Overview and Scrutiny Litter Enforcement - Blackpool Council€¦ · Blackpool Borough Council...

Blackpool Borough Council Improving Services for the Community

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B L A C K P O O L C O U N C I L

Overview and Scrutiny

Litter Enforcement

Litter Enforcement Scrutiny of 17 11/05/2006 FINAL REPORT


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Contents Pages

Foreword 3 Background 4

Methodology 4 - 5

Detailed Findings

1. Street Scene 6 - 7

2. Environmental Services 7

3. Consultation process 7 - 10

4. Blackpool as a Holiday Town 10 - 11

5. Focus on Offenders 11 6. Officer Training 11 - 12 7. Enforcement Strategy 12 - 13

Action Plan 14 - 17



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Foreword

The Urban Environment Service Development Committee selected the topic of Litter Enforcement as a scrutiny for a number of reasons, which included complaints by residents, and more recently, new Government legislation. The problem of litter has continually been raised as an issue of concern by Area Forums, with specific complaints, such as

• “What is being done?”

• “There is a problem with litter around schools”.

• “Visitors to the town just dump their rubbish.”

The Committee rates public opinion very highly, and was therefore eager to tackle a subject that was clearly causing concern for residents across the borough. Since 2002 a review of the legislative framework for providing and maintaining a clean and safe local environment has been carried out to accompany the cross-Government report Living Places - Cleaner, Safer, Greener. The review found that the powers, duties and guidance for dealing with problems associated with local environmental quality were not working as effectively as they should be, and produced options for delivering changes. Some were introduced into legislation in Part 6 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003. The majority of the options were developed further and included as proposals for legislative action within the 2004 Clean Neighbourhoods Consultation. The Act, which received royal assent on 7th April 2005, contains a raft of new powers. A particular emphasis throughout the Act is the greater use of Fixed Penalty Notices as a means to enforcement. The new powers outlined in the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environmental Act 2005 provide the Council with extended powers of enforcement relating to crime and disorder, vehicles, litter and refuse, graffiti, waste, dogs, noise, and architecture and the built environment. The expansion of the Local Environment Quality Survey for England, (a survey that will scrutinise litter associated issues leading down to individual postcode level) confirms how much importance the public place on the quality of the local environment. Government has recently highlighted the new powers under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environmental Act 2005, advising that environmental related issues should be high on Councils priorities.

Councillor Kath Rowson, Chairman of the Working Group and Former Chairman of the Urban Environment Service Development Committee

It became clear from the review how hard working and dedicated both the Street Scene and Environmental Service officers are, and the working group would like to thank all the officers who assisted in the review; their input was invaluable and the time spent with the group very much appreciated.



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Background The working group established the following Terms of Reference for the review: - To undertake a review of the enforcement of litter and other related penalties (e.g. for discarded cigarettes, chewing gum etc) with a view to improving the levels of cleanliness on the streets of Blackpool. Issues that were also considered during the course of the review were; the scale of the problem; what penalties were available, and any associated cost implications of enforcing these; what the Council currently does and what other enforcements are available for use; education in relation to litter and recycling; any available funding and review the experience of other authorities who have introduced litter penalties. The Litter Enforcement scrutiny commenced in February 2005, and was linked to the Council’s Strategic Objective (at that time), “To increase quality of life for all, through an improved urban environment.”

Methodology The Urban Environment Service Development Committee formed a working group comprising of Councillors Kath Rowson (Lead Member), Carol Radcliffe, Norman Hardy and Steven Bate.

The following meetings took place where information was gathered and considered, and further questions generated, with regard to the scrutiny.

Date Attendees Purpose

02/05/05 Elaine Loye, Tony Street, Cllr Rowson Scoping Meeting

24/05/05 Councillors Rowson, Hardy, Radcliife and Bate, Elaine Loye, Paul Taylor and Sally Taylor

Paul Taylor - Presentation on Litter Enforcement

22/06/05 Peter Baines, Sally Taylor, Dave Rothwell, Councillors Rowson, Hardy, Radcliife and Bate

D. Rothwell - Presentation on the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environmental Act 2005

15/08/05 Councillors Rowson, Hardy, Radcliife and Elaine Loye, Paul Taylor and Sally Taylor

Preston City Council presentation regarding the chewing gum littering enforcement pilot

11/10/05 Councillor Rowson, George Atkinson Blackpool Young People’s Council regarding litter enforcement

18/10/05 Councillors Rowson, Radcliffe, Hardy, Sally Taylor, Steve Sienkiewicz

Oldham Metropolitan Council on how they pursue enforcement of littering and the issue Fixed Penalty Notices

07/12/05 Councillor Rowson, Paul Taylor and Sally Taylor

Encam's Training on the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environmental Act 2005, held at Manchester Science Museum

09/12/05 Councillor Rowson Consultation process with the ‘Keep Blackpool Tidy Group’



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Litter Enforcement Scrutiny of 17 11/05/2006

Date Attendees Purpose

20/12/05 Councillors Rowson, Radcliffe, Hardy and Sally Taylor

To discuss the draft report and recommendations.

