Agenda and minutes

Councillors are reminded of the need to declare personal and prejudicial interests, including the nature and extent of such interests, in relation to business on the agenda, before any discussion takes place on the item.  Councillors requiring clarification should seek the advice of the Monitoring Officer prior to the day of the meeting.

A Member declared the following interest:-

The Chair reported that Councillor Mrs Morrish had been admitted to Hospital. He passed on his good wishes and those of the Committee to her and to Councillor David Morrish.

The Chair read out a statement setting out his reasons for calling a special meeting of this Scrutiny Committee. He explained that he had called the meeting to discuss, as a matter of urgent business, the concerns raised about the handling of the collection of rubbish during the recent snow disruption. He praised the work of the operatives on the ground and stated that he had called the Portfolio Holder for Environment and Leisure and the Head of Environmental Health Services to the meeting in order for the Committee to scrutinise the events, decisions, activity, communication and performance of officers and the Portfolio Holder during this period. He thanked them for attending.

A period of up to 15 minutes will be set aside to deal with questions to the Committee from members of the public.

Details of questions should be notified to the Assistant Chief Executive at least three working days prior to the meeting. Further information and a copy of the procedure are available from Member Services (01392 265107) also on the Council web site.

http://www.exeter.gov.uk/scrutinyquestions

With regard to Standing Order No. 19, the following question was read out by the Chair on behalf of Mr Roberts, a member of the public.

“Unfortunately management still seems to be unable to grasp the nub of the problem. It is not just about uncollected waste in bad weather but about management’s inability to plan, manage and communicate the situation. It has taken the local newspaper to recommend simple, yet productive measures, for future policy yet the Council Leader still centres his arguments on the bad weather, unfair criticism and bin men working hard.

The former is accepted and the latter has never been under question. The wider issues of this matter are that specific training in management, planning and good communication seems to be a must to restore credibility. Managers can no longer regard the serving of a long apprenticeship and having a comforting mastery of the issues as if they are a qualification but rather a disqualification.

What specifically is to be done in this respect please and when?”

The Head of Environmental Health Services responded that managers had fully grasped the nub of the problem and that his presentation would illustrate the logistics, constraints, contingency and action taken and lessons learnt for future action.

To receive questions from Members of the Council to appropriate Portfolio Holders.

In accordance with Standing Order No. 20, the following question was put by Councillor Taghdissian.

Does the Portfolio Holder for Environment and Leisure share the view of the Leader that the piles of rubbish left across the City was not and is not a problem?

The Portfolio Holder responded that the Leader had stated that the issues relating to rubbish were a problem but could not be considered as a major problem. He gave an example of what he believed could be considered as a major problem.

Councillor Taghdissian asked a supplementary question.

Why had the Portfolio Holder and the Leader not perceived the problem of bin bags piled high, litter strewn over the pavements and bin bags blocking alley ways as being a problem for the City and the City Council?

The Portfolio Holder reiterated that it had been acknowledged that there had been a problem though not a major problem and stated that the publicity engendered had exaggerated the situation.

He stated that there had been a particular problem in the Polsloe ward and that the difficulties experienced had been due, in part, to residents leaving rubbish out too early, failing to recycle some material and leaving out too much food waste. A day and a half after the rubbish had been cleared bins had again been deposited in the back alley ways.

To receive verbal reports from the Portfolio Holder for Environment and Leisure and the Head of Environmental Health Services on the disruption to the refuse collection service experienced in the City over the Christmas period caused by the severe weather conditions.

The meeting has been called as a matter of urgency to discuss these matters.

Councillor Newcombe declared a personal interest as a Member of Devon County Council.

The Head of Environmental Health Services, at the beginning of his presentation, apologised for the disruption in the refuse collection service. His presentation, setting out the logistics of domestic refuse collection, the constraints of the operation, the particular problems that were and could be caused by the snow disruption over the Christmas period and lessons to be learnt for the future, is attached to these minutes.

Responding to a Member’s request for clarification, the Portfolio Holder for Environment and Leisure stated that he had accepted that there were problems on 17 and 18 December and that he had apologised in the press at that stage of the disruption. He had then been in regular contact with officers from that date and over the Christmas period through emails and telephone calls. The Head of Environmental Heath Services reported that he personally had not discussed the problems with the Portfolio Holder until 3 January, but that other senior managers, including the Director Community and Environment, had been in constant contact with the Portfolio Holder.

Councillor Mrs Henson attended the meeting and spoke on this item having given notice under Standing Order No. 44.

She stated that Exeter had come under the national spotlight for the wrong reasons during this period and that the responses of both the Leader and Portfolio Holder had been complacent and unacceptable. She referred to the exceptional amount of rubbish left in the Polsloe, St James, Newtown and St David’s areas of the City and to the spillage of rubbish on many of the pavements. She felt it wrong to blame residents for leaving out rubbish at the wrong times. Many were students, the majority of whom having left their bags out for collection prior to leaving for home over the holiday period. She stated that rubbish left in back alleys was also a problem in the summer and that the overall problem of refuse should be addressed in areas of multiple occupation.

She queried when meetings had been held between the Portfolio Holder and officers and asked why the Portfolio Holder had not made any comments until the end of December/beginning of January. She stated that she had been advised by Devon County Council officers that there were no difficulties in respect of extra tipping. She compared the situation with other countries, many of which did not seem to suffer from similar problems during periods of disruption from heavy snow.

The Portfolio Holder responded to the issues raised:

·         do not accept the criticisms levelled at the Leader and himself. However, accepted that lessons can be learned.

·         residents were not advised to take their rubbish to the tip.

·         incorrect to state that no statement had been made until the end of December. Problems had been acknowledged from 17 and 18 December with coverage in the Express and Echo and on the Council web site. He advised that the paper had not requested a picture of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.