Agenda and minutes

A Member raised an issue regarding the written questions and answers from the public that were published with the minutes. Specifically, the number of FMS (Fix My Street) requests with respect to recycling centres. She pointed out that there had been fifty-three FMS requests from the public noted with respect to Penge East Station. However, in the same table (where written responses to questions had been tabulated) it had been recorded that there had been just 1 FMS request from the public and two FMS requests from Councillors with respect to Pawlene Close. She felt that this may be wrong and asked for the data to be re-checked. The Director for Environment and Public Protection said that he would look into this with officers.

A Member asked if an individual would receive a response if a question was dis-allowed. It was noted that normally the individual would not receive an answer to the question, but would be informed as to why the question had been dis-allowed. 

The Portfolio Holder for Transport, Highways and Road Safety requested that going forward, the Portfolio Holder updates be added to the published minutes along with the responses to questions.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on the 22nd of November 2022 be agreed and signed as a correct record and that in the future, the updates from both Portfolio Holders be added to the published minutes.

Apologies had been received from Councillor Allison Stammers and Councillor Mike Jacks attended as her substitute.

There were no declarations of interest.

CSD 23019

A Member asked when there would be a report regarding the Jubilee Parks Grant applications.

It was noted that the Portfolio Holder for Sustainability, Green Services and Open Spaces had provided an update regarding this matter in her Portfolio Holder statement and that this had been discussed at the previous meeting of the Committee. The Portfolio Holder stated that it was anticipated that a report on the Jubilee Grants Programme would be presented to the Committee in Autumn of this year.

RESOLVED that the Matters Arising and Work Programme Report be noted and that an update report on the Jubilee Grants Programme would be presented to the Committee in the Autumn of this year.

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, questions that are not specific to reports on the agenda must have been received in writing 10 working days before the date of the meeting.  Questions that are not specific to the agenda should have been received by the Democratic Services Team by 5pm on 11^th January 2023.

Questions specifically relating to reports on the agenda should be received within two working days of the normal publication date of the agenda.  Please ensure that questions specifically on reports on the agenda are received by the Democratic Services Team by 5pm on 19^th January.

No questions had been received for the Chairman.

Three oral questions were received from the public and two oral questions were received from Members. The responses to the oral questions will be appended to the minutes.

Written responses to questions will be disseminated as soon as possible post meeting.

Twelve written questions were received from the public and five written questions were received from Members. The responses to the written questions will be appended to the minutes. The responses to written questions from the public were disseminated to the questioners via email the day following the meeting.

ES20247

The LBB Assistant Director for Highways attended with Mark Boyle (Commercial Director) and Luke McFarlane (Contract Director) from Riney to update the Committee.

The Chairman asked Riney how they perceived their performance. Riney responded that conditions had been very difficult for the organisation due to  a combination of adverse weather conditions and ‘hyper-inflation’. These were issues that had affected performance.

The Chairman highlighted section 3.10 of the report that showed a marked dip in performance during the summer of 2022 and he asked for an explanation of this. Riney explained that this was caused by a backlog of work caused by extreme weather conditions. A Member asked if year on year comparisons were available to see if this was a recurrent problem and to see if trends could be identified. Riney responded, saying that they did attempt to identify trends and plan ahead.

The Chairman referenced section 3.25 of the report which referenced a high turnover of key personnel, including temporary management roles. This turnover of staff was also mentioned in the report as a contributory factor  adversely affecting performance. Riney stated that work had been undertaken to improve recruitment and retention and that all relevant staff were in position to provide stability for the Bromley contract. 

A Member commented that very often the matter of pot-holes would be raised on FMS. The pot-holes would be logged as having been fixed, but in a few days they would ‘pop back out’ again. She commented that these were a serious danger to cyclists. She asked if Riney could use different materials so that these repairs would be more effective. The representative from Riney responded and said that they were not able to carry out permanent repairs in adverse weather conditions where there was for example standing water. In these cases they would have to use temporary materials and undertake permanent repairs later. Extremes of weather, whether this was too hot, too cold, or too wet could all affect repairs.

A discussion took place regarding the amount of financial penalties Riney had incurred because of late service delivery. A Member suggested that warning signs be displayed near potholes that had not yet been repaired. A discussion took place regarding the various response times that Riney were required to work to.

