Agenda and minutes

Members are requested to advise the Democratic Services Officer of any  apologies for this meeting.

Councillor Taylor.

The minutes of the meeting held on 22 March 2023 are attached.

The minutes of the meeting held on 22 March 2023 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Government guidance expected Members of Scrutiny Committees not to act in accordance with party whipping and that, if they did, they were to declare it.

Government guidance expected Members of Scrutiny Committees not to act in accordance with party whipping and that if they did, they were to declare it.

Resolved: There were no declarations.

Please find attached, a link to the Council’s Forward Plan, which details the forthcoming Key and Non-Key decisions that are due to be taken by the Cabinet, a Member of the Cabinet (Portfolio Holder) or a Designated Officer relating to the service areas of this Committee, at this time: Forward plan - Forward Plan of Key/Non-Key Decisions

The Committee considered the Council’s Forward Plan of forthcoming key and non-key decisions to be taken by the Cabinet, an Individual Portfolio Holder or delegated officers, in relation to the Resources Directorate.

Resolved: The Committee notes the forthcoming decisions, with no items being requested to be placed on a future agenda of the Committee.

Report of Director – Environment is attached.

The Committee considered a report of the Director – Environment, Paul Barton, and Director – Place, Aidan Thatcher, presented by the Programme Manager, Alyssa Doran, which proposed the Confident Place Scrutiny Committee work plan for the 2023/2024 municipal year.

During its discussions, the Panel raised the following salient points:-

• the possibility of a report on the waste and recycling amnesty in all wards; and
• how fly tipping could be controlled, when skips were removed from high level areas,

The Director – Environment informed the Committee that the waste and recycling amnesty to date had been a great success, and an item would be included on the work plan to demonstrate the success of the works being carried out in the 2023/24 municipal year. The team were currently in the process of gathering wider data which would evidence the overall impact, including a significant reduction in cases of fly tipping.

The Director – Environment requested that the Committee encourage all Members to report all incidents of fly tipping within their wards via the Members Enquiry (ME) System.

Resolved: The Committee:-

(1) thanks the Programme Manager for her report; and

(2)  approves the proposed Confident Place Scrutiny Committee work plan for the 2023/24 municipal year.

Report of Assistant Director – Skills and Enterprise is attached.

The Committee considered a report of the Assistant Director – Skills and Enterprise, Claire Burnham, which provided an update on the rationale for reviewing the vision, collaborative approach taken via the Wigan Enterprise Board, and the range of stakeholders and partners that have been consulted to date. The report also outlined how the review was underpinned by local, regional, and national data sources and the development of a more detailed action plan in terms of priority sectors and skills development.

During its discussions, the Committee raised the following salient points:-

·           working with children and young people who were not in mainstream education and supporting those who are not academically trained;

·           how the Council could work with schools to raise awareness for children to realise they had skills that were valuable;

·           how the economic vision refresh was being funded; and

·           success stories relating to the procurement training with small enterprises.

The Assistant Director informed the Committee that the team had worked closely with young people aged 16-18 and up to the age of 25, with the aim of the work being to aid young people in gaining confidence in themselves and their own ability. The Committee was encouraged to contact the team if they required further information or were aware of any young people who would benefit from this support.

The Assistant advised Members that at the recent education conference, discussions had taken place in relation to different approaches that could be implemented in schools, through bringing representatives of small businesses and entrepreneurs into schools to speak about their own experiences and raising awareness of the variety of routes and opportunities that were available to them.

The Assistant Director informed Members that the team spent their available funding in the most efficient ways possible, and had been able to pull together existing resources in order to target residents who were in need of support. This would have a positive impact on their own future and the future of the borough.

The Assistant Director advised the Committee that success stories that arise from the Economic Vision Refresh would be communicated to the Committee via agenda items on the Committees’ work plan and conversations would be undertaken with apprentices about their experiences. The Committee were encouraged to contact the team should they be aware of anyone who may benefit from the apprenticeship scheme.

Resolved: The Committee:-

(1) thanks the Assistant Director for her report; and

(2)  endorses the work being undertaken in relation to the Economic Vision refresh, as highlighted within the report.

Report of Director – Environment and Director – Place is attached.

The Committee considered a report of the Director – Environment, and Director – Place, Aidan Thatcher, presented by the Directors, which deatiled the current performance against a number of key performance indicators across the Environment and Place Directorates.

