Agenda item

The Committee considered a report of the Corporate Director of Resources which provided an overview of performance in and to the end of quarter four, January to March 2022 (for copy of report and presentation see file of minutes).

The Corporate Strategy Manager presented progress towards achieving the key outcomes of the Council’s corporate performance framework and highlighted key messages to inform strategic priorities. The Committee noted the significant financial challenges facing households, including the rise in national insurance, inflation which is rising faster than wages and energy price increases.

The Corporate Strategy Manager highlighted that within the visitor and tourism sector, some areas were returning to pre-pandemic levels, including libraries and parks and whilst Durham’s bid to become City of Culture was unsuccessful, the Council remains committed to deliver much of the planned programme.  Members heard that during the quarter, the amount of household waste collected had stabilised, that there was a smaller proportion of waste diverted from landfill and the contamination of kerbside recycling continues to increase.  The Committee noted that incidents of fly-tipping are returning to pre-pandemic levels.  In terms of carbon emissions, the latest data released for 2019 shows a reduction across the county of 54% on 1990 levels, with the greatest source of emissions being heat and transport.

In response to an observation from Councillor Nicholls that the ‘what3words’ app for the reporting of fly-tipping was not working, the Corporate Strategy Manager confirmed the issue would be followed up with the Service.

Councillor Adam referred to the impact of the reduction in visitors to the county during and after the pandemic and asked how this had adversely impacted jobs within the county. The Corporate Strategy Manager responded that the decrease in visitors had resulted in tourism and hospitality sector job losses, however the impact on jobs within the Council had been limited due to the furlough scheme which had safeguarded jobs.

Referring to fly-posting, Councillor Sutton-Lloyd spoke of incidents within his division and asked what enforcement powers are available to the Council.  The Corporate  Strategy Manager confirmed that the Council has enforcement powers, including the seizure of vehicles and trailers, if necessary.

Councillor Elmer referred to the approximate 10% increase in municipal waste since 2018 and commented that it was difficult to see how the Council’s policies to grow the economy and reduce waste could be achieved alongside each other, when a growing economy will inevitably lead to an increase in waste.  The Corporate Strategy Manager responded that the report on strategic waste will enable the Committee to explore this issue in greater detail at a future meeting. 

The Chair referred to the efforts to tackle contamination rates and asked for information as to the number of notices issued and the cost and impact of the actions, in comparison with previous years. The Corporate Strategy Manager commented that the number of notices issued in the last 12 months was 7,700, a reduction on the figure for the previous year which was 8,300, with the caveat that figures during the time of the pandemic were not representative and therefore the 2019-20 figure of 17,000 notices issued was a more accurate figure.  He explained that notices are issued in a staged approach with first stage letters being a mild approach as it is appreciated that some householders may simply require educating with regard to their recycling habits.  Of the 17,000 letters issued in 2019-20, 13,200 were stage 1 letters, 3,000 were stage 2 and 800 were stage 3 letters.  With regard to administrative costs, the Corporate Strategy Manager stated they were difficult to measure as the officers involved also carry out other duties, such as educational work and promotional activities. He confirmed that follow-up work is undertaken and door knocking is carried out in respect of targeted households. 

Resolved:

That the report be noted.