To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 1 October 2020 (SC.3 - SC.6), previously circulated.

The Decision:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 1 October 2020 (SC.3 - SC.6), previously circulated, be signed as a correct record.

Report of the Director of Finance and Commercial (s151 Officer)

The Director Environment presented a report on behalf of the Director Finance and Commercial (s151 Officer) setting out the Quarter 1 Performance for 2020/21.  The Committee asked a number of questions which were responded to at the meeting and where further information was requested it was agreed that the Committee would be provided with this information separately.

The decision:

That progress made against the Council Plan for Quarter 1 of 2020/21, as detailed within Annex A of the report, be noted.

Report of the Director of Finance and Commercial (s151 Officer)

The Director of Environment presented a report on behalf of the Director of Finance and Commercial (s151 Officer) which provided the quarterly monitoring report on the Corporate Risks, Corporate Project Risks and Service Risks with a net risk threshold of 12 or above affecting the Council.

To ensure that strategic risks were appropriately measured and that suitable actions were undertaken to mitigate the effect of each risk it had been agreed that the Scrutiny Committee would receive a quarterly monitoring report.

The decision:

That the quarterly report on the Corporate Risks, Corporate Project Risks and Service Risks with a net risk threshold of 12 or above affecting the Council and the actions that are in place to mitigate the impact upon the Council of each risk be noted.

Report of the Director of Environment

The Director of Environment submitted the Health and Safety Annual Report which provided an update on the Council’s improvements in health and safety management during 2018/19 against the actions in the Corporate Health and Safety Plan, a copy of which was attached as an annex to the report.

The decision:

That the Health and Safety Annual Report 2018/19 and the Corporate Health and Safety Plan for 2019/20 be noted.

Report of the Director of Environment

The Director of Environment submitted a report providing an update on the current situation regarding fly tipping.  It was noted that the Committee had previously undertaken a policy review on fly tipping during 2017 and had received various updates following completion of the review.  The Director of Environment informed the Committee that local actions being taken by the Waste and Street Scene included the use of overt CCTV equipment and not covert CCTV equipment as detailed within the report.

The Committee asked a number of questions which were responded to at the meeting.  These included the effectiveness of fixed penalty notices as a deterrent; the number of fly tips that included household waste; the use of overt CCTV cameras and the use of stencils.

The Committee suggested that the operational hours of the civic amenity sites could potentially have an impact on the number of instances of fly tipping and it was suggested that if the civic amenity sites were to remain open rather than close on specific days this may help reduce fly tipping within the District.  The Committee recognised that this was a matter for North Yorkshire County Council and outside of the Committee’s remit but requested that these comments be fed back to the appropriate body accordingly.  The Committee was informed that DEFRA were currently reviewing various options with regard to civic amenity sites at a national level.

The Waste and Street Scene Manager reported that he had attended an online conference which discussed the national issue of tackling waste crime with the aim of sharing best practice and looking for further actions and potential solutions.  It was anticipated that there would be a report published arising from this conference and the Committee requested that a copy of the report be submitted to a future meeting of the Committee when it became available.

The decision:

That:-

(1)    the report be noted; and

(2)    should a report be published following the online conference which discussed the national issue of tackling waste crime, this be submitted to the Committee for consideration at the appropriate time.