Issue - meetings

To consider the attached report of the Head of Regulatory Services.

The Head of Regulatory Services presented the report on Environmental Enforcement Service Delivery Options.

Members were advised that following a decision by the Cabinet in 2012 agreed to take a more robust approach to environmental enforcement of crimes such as littering and dog fouling, the Council has predominantly undertaken this through external contractors.

However, following the termination of the most recent contract in January 2022 the opportunity had been taken to review the method of delivering this service and Cabinet had agreed to move the service in-house with the recruitment of a further 3 full time Environmental Enforcement Officers. This was required as the existing Environmental Crime staff were fully engaged in other areas of work such as dog control, fly tipping, duty of care and waste accumulation investigations across the district.

The use of the existing in-house Incident Report Book scheme would also be promoted as this would enable officers from across the Council to report incidents they witnessed whilst undertaking their normal range of duties.

Members raised the following points:

·         To welcome the return of the service in-house.

·         To query the methodology for estimating Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) levels when compared to the levels generated by external contractors.

·         How the budget pressures generated by in-house provision would be addressed.

·         The working patterns of the new officers

In the absence of any dissent, it was agreed to note the report.

To consider the attached report of the Head of Regulatory Services.

Responsibility: Portfolio Holder for Transport, Licensing and Regulatory Services

It was agreed that the service delivery approach detailed in Option 1 (as set out in paragraph 4.1 of the report), involving the direct employment of staff (Environmental Enforcement Officers), and the allocation of the funding required, be approved.