the Chief Executive, reported that he had received a number of questions from Elected Members in accordance with Standing Order No. 11.

(a)  Councillor Fielding

‘The increased costs of the Dodworth Road Improvement Scheme (better known as the Penny Park Gyratory) was approved at Cabinet in October 2020 as £7.448 million. Is it likely that the scheme will now be completed within this increased budget?’’.

Councillor Lamb, Cabinet Spokesperson for Place (Environment and Transportation), thanked Councillor Fielding for his question and stated that in October 2020, Cabinet had approved the release of additional funding from the Council’s capital reserves to support the delivery of the civil works contract and the wider project cost increases that had arisen since project approval had been granted back in 2018.

It was anticipated that the A628 Dodworth Road improvement scheme would be delivered within these allocated resources. However, as with any development, the full extent of third-party issues that caused delays were not fully known until the scheme was completed.

He stressed that Elected Members could be assured that robust contract management was in place, supported by detailed project monitoring and forecasting processes. This ensured that any issues around cost were identified early and considered on an ongoing basis through routine budgetary procedures.

Councillor Fielding thanked Councillor Lamb for his response and commented that it was reassuring that the Cabinet Spokesperson was suggesting that the project would be delivered on budget but questioned whether or not the Cabinet Spokesperson was aware of delays on works and night-time working that was being carried out to the disturbance and annoyance of local residents.  He also questioned whether or not the project could be delivered on budget given the compensation events that were likely to be brought forward.

Councillor Lamb stated that he hoped that the project would be delivered on budget and all the information he had suggested that it would.

(b)  Councillor Hunt

‘In February 2019 the Council announced changes to street bin collections. The changes made included providing residents with the ability to dispose of dog waste in any of the general litter street bins and tagging all street bins with a unique reference number. Following on from this the Council were to roll out in-cab technology and use data to inform a second phase of changes to street bin collections. What improvements are planned and when will this second phase be implemented?’

Councillor Lamb, Cabinet Spokesperson for Place (Environment and Transportation), thanked Councillor Hunt for his question and stated that StreetBin Collections was one of the first services planned to go live as part of the in-cab technology programme. 

The Service was currently focusing on delivering essential front-line services to residents whilst dealing with the wider impacts of the Covid pandemic.  It was anticipated, therefore, that the programme would start in the next financial year. 

Plans were for the live data regarding collections to be available online. It would help the Service see when street bins needed to be replaced and review collection schedules in line with local demand.

He was pleased to inform the Council that additional funding ‘WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme)’ had been secured to support the replacement of bins across the primary gateway routes and laybys. This funding would also allow the Service to upgrade a small number of bins in local communities, which would be agreed on in collaboration with Elected Members.  It was anticipated that this work would start in October 2021.

A Street Bin Replacement Policy was being drafted and would detail how street bins were maintained and replaced across the borough. The policy followed the framework of the National Litter Strategy and WRAP Right Bin Right Place guidance. A report would be presented on this to Cabinet for consideration and approval later this financial year.

Councillor Hunt thanked Councillor Lamb for his response and, as a supplementary question, asked whether or not plans were being made in the future for larger bins to be provided in certain locations were there were currently issues on a regular basis such as in Mapplewell Park and outside fast food retailers.

Councillor Lamb stated that such proposals were already under consideration and it was planned for larger bins to be provided in some locations where required.

(c)  Councillor Fielding

‘I was pleased to learn that following my earlier interventions on the costs of heat to tenants of district heating schemes that costs have been reviewed but no announcement of the results of this review is planned to be made public until at least November when Cabinet consider the results of the review. Will this announcement be made immediately so that vulnerable tenants can learn as soon as possible if their heating costs are being reduced to a level that they can afford as they enter the winter heating season?’.

Councillor Lamb, Cabinet Spokesperson for Place (Environment and Transportation) thanked Councillor Fielding for his question and stated that similar issues and questions had been raised by other members in relation to their Wards.  He commented that the Council was doing all it could in terms of energy efficiency and in respect of the costs both in respect of district heating  tenants and indeed for all residents of the borough.