A Member enquired has to how often Riney went out to look at potholes. The Assistant Director of Highways responded and said that there was a fixed inspection regime and so the Council relied heavily on reports coming in via Fix My Street. The representatives from Riney said that they were now in the process of using new temporary materials which they hoped would be more effective. They acknowledged that the repeated repair of potholes on a temporary basis was not only bad for the Council and the public, but it was bad for them as it was costly to the organisation. The representatives from Riney said that they were trying as best they could to deliver to the KPIs as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Portfolio Holder was asked why it was costing £2m to dredge Kelsey Park Pond and what would happen to other ponds in the borough. The Portfolio Holder agreed that £2m was a great deal of money, but this was the amount that had been quoted post survey. The dredging of Kelsey Park Pond was a priority, especially because of the multiplicity of wildlife that lived there. Because dredging was expensive, other ponds would be desilted when the budget allowed. Some de-silting work had been undertaken at Church House Pond by Idverde previously.

It was noted that the Leafing Programme had now ended and so any further leaf collections that were required should be reported on FMS as normal. A Member said that she had been approached by a sixth form student from Harris School who said that the Council had not allowed the school to be part of the recycling campaign. The Member asked if the Portfolio Holder had been approached by any schools in this regard. The Portfolio Holder responded and said this was something she would look into, but she clarified that she had not been approached by any schools.

A Member enquired if any additional money would be available for the Small Parades Bid. The Portfolio Holder answered and explained that this was funded by central government and no money was available at this time. Clarification was provided as to the means whereby the part time officer dealing with Jubilee Grant applications would be funded and it was further noted that no records existed to specify when Kelsey Park Pond had been previously dredged.

RESOLVED that the update from the Portfolio Holder for Sustainability, Green Services and Open Spaces be noted.

A Member asked why the request from the Metropolitan Police regarding the  Junior Road Watch scheme was refused. The Portfolio Holder answered and said that adults may find it somewhat irritating to be lectured to by a child and this was a matter that was better left to the police.

An explanation was provided as to the nature of the 5G aerials referenced in the Portfolio Holder Update.

A discussion took place about electric buses and possible other routes that may be electrified. The Portfolio Holder said that in terms of other routes that may be serviced by electric buses--that would be a matter for TfL. A Member asked if they could have a day out on the new electric bus.

It was noted that it was unlikely that the Council would be providing funding for Coronation Street Parties. However, each of the BIDS could apply for a £5k grant. The Council would need to grant permission for streets to be closed. 

A trial to trunk electric cables across the footway for those car owners without a driveway was to be undertaken. Ten staff had volunteered so far, including the Portfolio Holder for Sustainability, Green Services and Open Spaces.

RESOLVED that the update from the Portfolio Holder for Transport, Highways and Road Safety be noted.

A Member requested that the data concerning the two hour response times from Riney be disseminated to the Committee.

A Member referenced item 5e on the report which was the data regarding people killed or seriously injured in road traffic accidents. She noted that no KSI data had been supplied for the period April to November 2022; she asked what the reason for this was. It was reported that this data would be supplied at the PDS meeting in March.

  RESOLVED that the Performance Overview Report be noted. 

ES20243

The Head of Shared Parking Services attended with Russell Peacock, from APCOA, (Director-Business Process Re-Engineering) and Shaun Price, (for RingGo (Account Director).

Mr Price informed the Committee that Ringo processed 200,000 paid parking sessions in Bromley per month. In 2022 the company processed in the region of 107 million transactions nationwide. Ringo was the largest provider of cashless parking sessions within the UK and were currently used by 65% of local authorities in London. They were also used by councils in Kent and Sussex. The Chairman commented that the  Apcoa Report was a good one and indeed one of the better reports that had come to the Committee. He praised the Solar Car Wash initiative that had been developed at Heathrow and asked if Apcoa were planning to do the same in Bromley.

The issue of staff turnover was discussed as this was always a challenge in this particular industry. Apcoa had been looking at ways to streamline the recruitment process and also at ways to reduce staff turnover. One of the changes in policy that seemed to work was the introduction of shorter and flexible hours; this seemed to have a positive effect on staffing levels and the retention of staff.

Mr Peacock stated that the company was looking at various ways to introduce new income streams. In terms of staffing levels, there was now a waiting list of applicants seeking to join the organisation which had not been the case previously.

With respect to staff welfare and training, staff now had to pass a conflict management training course before joining the organisation. Apcoa employees were provided with body worn cameras and a colour coded system in place. A code blue report meant a derogatory comment had been made, a code yellow meant that a member of staff had been verbally assaulted and a code red meant that a member of staff had been physically assaulted.

It was asked if the company prosecuted people that assaulted its staff; the  response was that this a matter for the individual. Apcoa felt supported by the police and by the Council. Mental health support was available for staff if required.

A discussion took place regarding staff who regularly experienced code red situations, data security issues and occasional connection difficulties when using Ringo. Mr Price responded that they were PCI compliant. It was explained that Ringo had a main server and a back-up server that were located at two different locations and that their upload success was 99.8%. There had never been an occasion when all channels had gone down at once.

Apcoa was asked if they paid staff the London Living Wage and the response was affirmative.

