Members are asked to consider whether they have personal or prejudicial interests in connection with any item(s) on this agenda and, if so, to declare them and state what they are.

Members are reminded that they should also declare, pursuant to paragraph 18 of the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules, whether they are subject to a party whip in connection with any item(s) to be considered and, if so, to declare it and state the nature of the whipping arrangement.

Members were asked to consider whether they had personal or prejudicial interests in connection with any item(s) on this agenda and, if so, to declare them and state what they were.

Councillor S Taylor declared a personal interest in respect of minute 30 (Bus Punctuality Improvement Partnership Framework Agreement) by virtue of her employment with Merseytravel.

Councillor D Mitchell declared a personal interest in respect of minute 30 (Bus Punctuality Improvement Partnership Framework Agreement) by virtue of his membership of Merseytravel.

Members were reminded that they should also declare, pursuant to paragraph 18 of the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules, whether they were subject to a party whip in connection with any item(s) to be considered and, if so, to declare it and state the nature of the whipping arrangement. No such declarations were made.

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 21 September, 2009.

Members were requested to receive the minutes of the meeting held on 21 September, 2009

Resolved – That the minutes be received.

Report to be circulated separately.

The Director of Regeneration presented a report providing an indication of the scale of young peoples’ involvement in community safety issues, ranging from criminal activity to issues of anti social behaviour and the interventions available across Wirral to prevent their involvement in this type of behaviour.  The report included the following areas:

-  The profiles of victims and perpetrators of crime and anti social behaviour. 

-  The forms and scale of enforcement action being taken against young people. 

-  The support which is available to young people and their parents prior to, and once within, the criminal justice system. 

-  The range of initiatives in place to prevent young people from becoming involved in community safety issues.

It also contained a series of conclusions drawn from analysis of the data surrounding young people and community safety (paragraph 9 refers).

The Director responded to range of issues raised by members:

-  the effectiveness of Section 30 Dispersal Orders and the displacement of anti social behaviour problems into adjoining areas

-  alcohol related problems and the reasons why this was a particular issue in certain areas compared to other areas with a low level of incidences

-  monitoring of both off licence and licensed premises 

-  support initiatives and re-offending rates

The Chair referred to the decision of the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 16 November, that the issue of Young People and Community Safety be agreed as topic for joint scrutiny review with this committee.

It was also noted that the Scrutiny Programme Board (minute 17 – 14/9/09) had agreed to undertake a detailed examination of alcohol related admission to hospital figures as part of its work programme.

Resolved –

(1)  That the Committee note the contents of this report. 

(2)  That this Committee agree to carry out a joint scrutiny review of Young People and Community Safety with the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee

To receive a presentation by the contractor, Colas. A report from the Director of Technical Services will be reported separately.

The Director of Technical Services submitted a report updating Members on the progress of the new Highway and Engineering Services Contract after the first six months and seeking endorsement to report back to this committee in Summer 2010 with a formal Annual Contract Review, including the outcome of the proposed Gateway 5 Benefits Realisation Review described in the report.

The Director gave a verbal update outlining the Gateway Review process and the next phase in terms of benefits realisation, management and governance arrangements, and partnership working to assess various issues affecting the contract and develop a co-ordinated response.  He gave a brief operational overview for the first six months of the contract indicating that progress had been good and work delivery for most of the works had been completed beyond expectations. 

Mr Cameron Neil, Regional Manager for Colas, introduced Mr Jim Nimmo, Wirral Contract Manager, and his management team.

Mr Neil outlined the Colas Group structure, its vision to provide quality services in a streetscene partnership with the Council, management and governance arrangements, successes to date, and future investment in terms of people, fleet and a new depot.

The Chair referred to the section of the report dealing with financial implications asked for clarification regarding the revenue funding and whether this would continue to be in place for the duration of the contract. 

The Director explained that there would continue to be a core allocation for highway maintenance within the LTP,

Resolved – That the Committee:

(1)  Note the progress of the new Highway and Engineering Services Contract during the first six months as outlined in this report;

(2)  Endorse the proposal for a formal Annual Contract Review report in Summer 2010, including the outcome of the proposed Gateway 5 Benefits Realisation Review described in the report.

(3)  Request an update to a future meeting on the revenue implications referred to in paragraph 5.1 of this report.