FINAL REPORT


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Detailed Findings 1. Street Scene The Street Scene Service Plan 2005 – 2010, was approved by the Executive in December 2005. This document outlines the street scene strategy for the integration of services in order to: -

• improve service delivery;

• create a more skilled and better trained workforce

• involve the community in the development and maintenance of their neighbourhoods

The aim was to create a workforce capable of undertaking a wider range of duties to help ensure the maximum flexibility in dealing with Street Scene priorities and in covering scheduled, reactive and project work. This offers the opportunity of creating a more skilled and better-trained workforce with a “can do” approach capable of operating flexibly to deal with environmental issues on a priority basis across previous functional divides. The Street Scene services aim to increase the attractiveness of Blackpool in terms of the cleanliness and general condition of the highways, footpaths and public open spaces.

The Street Scene initiative piloted the creation of Neighbourhood Environmental Action teams (NEAT). This scheme provides a rapid response to incidents of litter, dumped rubbish, graffiti, potholes and other issues affecting the quality of the streets. NEAT officers also undertake enforcement action in relation to littering and illegal dumping.

The introduction of the Neighbourhood Environmental Action Team has ensured the provision of a rapid response to environmental issues. The team provides a rapid response to the removal of rubbish, offensive graffiti, fly tipped waste and dog fouling and also stringent enforcement action when appropriate.

Statistics April – November 2005

Fixed Penalty Notices issued for littering 61 Graffiti Removal Notices issued - 61 Fixed Penalty Notices for Dog Fouling - 23

The nature of Blackpool as a resort with a significant night time economy, means there are problems with litter during the evening at peak season times. The night time economy is



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recognised as being strong within Blackpool, and a large amount of litter is generated after 8.00 pm. The safety of staff is clearly of paramount importance, but additional duties could be undertaken safely between the hours of 8.00pm -11.00pm, although at present there are no resources in place to accommodate this. Regulations state that an Authority must keep certain areas clean of litter between the hours of 8.00am – 8.00pm. Outside these hours there is no requirement to undertake cleaning.

The cost of cleaning the streets within Blackpool for the financial year 2005/6 was £3.2M, which is a substantial financial cost to the Council. In addition, the volume of refuse removed from Blackpool streets amounted to 2200 cubic tonnes, which is equivalent to two million bottles of wine.

2. Environmental Services

The Environmental Protection Section within the Environmental Services Division responds to alleged statutory nuisances and enforces the provisions within the Environmental Protection Act 1990, on such issues as noise from all types of buildings, accumulations of refuse and the state of premises and land. The Section will be enforcing provisions contained in the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environmental Act 2005, which include nuisance and abandoned vehicles and additional powers relating to noise. Responsibilities within Environmental Protection also include the investigation of contaminated land; management of the dog warden service which deals principally with stray dogs and dog fouling matters; the operation of a private drainage service; management of air quality and the declaration of an air quality management area in the town centre; the permitting of industrial processes that discharge to air, and radiation monitoring in partnership with other Lancashire local authorities. 3. Consultation Process

3.1 Education Litter around schools is a particular problem, and it was acknowledged that young people of secondary school age are notoriously difficult to reach with the ‘Keep Britain Tidy’ message. Several schools, e.g. Montgomery High School, currently impose sanctions on their pupils if caught littering within schools premises, however it is more difficult to address the problem of littering outside school grounds. A large proportion of complaints received from the public with reference to littering relate to schools and colleges, the litter they drop during breaks, the litter dropped within the immediate vicinity of an educational establishment and the litter dropped within private gardens on the main routes to schools and colleges. It was noted that in a number of schools incentive schemes have recently been introduced to encourage pupils to eat more healthily in the school canteen. Pupils can earn points and be entered into a draw for a range of prizes, and a similar scheme is suggested in relation to litter, see recommendation 4.



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3.2 Preston City Council - Chewing Gum Pilot and ‘Butts Out Campaign’ Sonia Scowcroft, Litter Education Officer from Preston City Council, gave advice to the working group on the work piloted in the City in relation to targeting chewing gum littering. Preston entered a bid with DEFRA to receive funding to undertake a pilot aimed at reducing the levels of chewing gum dropped in the city. Preston’s targeted pilot was very successful, and it was considered that this was due to the fact that Preston tackled the problem from a number of angles, with the distribution of gum pouches, advertising, and the introduction of gum boards. Preston City Council won the top prize at the Green Apple awards with ‘The We Are Watching You Campaign’, which named and shamed litter-droppers over a speaker system in the street. The ‘Butts Out Campaign’, which focused upon a cigarette end littering, scooped a best practice award.

