To receive the above report.

The Strategy and Performance Manager, Anna Robinson, presented the Q3 Performance Report.  The last report considered by the Panel was the Q1 report.

The Panel were informed that in November 2017 Cabinet approved the council’s Performance Management Framework (PMF) of 25 key measures.  Out of these 25 measures, five came under the remit of this Panel. Four of these had met or exceeded the target in the third quarter, whilst one measure was just short of target but within tolerance. 

The target, 4.2.1 Percentage of household waste sent for reuse, recycling, had been reporting ‘amber’ since Q2.  It was explained that the long hot summer had affected this measure as there was less green waste to recycle.  Recycling rates for the Royal Borough remained higher than Wokingham and Bracknell Forest Council’s rates whist weekly bin collections remained in place. Marketing continued to be undertaken to remind residents and businesses to recycle.

Councillor Sharpe stated he was particularly worried about the level of recycling within the Royal Borough. The Royal Borough was doing very well, but he felt that the Council needed to take steps to improve levels of recycling across the Royal Borough. Residents were concerned about the level of waste, particularly plastic waste. He had asked local shop keepers how many plastic bags they gave out to their customers and he was staggered to discover in Ascot, shop keepers handed out approximately 4,000 plastic bags per month. The Royal Borough needed to do more to encourage people not to buy single use plastic. The Strategy and Performance Manager responded that the Council were implementing the new waste management contract and work would be undertaken with contractors to incentivise recycling.

The Chairman stated Windsor Library regularly ran out of food waste bags and she hoped residents were using them properly for their intended purpose. Sue Fox, Principle Commissioning Officer, responded that January 2019 saw the Borough’s highest food waste collection to date.

Councillor E. Wilson stated recycling bags would be handed out at the Clewer Spring Clean. Recycling was something the Council did with people in partnership. Wokingham Council had only just started recycling food waste so the Borough was ahead of neighbouring Councils on this issue. The Council had to think about how it recycled within each ward as some did not recycle anything whilst other residents would focus on recycling only paper, or cans; the Council needed to work with residents on encouraging recycling.

The Chairman directed Members to the fly tipping target on page 22 of the agenda and requested more details. The Strategy and Performance Manager explained how the targets were set to make sure fly tipping incidents were not on the increase. With recycling, Q1 was above target and Q2 and Q3 were slightly lower with tolerances being tailor made for each situation.

The Principle Commissioning Officer confirmed that in order to reduce incidents of fly tipping, the Royal Borough had reduced the number of large bin sites which had reduced the number of fly tips. The Council were also looking at enforcement and how it could be made more robust. The new waste contractor would help with enforcement.

Councillor Shelim asked for CCTV to be installed in locations where fly tipping occurred regularly which might catch offenders. The Chairman stated she knew officers would check for addresses on items that had been fly tipped to try and catch the culprits. Councillor E. Wilson said CCTV had been installed at Sutherland Grange in Windsor and the first perpetrator prosecuted was from a very long way away. He added it was one thing to catch those people fly tipping, but it was another to actually prosecute; there needed to be a lot of evidence that would stand up in court which was why prosecution levels were quite low.

Councillor Cannon stated he was aware of the Royal Borough investing more money in more CCTV units. In his ward fly tipping had occurred where the names and addresses of items found were within the Royal Borough. Incidents had been   reported to the Council but no feedback was ever received, this discouraged reporting. People did not report fly tipping as often as it occurred because they never received feedback on the outcome of their report. Residents felt nothing was being done about fly tipping when it was reported.

Councillor Hunt stated fly tipping was very difficult to enforce and successfully prosecute, even with CCTV footage. It cost the Royal Borough a lot of money to investigate when sometimes it was cheaper to clean up the site than go for a prosecution.

Councillor Cannon suggested perusing and investing in one prosecution to use as an example and deterrent to others. He also suggested that if CCTV recorded car registration numbers, the borough’s enforcement officers could pay them a visit and warn them against fly tipping again. Councillor E. Wilson suggested officers published the number of successful prosecutions. The Principal Commissioning Officer confirmed that the Royal Borough was actively looking at various options and talking to the companies that specifically dealt with those issues.

Councillor E. Wilson stated that the target for the ‘number of residents' parking schemes reviewed’ was 90 and the Council had been asked for 98 parking schemes, he asked how many schemes had been implemented. The Principal Commissioning Officer stated the target related to the consultations and reviews of schemes which had taken place. There was a long list of schemes waiting for implementation that were being worked through. She added that a policy had been drafted on resident parking permit schemes as any resident could instigate a parking review, so the council would be asking residents to demonstrate the level of support for a potential scheme before a consultation could take place. The Strategy and Performance Manager stated officers would look to amend and enhance the measure’s usefulness so the outcomes could be measured. Councillor E. Wilson requested Ward Members be informed of all requests for parking permit schemes in their areas. The Principal Commissioning Officer confirmed that all consultations relating to parking were published on the Council’s website. Councillor Hunt stated there should be a minimum amount of people making a request before a consultation took place. The Principal Commissioning Officer said schemes would be drawn up by engineers and then it would go to consultation.

The Chairman and Vice-Chairman expressed their thanks on behalf of the Panel for officers’ hard work and to the Clerk for the support provided during the time of the highways, Transport & Environment Overview & Scrutiny Panel.

v  Action – The Principal Commissioning Officer to notify Ward Members of any requests for parking permit schemes in their wards.

v  Action – The Clerk to add the draft Parking Permit Scheme Policy to the Work Programme for the Infrastructure Panel.