Agenda item

The Committee received a report of the Corporate Director of Resources which presented an overview of progress, in and to the end of quarter three, (October to December 2021), towards achieving the key outcomes of the Council’s corporate performance framework and highlighted key messages to inform strategic priorities and work programmes (for copy of report see file of minutes). 

The Corporate Scrutiny and Strategy Manager highlighted three key areas of performance within the quarter, namely tourism and the visitor economy, waste and highways.

Referring to tourism and the visitor economy, the Corporate Scrutiny and Strategy Managerexplained the key performance indicators used for benchmarking, ie the number of visitors, the number of jobs in the visitor economy and the amount of revenue generated from the visitor economy had all reduced compared with previous years.  The most recent survey by Visit County Durham reported an increase in enquiries and bookings, however future bookings remain below average.  It is hoped this will improve as confidence grows following the pandemic.  The Committee heard that recruitment and supply chain issues were being reported and some businesses were suffering from a lack of demand.  One of the highlights during the quarter was the Lumiere event and a detailed analysis of its impact will be available for the year end performance report.  The Committee noted that unforeseen issues related to the listed building had led to delays with the History Centre which will extend the completion date of October 2022.

Referring to performance relating to waste, it was noted that the volume of waste had increased, with the pandemic and the increase in housing stock being contributing factors.  In addition, a smaller percentage of waste was being recycled and a larger percentage of contaminated recycling was reported.  Members were previously advised of the costs of the penalties for the removal of contamination which was £188,000 for the ten months up to January 2022.  The Corporate Scrutiny and Strategy Manager explained that, if the situation remained constant, this would equate to approximately £226,000 to the end of the current financial year.  Contamination continues to be tackled through enforcement action.  The Committee noted that fly tipping had increased on pre-COVID levels however the council’s rate of incidents of fly tipping was low compared with statistical neighbours.  There was however a larger proportion of incidents which had required enforcement action. 

Referring to highways, the Corporate Scrutiny and Strategy Managerinformed the Committee that County Durham has a high percentage of unclassified roads requiring maintenance compared regionally and nationally.  In February, the Council agreed to supplement the Local Transport Plan government grant with additional capital investment in the unclassified road network to bring this element of the network up to national average standards. 

The Chair thanked the officer for the report and invited questions and comments. 

Responding to a question from Councillor Potts regarding the cost of separating contaminated waste and the possibility of recycling that waste, the Corporate Scrutiny and Strategy Manager undertook to make enquiries with the waste team to confirm that waste is recycled when appropriate and he emphasised the importance of tackling the problem of contaminated waste at source, through education and enforcement.

Councillor Quinn thanked officers for the information relating to costs associated with contaminated recycling and he asked whether there had been a response to his question raised at the last meeting as to the level of contamination required for a full load of recycling to be classed as contaminated.  The Corporate Scrutiny and Strategy Managerresponded that he would refer Councillor Quinn’s question to the service for a response to be supplied.

Mr T Bolton referred to the council’s Find and Fix programme and asked whether the programme could be extended, for example to Parish Councils.  The Corporate Scrutiny and Strategy Managerconfirmed that the programme applied to council owned property however the service may wish to consider this opportunity to generate further income and he agreed to pass Mr Bolton’s comments to the service.

Councillor Elmer referred to the increasing cost of living and asked the Corporate Scrutiny and Strategy Manager for his view as to how this was likely to impact on the tourism economy. 

The Corporate Scrutiny and Strategy Manager replied that this may be beneficial, for example if people choose staycations instead of foreign holidays.  He also highlighted the potential benefits to the tourism economy should Durham’s City of Culture Bid be successful.

Council Elmer then spoke of the council’s strategy of economic growth and referred to the costs associated with it, including the increased costs relating to housing, waste and roads.  He raised a question as to whether council tax revenue generated would cover the additional costs of the growth strategy and suggested that the aim should be for economic stability rather than economic growth.   The Corporate Scrutiny and Strategy Manager respondent that it was incumbent upon the council to take these factors into account, for example through measures to reduce vehicular traffic on highways.  The Corporate Scrutiny and Strategy Manager spoke of the importance of tackling the reasons for the increase in the amount of waste per household, which is a national issue.

Councillor Charlton asked whether contamination occurs in garden waste bins and referring to the green waste collected and it being sent to the Joint Stocks composting site, she asked what the compost is used for. The Corporate Scrutiny and Strategy Managerclarified that no contamination of green waste had been identified in the performance indicators. He explained that compost is increasing in quality and the service is currently exploring whether compost can be recycled back to householders who are part of the garden waste collection service.  Councillor Potts praised the Clean and Green service and commented that recycled compost had been used at Hamsterley.

Councillor Adam referred to paragraph 4 of the Performance Management report which noted the unforeseen works delay to the plans for the new History Centre and asked when further information will be available on the additional costs.  The Corporate Scrutiny and Strategy Manager responded that further information will be provided in due course. 

Mrs P Holding raised concerns at the quantity of packaging being used by companies and whilst she acknowledged that some packaging may be recycled there is often confusion as to which plastics are recyclable.  The Corporate Scrutiny and Strategy Manager replied that in the future, it is expected that the Waste and Resources Strategy will impose standardisation and that all authorities will adopt a uniform approach.

The Chair referred to the proposal for stickers to be placed on recycling bins to clarify what can and cannot be placed in rubbish and recycling bins and reminded members to email comments to Victoria Burrell, Waste Strategy Team Manager by 1 April.

Resolved:

That the report be noted.