The Portfolio Holder for Transport, Highways and Road Safety paid tribute to the Civil Enforcement Officers. He said they had a difficult role, working in challenging conditions and also performing a public service. He said that he was impressed with Ringo and the way the company operated; he felt that their systems were efficient.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12a

ES 20249

A discussion took place concerning which roads were included in the Planned Highway Maintenance Programme and which roads were not.

The Assistant Director for Highways explained that an initial boroughwide  survey using AI had been completed the previous winter using vehicle mounted cameras along with GPS location technology and a further artificial intelligence survey had been undertaken during the summer. He would be happy to provide a demonstration of this process using Microsoft Teams if required.

It was clarified that the funding to maintain principal roads came from TfL. The Portfolio Holder for Transport, Highways and Road Safety said that he had requested that the matter of funding for principal roads from TFL be placed on the next London Councils agenda.

The Assistant Director for Highways stated that 17% of Bromley’s road network needed maintenance and this would be done on a priority basis with roads serving bus routes at the top of the list.

It was made clear by the Chairman, Portfolio Holder and the Assistant Director that the Planned Highway Maintenance Programme was not political and that the Councillors had not influenced policy. The roads on the list had been allocated on the basis of priority subsequent to the AI surveys.

RESOLVED that the Portfolio Holder for Transport, Highways and Road Safety be recommended to agree:

1) That the schemes listed in Appendix A be included in a programme of planned highway maintenance for 2023/24, to be undertaken by the Council’s existing highway term maintenance contractor.

2) That the decision to include additional schemes in the programme be delegated to the Director of Environment and Public Protection, based on the results of further condition assessments.

ES20245

The Committee noted the Environment and Community Services Portfolio Draft Budget for 2023/24.

A Member referenced Line 10 in Appendix 1 of the report—this was the ‘Income on sale of recyclates not inflated in contract’. She asked for an explanation of what this meant. It was explained that this meant that there was no inflation increase on the sale of anything that the Council sold to recycle.

The Committee considered the update on the financial forecast for 2023/25 to 2026/27 and considered the initial draft budget as a basis for setting the 2023/24 budget.

RESOLVED as follows:

It was agreed that the Committee was content to accept the initial draft budget and had no additional comments to make for the attention of the Executive. 

FSD23008

Members noted the Capital Programme Monitoring Report that covered the period of quarters two and three of 2022/23.

RESOLVED that the Portfolio Holders note and acknowledge the Capital Monitoring Report and the changes that will be proposed to the Executive.

This report was presented to the Committee by the Council’s Public Affairs Officer.

The report was for pre-decision scrutiny by the Committee prior to being presented to the Executive for decision. Members had been requested to note the report and provide comments for consideration by the Executive.

It was reported that the JCDecaux digital information screens:

·  Were durable over 10 years

·  Used 100% renewable energy

·  Operated at 70% brightness in the day

·  Operated at 20% brightness at night

·  Were switched off between midnight and 6am

RESOLVED as follows:

The ECS PDS Committee noted the report and approved the recommendations of the report that would be proposed to the Executive. 

ES20248

A Member had requested that the Vehicle Crossover Policy report be presented to the Committee, as he felt that the current policies relating to vehicle crossovers needed to be reviewed. He said that there were two areas that were absent from this report and these were related to electric vehicles and existing right of ways. He suggested that these areas would need looking at and reviewing in the future. A discussion took place regarding the joint use of a single crossover and whether that was allowed or not. The Portfolio Holder for Transport, Highways and Road Safety said that this was not allowed. A Member asked what would happen if a resident employed a private contractor to construct a crossover. The Assistant Director for Highways said that in such cases the Council could dig up the crossover, do it properly and then charge the resident.

RESOLVED that the Environment and Community Services PDS Committee endorse the current Council policies relating to the construction of new vehicle crossovers.

ES20238

A discussion took place regarding the potential disruption to waste services because of the Depot Improvement Programme Works scheduled to take place in 2024. The Assistant Director for Environment said that a report would be presented to the Environment and Community Services PDS Committee in November 2023 which would provide an update and details of mitigation to  reduce disruption to waste collection and recycling services. It was anticipated that work would commence in November 2024. A Member asked if residents could be consulted.

A discussion took place concerning town centre businesses and markets and

the risk of loss of town centre business income. The Assistant Director for Environment said that trading had not yet returned to pre-covid levels. However, the Council was working with businesses the BIDS to resolve this and the Council was now seeing some market traders and businesses returning.

Regarding recycling, the Committee was reassured to learn that there had been no reported rejections of wet paper and card. The Council was considering how to maintain recycling levels in the event of extreme weather.

RESOLVED that the Risk Register report be noted.