Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 17 November 2022 be confirmed.

Please note that, in accordance with the Members' Code of Conduct, when declaring interests members must disclose the existence and nature of the interest, and whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI) or personal and/or pecuniary.

No declarations of interest were received.

Councillor Bob Bushell, Portfolio Holder for Remarkable Place:

a)    presented a report to Performance Scrutiny Committee covering the following main areas:

-       Parks and Open Spaces – General

-       Allotments

-       Equipped Play Areas

-       The Arboretum

-       Boultham Park

-       Hartsholme Country Park and Camp Site

-       Commons

-       Hope Wood

-       Dawber Charity Gardens

-       Events and Activities

-       Education

-       Volunteering

-       Arboriculture

-       Travellers

-       Street Scene

-       Waste/Recycling

-       Street Cleansing

-       Graffiti

-       Litter Policy

-       Public Toilets

-       Sport and Leisure

-       Lincoln 10K

-       Recreation Services

-       Food, Healthy and Safety

-       FSA Recovery Plan

-       Local Air Quality Management

-       Licensing

b)    invited members’ questions and comments.

Comment: Members commented that the work that had been carried out at Whitton’s Park play area had been very well received by the public and the activities at Hartsholme Park had been good.

Question: Members asked if there were enough resources to look at more enforcement for allotment tenancies where the allotment site had not been well maintained.

Response: There was limited resource for allotment enforcement but where plots were clearly being neglected then resource will be managed to look at these sites as a priority. All enforcement action would be dealt with sensitively.

Question: Members asked what was going to be done to help tackle recycling contamination.

Response: Contamination is a work in progress and would hopefully improve when the way we recycle improves such as when the paper and card recycling came into force in Lincoln.

Question: Members commented that they had received comments from the public regarding the grass being too long on the corner of Birchwood Avenue and Fulmer Road and were concerned that the grass could become a fire risk due to the extreme heat we had in summer. Members asked if this could have wildflower seeds planted to make it look more attractive.

Response: This would certainly be an option but sometimes re-wilding didn’t work due to weather conditions.

Question: Members asked if the outflow at Hartsholme Park had been improved within the dam wall works and whether the path and area of grass that had been destroyed due to the storage of equipment will be corrected.

Response: Contractors were coming back on site to resolve some snagging issues which would help address some of these points. The restriction was at the entry point of the dam which was improved and improved the outflow.

Question: Members asked whether green waste that is put in black bins damages the energy from waste plant equipment.

Response: This had never been an issue that had been raised at the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership meetings.

Question: Members asked if St Giles Community Centre would be sold or rented out.

Response: The Community centre would not be sold, and it would remain available for community use. This would potentially be a long-term lease with the YMCA but was dependant on the YMCA getting a grant and was in the early stages. Some elements of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48.

Councillor Bob Bushell, Portfolio Holder for Remarkable Place:

a)    presented a report to Performance Scrutiny Committee with an update towards addressing the challenge of the Climate Change Strategy Priority contained in Vision 2025

b)    explained that Appendix A of the report provided an overview of the current and live projects for the strategic priority

c)    highlighted that there were 12 projects that were currently being monitored in the work programme for Climate Change and these were listed in paragraphs 4.3-4.4 of the report

d)    explained that Appendix B of the report contained a set of performance indicators that had been developed for the Climate Change strategic priority

e)    invited members comments and questions.

Question: Members asked if the number of electric fleet vehicles was to be increased.

Response: There was an aspiration to transfer to electric vehicles. Heavier more industrial vehicles were more expensive to replace. There was a long-term plan and a net zero carbon target had been set for 2030. Officers had been instructed to look at electric vehicles where possible. Electric vehicles were being looked at all the time, but these would only be moved to if it was cost effective to do so.

Question: Members asked what work was included in the £30k to improve the efficiency rating in council housing.

Response: This information would be fed back to the committee.

Question: Members asked how successful the engagement was in regard to single use plastics at the Lincoln 10K and Christmas Market.

Response: There was an Environmental Policy for events which included the use of single use plastics. Work had taken place with stall holder of the market and the use was improving. The Lincoln 10k had reduced the use of plastic bottles and used recyclable carton instead, but these were not a good way to get fluid into runners quickly. The giving out of t-shirts was also reduced with runners having to purchase the t-shirt if they so wished.

Question: Members asked why electric points had been placed in castle ward.

Response: It was thought that the Levi funding from Lincolnshire County Council was best placed here due to this area being terraced houses.

RESOLVED that:

1.    information on what was included in the £30k to help improve council houses and make them be more efficient be fed back to the committee.

2.     the progress of the Vision Group and Strategic Priority be considered.

Simon Walters, Director of communities and Environment:

a)    provided Performance Scrutiny Committee with an update on the Let’s enhance our Remarkable Place strategic Priority in Vision 2025

b)    explained what had been achieved over the last two years within the strategic priority and this was listed in paragraph 4.1 of the report

c)    highlighted the current schemes that were taking place within the strategic priority, and these could be found in paragraph 5 of the report

d)    invited members comments and questions

Question: Members asked if the restoration of the Harlequin building was going to be complicated due to the condition of the building.

Response: The building had not been well maintained and was in a poor state. The costs of the restoration were significant as it was a listed building. Heritage funding needed to be applied for as it was an iconic building in a prime location.

RESOLVED that the progress made under the Remarkable Place Vision Strategic Theme be considered.

Councillor Chris Burke, Portfolio Holder for Customer Experience and Review:

a)    presented a report to Performance Scrutiny Committee covering the following main areas:

-       Customer Services

-       Audit Arrangements

-       Democratic and Electoral Services

-       Business Development and IT

-       Performance Monitoring

-       Target Setting

-       Lincoln City Profile

-       Project Management – The Lincoln Project Management Model (LPMM)

b)    invited members’ questions and comments.

Question: Members commented that it caused concern that 18k of the working population were students in the city and asked if this effected the resident population with regard to how many jobs were available. How did we compare to other university cities.

Response: This was viewed as a positive thing as students brought a lot of good qualities to the city. Comparison information was to be shared with the committee.

Question: Members raised concern regarding the Lincoln Project Management Model (LPMM) across the council and quoted extracts from Audit Committee on 19 July 2022 which stated that the LPMM was not being followed.

Response: The LPMM was scalable depending on the type of project that was taking place and was due for a refresh. The LPMM was being used and was currently being used for the Waste Recycling Project. The project boards need to make sure that the LPMM was being followed. Officers were to report back to the committee on this.

Question: Members were aware that there were staffing issues within the Customer Services Team and asked if other staff could be brought in to help.

Response: Call waiting times were improving. There were two new staff that had been recruited and a further one due to start shortly. Interviews were taking place soon to fill the last two posts and staff morale was slowly improving.

RESOLVED that:

1.    Information regarding the working population and students be forwarded to the committee.

2.    Officers were to report back to the Committee regarding the use of the LPMM.

3.    The annual report be noted.

Clare Stait, Democratic Services Officer:

a)    presented the draft work programme for 2022/23 as detailed at Appendix A of her report

b)    advised that the work programme for the Performance Scrutiny Committee was put forward annually for approval by Council; the work programme was then regularly updated throughout the year in consultation with the Performance Scrutiny Committee and its Chair

c)    reported that items had been scheduled in accordance with the existing work programme and officers’ guidance regarding the meetings at which the most up-to-date information could be reported to the committee; the work programme also included the list of portfolio holders under scrutiny

d)    requested any relevant comments or changes to the proposed work programme for 2022/23.

RESOLVED that the work programme for 2022/23 be noted.