The review promised by the Council in relation to district heating was nearing completion. This was due to be considered at a Cabinet meeting in November. Any changes to tenant's heating costs would be announced at that time.

Alongside the proposed changes to the heating tariffs, officers were looking at where there was the potential to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions across district heating schemes. An assessment would be made of any changes to heating systems, ensuring that they promoted a just transition to net-zero carbon targets in line with the Council’s Sustainable Energy Action Plan. Residents would also be engaged in any proposed changes.

Options would be explored to access the government's Heat Network Efficiency Scheme launched to support performance improvements to existing district heating or communal heating projects.

Work was also progressing with Berneslai Homes and other partners delivering the Warm Homes Service (which was additional to the Berneslai Homes Tenant's First Team).  The Warm Homes Service gave advice, guidance, and pathway referrals to help residents (across tenure), who struggled to keep their homes warm, access the right energy.

The Service would shortly transfer into the Housing, Sustainability and Climate Change Team, aiming to grow this offer further, with an aspiration (delivered via the Affordable Warmth Task Force) to create a one-stop-shop for energy efficiency support and advice to all residents across the borough.

The Council could not, of course, control energy prices (except for the welcomed district heating scheme review) but could provide advice to residents on keeping well and warm, how to make the most of their benefits, and retrofit funding from the government initiatives such as Local Authority Delivery (LAD) and the Sustainable Warmth programmes.

From a council housing perspective, officers were developing a suite of costed retrofit options to improve the efficiency of homes across the borough. This would seek to help people experiencing fuel poverty and with energy performance below an EPC C rating, in the first instance. This offer was aligned to the government's Fuel Poverty Strategy and funding initiatives (Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund).

Councillor Fielding thanked Councillor Lamb for his response.  He was pleased, as no doubt were other Councillors, that this matter was going to be resolved as would tenants who struggled to pay excessive heating bills.  He then asked, as a supplementary question, if the Cabinet Spokesperson could advise him when residents would be informed of the changes to be introduced and whether or not any rebate would be provided.

Councillor Lamb commented, as outlined within his response, that the process was nearing completion and changes would be announced and introduced following the completion of that review.

(d)  Councillor Hunt

‘The council’s website details litter cleaning schedules. Service levels are shown for various roads in the borough varying from two weekly to four weekly cleaning. Is the council currently meeting these service levels and how has the litter cleaning schedule been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic?’

Councillor Lamb, Cabinet Spokesperson for Place (Environment and Transportation) in thanking Councillor Hunt for his question stated that litter collection schedules focused on arterial routes and areas of highest traffic and footfall, including Barnsley town centre, the six principal towns and ten local centres.

Areas with the most significant footfall or traffic received more frequent litter collections than those with less footfall and traffic.

A dedicated team worked across the week on this schedule. There had been some disruption due to staff vacancies and where staff had had to be redeployed to maintain other essential services.

The focus for street cleaning remained on emptying street bins, maintaining the daily schedules in the town centre, and the areas identified for twice-weekly litter collection.

To help maintain essential services when resources are impacted, the Service reactively cleared the routes that were on a 3 and 4 weekly schedule. 

Local community groups had been an essential part of keeping the borough clean, and he wanted to thank them all for their hard work and dedication to their local areas.

It was planned that all litter collection schedules will return to normal service by December 2021.

Councillor Hunt thanked Councillor Lamb for his response and commented that one of the roads on the 4 weekly schedule was the A61 through Darton East between the Eastfield Arms and the boundary with Wakefield.  There was a fantastic ‘Green Space’ Group in the area whose members litter picked this section both before and during the pandemic, however, no Council staff had been seen to be litter picking.  Councillor Hunt asked, therefore, if this was as a direct result of the disruption caused by the pandemic.

Councillor Lamb responded by stating that he was not in a position to be able to respond as to which specific areas were ‘litter picked’ and with what  frequency, however, it was probably a safe assumption that the lack of Council staff undertaking such work was due to the pandemic.  He stressed, however, that if any Member had concerns about areas being missed, they should contact him or the Service direct so that this matter could be investigated.