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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED: that Councillor Karen Edwards be appointed as Vice Chair of the Communities Scrutiny Committee for the ensuing Year.
RESOLVED: that, subject to the above, the minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 4 May 2023 be received and approved as a true and correct record of the proceedings.
RESOLVED: that the update on the new Waste Service Remodelling Project be received and noted.
RESOLVED: that- (i) Councillor Jon Harland be appointed as the Communities Scrutiny Committees representative on the Planning, Public Protection and Countryside Service Challenge Group and- (ii) The forward work programme be received and noted.
Apologies were received from Councillor Delyth Jones.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: that Councillor Karen Edwards be appointed as Vice Chair of the Communities Scrutiny Committee for the ensuing Year.
Nominations for the appointment of Vice Chair were sought from Members. Councillor Karen Edwards was proposed and seconded for the position of Vice Chair. There being no other nominations it was- RESOLVED: that Councillor Karen Edwards be appointed as Vice Chair of the Communities Scrutiny Committee for the ensuing Year.
No items of an urgent nature had been raised with the Chair or the Scrutiny Coordinator prior to the commencement of the meeting.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: that, subject to the above, the minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 4 May 2023 be received and approved as a true and correct record of the proceedings.
The minutes of the Communities Scrutiny Committee meeting held on Thursday 4 May 2023 were submitted. Matters Arising- Members questioned if there was a start date finalised for the Flood Task and Finish Group meeting. The Interim Head of Service for Highways and Environmental Services informed Members that they were currently in the process of setting up meetings with Member Area Groups (MAGs) to seek nominations for their respective areas. RESOLVED: that, subject to the above, the minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 4 May 2023 be received and approved as a true and correct record of the proceedings.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: that the update on the new Waste Service Remodelling Project be received and noted.
The Lead Member for Environment and Transport introduced the Waste Remodelling update to Members. The new Waste Collection Service had been in planning for a number of years and was being introduced to enable Denbighshire to reach the new statutory target of recycling 70% of household waste set by Welsh Government. It was vitally important that the new service was introduced to contribute to tackling climate change. It is anticipated that construction of the new waste depot in Denbigh will be complete by the end of Autumn 2023, with the new Waste Service being rolled out from March 2024 (subject to receiving the necessary licence from Natural Resources Wales to enable legal operation from the depot). There were also financial benefits to the new Waste Service being rolled out due the cost of collecting recycling from blue bins under the current service significantly increasing. The Corporate Director: Economy and Environment stated that the report (previously circulated) provided Members with the opportunity to scrutinise the updated Waste Collections Policy. In addition, it provided updates regarding the roll out of the new Absorbent Hygiene Products (AHP) service and the changes for non-standard households. The report also included details of the current Waste Service and the new Waste Service. Members were advised that: · The new Waste Service had an anticipated roll out date from March 2024. However, this was subject to receiving the necessary licence from Natural Resources Wales to enable legal operation from the depot. · From Autumn 2023 the new AHP Service would be rolled out to a targeted pilot area covering the LL16/ LL17 postcodes. The areas would capture around 1000 subscribers, providing a mix of rural, town and urban areas prior to the whole County roll out when the main service change took place in 2024. · Denbighshire had several households on a `non-standard service` i.e. either a communal or sack service. This was due to vehicle access issues and the properties container storage spaces being limited. The non-standard households in Denbighshire were being reviewed. · The new Waste Service Model agenda item would be returning to the Communities Scrutiny Committee in October 2023 to discuss further details of the main service roll out. Members had previously received detailed explanations on the new Waste Service, the roll out and the new services incorporated within it, therefore the Corporate Director opened the discussion to Members in agreement with the Chair. The Chair thanked the Corporate Director: Economy and Environment for their update and questions were welcomed from Committee Members. Members asked whether Officers were engaging with Town, City and Community Councils to demonstrate how the new trolley boxes would work. It was felt that this would aid the understanding of residents when the new service was rolled out. The Waste and Recycling Manager informed Members that the new Waste Service agenda item had been scheduled to go to all MAG meetings then further discussions would be held with the Project Team. The Corporate Director informed members that they would work on the detail of engaging with Town, City and Community Councils and inform Members in due course. Members queried the rules and regulations of the new Waste Service and questioned whether fixed penalty enforcement would be used if residents did not comply. Members also asked how many penalty notices were issued under the existing Waste Service Model. The Waste and Recycling Manager informed Members that there