The Director of Technical Services submitted a progress report on his department’s Capital Programme.  The report highlighted the progress in the delivery of those elements of the Capital Programme Congestion, Road Safety, Air Quality & Environment and Accessibility sub-blocks undertaken by the Traffic Management Division accounting for  £2.01M of the total £6.057M allocation.

The Chair referred to the section of the report dealing with financial implications indicating that there may be minor variations between operational service areas. It was also noted that future maintenance would be met from the revenue budget and this could be subject to reductions in future years.

The Director reported that any budget variations would be monitored closely and, if necessary, reported to Cabinet in accordance with the Council’s Standing Orders. He also explained that core funding would continue to be available for key LTP priorities and projects.

The Director responded to questions from members relating to:

-  the current position regarding surveys and investigations of the box girders supporting the Bidston Moss Viaduct and the timetable for completion of this improvement scheme

-  further guidance that was awaited from the DfT regarding 20 mph zones. 

Resolved - That Committee note the contents of the report. 

The Director of Technical Services submitted a progress report on the Local Environmental Quality (LEQ) delivery plan for 2009/10 which had been prepared and monitored by his department in partnership with Biffa Waste Services, Regeneration, Neighbourhood Management Projects and local housing associations.  The core aims of the partnership were to:

- Maintain and improve the standard of the local environment for residents and businesses through effective partnership working between key agencies and organisations

- Monitor, review, report and take corrective action for the improvement plans relating to the Living and Working Environment Partnership that set out to achieve the SCS and LAA Improvement Priorities

- Optimise the use of available partner resources to achieve Living and Working Environment objectives through effective working and communication between partner organisations and use of performance/ management information

-  Promote effective engagement and consultation with local communities and neighbourhoods to facilitate in particular the community and voluntary sector for the achievement of Living and Working Environment objectives.

The Director reported that overall, the actions contained within the delivery plan were very effective with regards to improving environmental quality for Wirral residents and contributed to the achievement of both the LAA and “Narrowing the Gap” local target.  Wirral had achieved its LAA performance indicator “stretch target” for 2008/09 and had received a reward grant of £818,635. This indicator measured the cleanliness of streets and open spaces with regards to litter, detritus, graffiti and fly posting.  In addition, Wirral had a local indicator that measured the standard of cleanliness in the 5% most deprived areas of the borough and progress with this indicator was detailed in section 3.2 of the report.

The Director gave a brief update of the actions/projects detailed in the delivery plan including the proposed extension of the on-street recycling scheme to the West Kirby, Hoylake, New Brighton, Oxton and Moreton areas of the borough. 

He reported that the Partnership would continue to develop joint initiatives with LAA partners aiming to further improve environmental quality in the most efficient way, especially in the poorest performing land use categories.  Much of the significant improvements made to cleanliness standards in Wirral’s most deprived areas could be attributed to the increased community engagement initiatives being delivered by Neighbourhood Management Teams and the work of the Technical Services engagement staff.  As the Partnership developed, it would prioritise work with communities in order to develop a sustainable mechanism for continuing to improve LEQ standards for the people of Wirral and its visitors.

The Director responded to questions from members relating to:

-  operational issues and monitoring

-  the development of community environmental champions

-  the on-street recycling scheme

-  allocation of the reward grant

-  integration of the CRM IT system with Biffa

-  the progress of Green projects

Resolved – That the Committee note of the progress made in the LEQ 2009/10 delivery plan and endorse the proposed expansion of the on-street recycling receptacles detailed in section 4.2.5

The Directors of Technical Services and Regeneration submitted a report providing an overview of progress made against the indicators for 2009/2010 and key projects which are relevant to the Sustainable Communities Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

The Director of Regeneration responded to questions from members regarding:

-  the underachievement of Cultural Services target income levels

-  proposals for the redevelopment of Europa Pools

-  delays to the Heritage Strategy arising from a change in the funding environment.

Resolved – That the Committee note the contents of this report.

The Director of Technical Services submitted a report setting out the background, definitions and objectives of the Merseyside Bus Punctuality Improvement Partnership Framework Agreement (PIP) (Appendix 1) between the Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive, Bus Operators and the Local Authority to facilitate improvement to the punctuality of bus services within Merseyside, together with information surrounding achievement of shared objectives.  The PIP also included appendices which detailed the data sharing agreement (draft), monitoring methodology and proposed joint actions to assist with overcoming any identified issues.

