Agenda and minutes

No declarations of interest were made.

RESOLVED

that the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 19 October 2023, be received and approved as a correct record.

Mike Brown, the Council’s Interim Assistant Director for Neighbourhoods and Councillor Helen-Ann Smith, Deputy Leader and Executive Lead Member for Parks and Environmental Services informed the Committee of the new requirements to be placed upon the Council as a result of large scale changes to current recycling in England.  These changes were to be delivered through ‘Simpler Recycling’ which had been developed as part of the UK Resource & Waste Strategy 2018 and the Environment Act 2021.

The Council had recently received a Government allocation of £895,526 (capital funding) to support its introduction of weekly domestic food waste collections by October 2027. A revenue allocation was also expected from Government over the coming months.

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) had initiated three interrelated projects known as ‘The Packaging Reforms Programme’ aimed at bringing about major change to how waste is paid for and collected:

Extended Producers Responsibility(EPR) – requiring companies that produce or sell products in the UK to cover the full cost of collecting and sorting household packaging waste.

Consistent Collections – simplifying the materials that are required to be presented for recycling from householders, businesses and organisations.

Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) – that places a redeemable deposit on all single-use plastics and metal drinks containers up to three litres in volume.

In respect of the Environment Act’s impact on the Council and specifically in respect of ‘Consistent Collections’, the following deadlines had been set by Government:

·         Collection of seven different recycling materials (glass, metal, plastic, paper, card, food and garden waste) by 31 March 2026 (Ashfield are exempted and can delay the start date of food waste collection until October 2027)

·         Weekly collection of food waste

·         Collection of plastic film into the recovery/recycling waste stream by April 2027

·         Collection of the remaining residual waste at least fortnightly by March 2026.

Officers had already commenced modelling the opportunities and possibilities available to the Council and local residents to reconfigure the service and maximise the recycling of existing household waste.  Development of a draft Costed Action & Delivery Plan (CADP) was due to commence shortly, and it was hoped that Members would have sight of the draft, for initial consideration, later in the year.

The Chairman thanked the Interim Assistant Director for Neighbourhoods for his update and a lengthy discussion was undertaken with some key points as follows:

Key Points

1.    The location of the transfer station for receiving food waste was still be advised by the County Council.  The details would need to be finalised by December 2024 for commencement of the service in March 2025.  There were currently 2 food waste plants and 4 transfer stations within the Ashfield District.

2.    Commercial waste collection was currently facilitated by the Council but outside services could be utilised, if required.  All organisations would need to be compliant and have the necessary duty of care arrangements in place.

3.    The requirements for residents to comply with the waste separation arrangements and powers to issue fixed penalties and instigate court action  ...  view the full minutes text for item EC.3

The Service Manager for Governance welcomed Chris Clipstone, the Council’s Assistant Director for Housing Operations, who was in attendance to give Members an update regarding the Council’s current position in relation to the management of incidences of damp and mould within the Council’s housing stock.

The former Inward Focus Select Committee had first considered Damp and Mould as a topic during 2023 and had received information in respect of the following:

·         the background to the introduction of the Social Housing Regulation Act 2023 following the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower in 2017 and the death of Awaab Ishak in 2020

·         current procedures for reporting damp/mould issues to the Council

·         the increase in cases reported due to media focus and awareness and the resultant interest from solicitors touting for business via claims against the Council

·         different types of mould and how/why they flourish

·         the impact of the current Cost of Living Crisis and the resultant damp/mould issues arising in Council properties due to tenants struggling to heat their homes adequately

·         the age of the housing stock equating to more substantial and recurring damp/mould issues

·         the Council’s current responsibilities to their tenants

·         development of the draft Damp and Mould Policy and recent consultation with local Tenant Gateways and stakeholders

·         the work being undertaken to raise tenant awareness of preventative measures that can reduce the effects of damp/mould.

To assist Members with their deliberations, a briefing note compiled by Joel Smith from xxxxx school in Stechford, Birmingham, who had been on work experience with the Scrutiny and Democratic Services Team, was circulated at the meeting. 

To provide an insight into the current position, the Assistant Director for Housing Operations advised that there had now been a 90% increase in disrepair claims due to the increased media awareness, and solicitors were putting pressure on local authorities to settle claims quickly.  The Council had recently taken on an extra officer to cope with the increased demand for house inspections as a result of this increase and it had been acknowledged that even more resources would most probably be needed in the future to keep up with demand.

Additions to the Social Housing Regulation Act 2023 were expected at some point later in the year regarding tighter guidelines for dealing with all types of hazards within tenant’s homes as well as issues of damp and mould.  It was proposed that landlords would only have 7 days from completion of inspection to commence works and rectify the hazard, with a requirement for an inspection report to be available 48 hours following the inspection.  If passed, these timelines would be challenging and more resources would inevitably be needed to keep up with the prescribed requirements.  It was intended that all social landlords nationally would be inspected over the next 4 years.

Members received a recap of the three types of damp and mould and the importance of educating tenants in relation to preventative measures for managing the humidity of their homes. Home insultation and the use of fans  ...  view the full minutes text for item EC.4