During its discussions, the Panel raised the following salient points:-

·           the demand for Council houses within the borough;

·           turnaround times for void properties and how the Council could ensure this process was as efficient as possible;

·           properties lost to the right-to-buy scheme and how the Council could manage these losses; and

·           if there was a percentage of social housing that had to be provided by construction companies when building new infrastructure.

The Director – Place informed the Committee that the Council was aware of the demand for Council houses at this time and that the figures showed the demand was the highest it had been for several years. It was a priority to complete Council house void turnarounds as quickly as possible to ensure enough houses were available on the market for eligible residents.

The Director – Environment advised Members that a report had recently been considered by the Housing Advisory Panel (HAP) which reported a current turnaround time of 52 days for void properties, and that this figure compared well against other local boroughs in Greater Manchester. It was acknowledged however, that there was room for improvement, with work being undertaken to significantly reduce the current turnaround time.

The Director – Place informed Members that the government approach to the right-to-buy scheme and that the number of houses previously lost to this scheme were out of the Council’s control. Work was being undertaken however, via the Affordable Housing Programme to support the capital costs of developing affordable housing for the residents of Wigan.

The Director – Place advised the Committee that for every site in Wigan that created 10 or more new properties, 25% of this would need to be social housing. If, however, the developer claimed they could not afford to follow the social housing obligations, an independent assessment would take place to establish if this was fact. The Council’s Planning Committee ultimately made the decision if this obligation was enforced or discussed a varied obligation to meet the standards of the Council and the financial situation of the developer.

Resolved: The Committee:-

(1) thanks the Directors for their report; and

(2) endorses the performance across the Environment and Place Directorates, as outlined within the report.

Report of Director – Environment is attached.

The Committee considered a report of the Director – Environment, presented by the Highways Inspections and Streetworks Manager, Martin Barton, which provided an update on the performance of the Council’s Highways and Network Management Group in managing and maintaining the borough’s highway infrastructure.

The management and maintenance of the borough’s highway infrastructure was aligned to the Department of Transport national approach for using Whole Life Costings, Highway Asset Management and evidencing the Council’s annual self-assessment.

During its discussions, the Committee raised the following salient points:-

·           the process used in relation to investigating and repairing potholes throughout the borough;

·           the enforcement in place to reduce speeding throughout the borough;

·           examples of community pay back throughout the borough;

·           the maintenance process of gullies; and

·           funding received by the Council in relation to unadopted road.

The Highways Inspections and Streetworks Manager informed the Committee of the robust system in place to perform quality sample inspections on 78,000 repairs annually. Sample inspections were conducted through in person inspections via a highway’s inspector and desktop checks where work was analysed through images taken throughout the process of repair. This allowed the team to identify any material, structural, internal or training issues within the process of repairs in order to ensure all processes were performed and completed to the highest standard possible.

The Highways Inspections and Streetworks Manager advised Members that there were four priorities that the team worked to in repairing potholes - 2 hours, 24 hours, 14 days, 28 days, then highlighting the process in place in regard to these. Whenever work was subcontracted for resurfacing works, a full audit was completed before payment was made. Subcontractors were obliged to return if any problems arose with the quality of their work. Members were encouraged to report any known potholes via the ME System.

The Assistant Director - Infrastructure and Regulatory Services informed Members that 20mph zones were widely implemented into many residential areas throughout the borough. Members were encouraged to report any speeding issues that they have experienced, in order for the Greater Manchester Police (GMP) to make these areas a priority.

The Highways Inspections and Streetworks Manager advised the Committee in relation to several pieces of recent work that local contractors had been involved which provided added social value. A report was currently being prepared to showcase the works carried out by a range of contractors which was delivered free of charge, to support their social value goals.

The Assistant Director - Infrastructure and Regulatory Services informed the Committee of the variety of cleaning regimes carried out on gullies throughout Wigan, with 96% of gully maintenance having been achieved on their most recent performance review. Using a risk-based approach gullies received a 14 or 28 day work ticket, with all gullies being subject to highway inspection on a 1, 3, or 6 monthly basis.

The Highways Inspections and Streetworks Manager advised Members that funding provided to the Council was determined by network length, with Wigan being the second largest borough in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.