The PIP was designed to facilitate improvement to the punctuality of bus services within Merseyside, and was a demonstration of:

-  A commitment to genuine co-operative working between the bus operators and the local authorities.

-  A shared objective to achieve measurable improvement in the punctuality of bus services.

- An agreement between the bus operators, the Transport Authority, and the Highway Authority as to the method of monitoring the punctuality of bus services.

- A willingness jointly to use the findings of punctuality monitoring surveys together with any other relevant data to identify methods of improving the delivery of bus services.

-  Jointly agreed targets for improvement.

Data would be collated and presented in standard quarterly Punctuality Performance Monitoring Reports to help identify any route specific or operational issues that had a negative effect on service punctuality.  The PIP would be applied to a chosen route or “corridor”, whereby the Merseytravel Executive, Wirral Council and the Bus Operators would sign to demonstrate their commitment to the objectives, targets and crucially, the Data Sharing Agreement.

The aim of PIPs was clearly consistent with the DfT’s drive to address congestion, through the specified 11 congestion corridors across Merseyside.  Thus in accordance with the provisions of the joint Merseyside Local Transport Plan, and within the wider context of a wider Quality Bus Partnership, the PIP Partners would seek to build on the improvements already made to the bus network, and achieve a continuous growth in bus passenger numbers.

Resolved - That the Committee note the contents of this report and refer it to Cabinet for ratification.

The Director of Technical Services submitted a report comprising a review of the pilot pavement/verge parking restrictions.

The first phase of the pilot restrictions were introduced in the following 6 locations;

Teehey Lane, Bebington (Higher Bebington Road to Heath Road, Bebington)

Kings Lane, Bebington (Kings Road to Old Chester Road, Bebington)

Kings Road, Bebington (Borough Road, Birkenhead to Kings Lane, Bebington)

Woodchurch Road, Prenton (Osmaston Road to Palmwood Close, Prenton)

Holm Lane, Oxton (Talbot Road to Oulton Close, Oxton)

Bayswater Road, Wallasey  (Newport Avenue to Greenleas Road, Wallasey)

Since the restrictions were made operative compliance in all six roads had been generally good. Warning letters had been sent out initially indicating that enforcement action would be taken to prevent pavement/ verge parking. Some persistent offenders had been issued with penalty control notices for non-compliance but the majority of these notices were issued within the first few weeks of the introduction of the restrictions and latterly it has not been necessary to issue any further notices.

During the trial period a petition was submitted from the residents of Woodchurch Road requesting the revocation of the traffic order for the section of Woodchurch Road from Holmlands Drive to the railway bridge by junction 3 of the M53 motorway. This request was agreed but future consideration would be given to the introduction of a footway parking scheme to allow residents to park on the pavement in bays marked out by the council following consultation with the residents.

The change in legislation had doubled scheme costs and the pilot had therefore been split into 3 phases. It was now proposed to introduce pilot restrictions from the approved list in the following roads as part of the second phase of the implementation programme.

(i)  Townfield Lane, Oxton (Bidston Road to Shavington Avenue)

(ii) Storeton Road, Oxton (Woodchurch Road to Ingestre Road)

(iii) Frankby Road, Frankby (Blackhorse Hill to Newton Park Road)

(iv) Greasby Road, Greasby (Upton By Pass to Frankby Road)

(v)  Leasowe Road, Leasowe (Heyes Drive to Reeds Lane – south side only)

(vi) Pensby Road, Pensby (Gills Lane to Whitfield Lane)

The Consultation process would commence during November and, subject to the responses received, it was proposed to advertise the orders in December 2009 with the restrictions becoming effective in January 2010.  As with the first pilot scheme, the results of the second pilot would be reported back to Members in December 2010, together with a breakdown of enforcement costs.  The remaining 8 locations from the original pilot scheme list (Appendix1) would be resurveyed to determine whether the pavement/verge parking problems were still at a level where restrictions should be considered.

Resolved – That the Committee note the contents of this report and the proposed amendment to the Woodchurch Road scheme, as detailed in Section 4 of the report.