Agenda and minutes

Venue: Civic Hall, Leeds, LS1 1UR. View directions

Contact: Stuart Robinson (0113) 24 74360  Email: stuart.robinson@leeds.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

77.

Councillor Kabeer Hussain

Minutes:

The Chair reported on the recent sudden death of Board Member, Kabeer Hussein.  The Board observed a silence in respect of Councillor Hussein.

 

78.

Late Items

To identify items which have been admitted to the agenda by the Chair for consideration.

 

(The special circumstances shall be specified in the minutes.)

Minutes:

The Board received a supplementary agenda which included an additional appendix to Agenda Item 10, Inquiry into Integrated Offender Management.

 

79.

Apologies for Absence

To receive any apologies for absence.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Dowson, Hollingsworth, Jarosz and Marjoram.

 

80.

Declarations of Interest

To declare any personal / prejudicial interests for the purpose of Section 81 (3) of the Local Government Act 2000 and paragraphs 8 to 12 of the Members Code of Conduct.

Minutes:

Councillor G Hyde declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 9, Procurement of the Grounds Maintenance Contract for 2011 – Draft Interim Statement, due to his position with the East North East ALMO. (Minute No.85 refers)

 

81.

Minutes - 14th December 2009 pdf icon PDF 99 KB

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 14th December 2009.

 

Minutes:

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 14 December 2009 be confirmed as a correct record.

 

82.

Matters arising from the Minutes

Minutes:

Minute No.69 – Minutes and Matters Arising 9th November 2009

  • Details of customer profiling data from the ALMOs and information on the number of customers taking advantage of the Council’s incentive scheme for downsizing properties had been circulated to Board Members.
  • Members had been issued with a draft project timeline relating to the introduction of additional Dog Control Orders in Leeds.  Members expressed disappointment that this would not be fully implemented until April 2011, 2 years after the completion of the Inquiry.

 

Minute No.70 – Performance Report 2009/10 – Quarter 2

Members discussed concerns in relation to traffic arrangements at the proposed waste transfer site at Kirkstall.  It was reported that finer details surrounding the times and volume of vehicle operation would not be known until the next stage of the biding process.  A further report was due to Executive Board in February 2010.  Addition work was also being undertaking on the re-routing of waste collection rounds.

 

Minute No.72 – Worklessness Review – Update

Members had been issued with a briefing note regarding the 4 Families  pilot programme.

 

83.

Executive Board Minutes pdf icon PDF 48 KB

To note the minutes of the Executive Board meetings held on 24th November 2009 and 9th December 2009.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the Executive Board meetings held on 24 November and 9 December be noted.

 

 

84.

Inquiry into Recycling pdf icon PDF 69 KB

To consider a report from the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development presenting evidence as part of the Board’s inquiry into Recycling.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The report of the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development summarised the previous session of the Board’s Inquiry into recycling and also provided information from the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and Eco Alternatives.

 

The Chair welcomed the following to the meeting:

 

  • Samantha Veitch, Leeds Friends of the Earth
  • Andrew Mason, Chief Environmental Services Officer
  • Susan Upton, Head of Waste Management
  • Rachel Gray, WRAP
  • Andy Hartley, CO2Sense
  • Councillor James Monaghan, Executive Member for Environmental Services

 

Andrew Mason and Susan Upton addressed the Board.  Key issues highlighted included the following:

 

  • Quality of access – there was a challenge with providing recycling solutions to approximately 30 thousand properties across Leeds.
  • Backlogs due to the recent industrial action.
  • Rationalisation of collection routes – this was hoped to be completed by June and would enable the redeployment of up to 9 crews for further collections.
  • Work with planning colleagues to address issues to improve collection.
  • Collection of food waste – a six month pilot of 8 thousand properties was to be undertaken.  An evaluation would be reported to Executive Board following the pilot.
  • Recycling proposals within the bids for the residual waste treatment contract.

 

Samantha Veitch, Rachel Gray and Andy Hartley raised the following issues on behalf of their respective organisations:

 

  • Successful increases in recycling rates in other areas – restricting the collection of residual waste either through reduced numbers of collections or smaller bins had encouraged recycling.
  • Recycling of glass – whether this should be done with other materials or not?  It was reported that collection of mixed glass colours reduced the quality for recycling.
  • Garden waste – collection could have a negative impact on home composting.
  • Hard to reach  properties – examples of offering alternative collection receptacles to residents in other authorities had proved successful.
  • How to improve recycling opportunities for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) – these organisations often found it cost prohibitive or were unaware of facilities available.  The role of the Council in supporting SMEs was felt to be important.
  • Promotion of recycling and associated issues and how to educate on these issues.

 

Further to Members comments and questions, the following issues were discussed:

 

  • Packaging of goods and how the Council could influence companies not to use excess packaging.  It was reported that products that seemed to be over packaged may not necessarily be so as insufficient packaging could lead to more waste, particularly with food stuffs.  Local authorities, in conjunction with Trading Standards, had powers to prosecute companies who used excess packaging, but this was rarely used.
  • Recycling of plastics – markets for recycling plastics were strong, but there were complex issues regarding the kinds of plastics that could be recycled and most efficient means of collection and sorting.
  • Members requested further detail on the cost benefits of recycling.
  • Production of a local ‘green’ business directory – it was suggested that this could be brought to businesses attention when business rates were distributed.
  • Education and training issues.  WRAP offered training services to collection crews  ...  view the full minutes text for item 84.

85.

Procurement of the Grounds Maintenance Contract for 2011 - Draft Interim Statement pdf icon PDF 57 KB

To consider and agree a draft interim Statement of the Board in relation to the procurement of the Grounds Maintenance Contract for 2011.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The report of the Head of Scrutiny and Member development referred to the Board’s Inquiry into the Procurement of the Grounds Maintenance Contract for 2011 and meetings of the Board’s Working Group.  A draft interim statement was attached to the report.

 

It was requested that details of the analysis conducted by the Grounds Maintenance Project Board as outlined in Recommendation 6 be brought to the Board.  It was reported that this would be added to the recommendation.

 

RESOLVED – That the Board’s interim statement on the procurement of the new Grounds Maintenance Contract for 2011 be agreed.

 

86.

Inquiry into Integrated Offender Management - Update pdf icon PDF 56 KB

To consider a report from the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development presenting an update on the evidence considered so far as part of the Board’s ongoing inquiry into Integrated Offender Management.

 

(Appendix 2 to follow)

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The report of the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development provided the Board with an update regarding their Inquiry into Integrated Offender Management,

 

An appendix to the report summarised meetings of the Board’s working group that had been held in November and December 2009.  This set out key issues raised to date as part of the Board’s Inquiry.

 

RESOLVED – That the report and summary of the working group meetings be noted.

 

87.

Work Programme pdf icon PDF 52 KB

To receive a report from the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development on the Board’s current work programme.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The report of the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development included a copy of the Board’s Work Programme which included an update on the reviews being conducted by the Board’s working groups.  Also attached was the current Forward Plan of Key decisions for the period 1 January 2010 to 30 April 2010.

 

Members discussed the possibility of considering the recent and pending inspection of the ALMOs.

 

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

 

88.

Date and Time of Next Meeting

Monday, 8th February 2010 at 10.00 a.m. (Pre-meeting at 9.30 a.m.).

 

Minutes:

Monday, 8 February 2010 at 10.00 a.m. (Pre-meeting for all Board Members at 9.30 a.m.)

 

 

The meeting concluded at 11.35 a.m.