were very few penalty notices distributed under the current service. There was a focus on behavioural change rather than fixed fines. At this juncture, the Chair paused the meeting to allow the Project Manager: Strategic Planning to join the meeting remotely. Continuing, the Corporate Director referenced the previous question regarding enforcement. He stated that enforcement was the last resort, that they were primarily focused on education and engaging with residents, which would continue under the new Waste Service. Members referred to paragraph 4.3 of the report (previously circulated) relating to the pilot AHP Scheme. Members questioned whether the postcodes chosen for the pilot scheme were the most beneficial areas for prior learning before the main roll out of the scheme. The Waste and Recycling Manager informed Members that the areas selected for the pilot scheme were a mixture of town, urban and rural areas. The Planning Manager also explained that another factor for the postcodes being selected was that they were closer to Parc Adfer, which was the site where the waste would be disposed of. Members asked how residents could apply to be part of the pilot scheme. The Planning Manager: Strategic Planning advised that email correspondence had been sent to Town Councils and information would be displayed on the Denbighshire County Council (DCC) website, including the registration form and terms and conditions. There were also information leaflets that had been delivered to libraries and One Stop Shops within those areas. Members sought to clarify who would need to sign up for the AHP Service once it was fully rolled out. For example, if a Grandparent looked after their Grandchild once a week and they were in nappies, would they then be required to sign up to the service. The Planning Manager stated that the AHP Service was not currently open to the wider family and therefore it would be acceptable to put any AHP (small quantities) in the black bin. This would remain under active review following the pilot scheme. Members referred to the new Battery Collection Service and questioned why disposable Vapes were not mentioned within the report. The Planning Manager informed Members that there were ongoing discussions to clarify if they were to be classed as batteries or small electrical items. Members questioned collections under the new Waste Service for private and unadopted roads and if there were going to be any changes. The Waste and Recycling Manager stated that the new Service would entail new vehicles and new routes, and this would be re-evaluated to address the most suitable collection points for residents. The Chair thanked the officers for their update and affirmed that it was very important to continue to educate residents and, Town, City and Community Councils of the changes to the Waste Recycling Model. The Chair asked Officers if there was the opportunity to have a site visit to the new depot in the future. The Corporate Director agreed that this could be arranged. Following an in-dept discussion it was- RESOLVED: that the update on the new Waste Service Remodelling Project be received and noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: that- (i) Councillor Jon Harland be appointed as the Communities Scrutiny Committees representative on the Planning, Public Protection and Countryside Service Challenge Group and- (ii) The forward work programme be received and noted.
The Scrutiny Coordinator guided members through the Communities Scrutiny Committee Forward Work Programme report (previously circulated). The next meeting was scheduled for 7 September 2023, proposed for that meeting were two agenda items. I. Engagement with Care Forum Wales, an opportunity to discuss the report before it is presented to Cabinet in November and II. The Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment review. Appendix 2 contained a copy of the Member Proposal Form. Members were encouraged to complete the form with any items they thought merited consideration. Appendix 3 to the report was the Cabinet’s Forward Work Programme should the Committee like to scrutinise forthcoming issues. Appendix 4 to the report was a list of Committee representatives on the various Service Challenge Groups. Following the standing down from Communities Scrutiny Committee of Councillor Pauline Edwards a new representative was required for the Planning, Public Protections and Countryside Services Service Challenge. Councillor Jon Harland had previously expressed an interest in that Service Challenge Group and was subsequently proposed, seconded and appointed the Communities Scrutiny Committee’s representative. RESOLVED: that- (i) Councillor Jon Harland be appointed as the Communities Scrutiny Committees representative on the Planning, Public Protection and Countryside Service Challenge Group and- (ii) The forward work programme be received and noted.
Councillor Karen Edwards was thanked for attending a recent meeting of Public Protection and Countryside Services at short notice. Councillor Edwards informed Members that the Service Challenge Groups were very informative. The meetings gave Members the opportunity to have thorough conversations with officers and Head of Services and questions could be asked and answered. The action notes from the meeting would be circulated to those in attendance and it was agreed that the new representative for the Service Challenge Group would feedback to the Committee at the next meeting. Councillor James Elson informed Members that there was a meeting for the Capital Scrutiny Group on the 7 June 2023 and they will request the minutes from the meeting and feedback to Members at the next meeting in September. The Corporate Director informed Members that there had been two Service Challenge Groups held so far and it was pleasing to hear that Members were finding them beneficial. Meeting concluded at 10:50am
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