Issue - meetings

AGREED that:

(a)    final approval be given for the Council to procure environmental enforcement services in relation to the management of fixed penalty notices for littering and dog fouling for a 3-year period;

(b)   delegated authority be given, following oversight by the Policy & Performance Improvement Committee, to the Director Communities & Environment to agree terms for the contractual arrangement in consultation with the Assistant Director Legal & Democratic Services; and

(c)    the current pilot be extended for a further five months to allow procurement of a suitable contractor.

The Portfolio Holder - Cleaner, Safer, Greener presented a report concerning the future provision of enviro-crime enforcement using a via third party enforcement company.  In September 2021, the Leisure & Environment Committee agreed to a one-year Enviro-crime enforcement pilot with a third-party company, Waste Investigations, Support and Enforcement (WISE).  A three-month extension to the original 12 month contract was agreed by the Cabinet in July 2022 which extended this to 25 January 2023. Since the start of the contract and up to 31 December 2022, there had been 3,713 fixed penalty notices issued and there had been a corresponding increase in awareness of environmental enforcement. It was proposed that this contract be extended to cover the period while the Council sought a tender exercise for the future provision of the service. It was noted that the Policy & Performance Improvement Committee had requested oversight of the detail of the arrangements prior to contracts being entered into.

AGREED      (unanimously) that:

(a)          final approval be given for the Council to procure environmental enforcement services in relation to the management of fixed penalty notices for littering and dog fouling for a 3-year period;

(b)          delegated authority be given, following oversight by the Policy & Performance Improvement Committee, to the Director - Communities & Environment to agree terms for the contractual arrangement in consultation with the Assistant Director Legal & Democratic Services; and

(c)          the current pilot be extended for a further five months to allow procurement of a suitable contractor.

Reasons for Decision

To enable effective dog fouling and litter enforcement to be introduced into the District and to support the Community Plan objectives.

Options Considered

The service could be provided in-house but this was rejected due to the need for Community Protection Officers to undertake a wider range of duties.