There were a number of elements that could potentially be adapted for implementation at Blackpool, for example raising awareness in the Public Houses and Clubs via advertising the ‘don’t drop litter’ message on beer mats, etc. The information from Preston whilst very informative, did raise various issues if Blackpool was to actively pursue chewing gum littering enforcement; the reduction in ‘gum littering’ was only 30%, and at the end of the pilot the levels of littering began to increase. Preston City Council obtained bid funding for the pilot which funded the issuing of gum pouches, (£0.65 each) and that young people considered the gum pouches a novelty, see report section 3.3. The gum boards were universally unpopular both with officers, working group members and other bodies that were consulted. The working group was therefore of the opinion that the use of chewing gum pouches should only be pursued if additional Government funding could be obtained

The problem of cigarette butt littering and how the consequence of future no-smoking legislation would impact upon street littering, was also discussed/raised by the working group. The provision of cigarette butt pouches was used by Preston City Council, but again the cost was high (£0.75 each), and unless additional Government grant funding could be obtained the working group would not wish to see this avenue pursued. Due to recent legislation and associated health and safety issues, the working group considered

that the Council should lead the way in the provision of cigarette end litterbins. Therefore the working group agreed that cigarette end litterbins should be provided around the town centre, including outside Council offices. 3.3 Consultation with Blackpool Young People’s Council As part of the scrutiny, Councillor Rowson attended a meeting of the Blackpool Young People’s Council to ascertain their views regarding litter and litter enforcement. The group was informed that an education strategy to teach children about litter and litter enforcement, which would enable as many children as possible were aware of fixed penalty notices.

• Approximately half of the Group considered that the chewing gum disposal ‘billboard’ (created by Preston City Council) was a good idea in Blackpool town centre, the other half of the Group considered it to be unhygienic.



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• Regarding the chewing gum disposal pouches, individuals were unsure if these would be a success. They felt it might be a novelty, which would soon lose interest. They also thought that people would consider the pouches as unhygienic.

• The group felt that a lack of public bins in residential areas tended to cause increased

littering problems.

• Making people aware was classed as a high priority regarding the fixed penalty notices, and it was suggested that the Blackpool Gazette could be used to inform residents of the number of fixed penalty notices given out for littering offences.

• The Group felt that a young person’s perception of litter may differ from that of an adult,

but did consider that after sufficient publicity, immediate fines were acceptable. There was a strong proviso with this finding, to ensure that sufficient publicity was undertaken to warn residents that the fines would occur, with publicity including press, radio and information given to schools.

• The consensus of the group was that fly-tippers should receive an on-the-spot fine, with

no first offence cautions granted, due to the severity of fly tipping and the potential dangers it causes.

3.4 Oldham Metropolitan Council The working group visited Oldham Metropolitan Council that has a population of approximately 230,000 people, with 21 wards. The three worst deprived wards nationally are located within the town. There are six area committees, which are very similar to Blackpool Area Forums. In 1999 a new ‘Cleanliness Strategy’ available from http://www.oldham.gov.uk/litterplan.pdf, was introduced (this has now been superseded) with the emphasis on education and enforcement, along with the development of a street scene strategy. The strategy aimed to achieve high standards of environmental cleanliness throughout the borough. One of its main objectives was to continue and further develop an increasingly proactive approach and to provide a structured education programme available to schools. There was also emphasis on the development of a sustained publicity campaign. It was emphasised that residents wanted a greater use of existing legislative powers with regard to enforcement. The citizen’s panel also requested an increase in the number of fixed penalty notices, to address local issues. At the beginning of the new strategy a zero tolerance approach was adopted, with all residents being warned of what was going to happen. The public were generally very supportive of the scheme and continue to be so. The Authority was very fortunate in gaining local media support for the strategy, however as far as Oldham Metropolitan Council is concerned, negative publicity equates to public support and an improvement in statistics. It was noted that Oldham (prior to their ‘Cleanliness Strategy Campaign’) undertook litter enforcement education at all schools, and events included a litter pick and letters to parents. The letters stated that parents were responsible if their children dropped litter; there would be no warnings and this would/could result in criminal action against parents. 3.5 Keep Blackpool Tidy Group A meeting was held on the 9th December 2005 with the ‘Keep Blackpool Tidy Group’ (a subgroup of Blackpool Environmental Action Team) that fully supported the approach of issuing fixed penalty notices for litter associated offences. The Group also requested that immediate enforcement action be pursued in relation to fly tipping.


http://www.oldham.gov.uk/litterplan.pdf


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3.6 Publicity In light of the remarks received after consultation with other Authorities, the Blackpool Young People’s Council and the Keep Blackpool Tidy Group, the working group came to the view that a high profile publicity campaign, focusing on the new powers available to the Council, should be implemented with immediate effect. Recommendation R1: To provide with immediate affect, a dedicated Street Scene School Education officer, to educate and inform schools, colleges, area forums and liaise with other Blackpool community and resident groups. Recommendation R2: To produce a high profile publicity campaign to warn all residents, students, visitors and school children, that from April 2006 Fixed Penalty Notices will be issued for many litter associated offences. This campaign should warn that after the publicity, the Council would actively pursue litter-associated offences and enforcement action, wherever possible. Recommendation R3: Due to the budget implications of recommendations R1 – R2, it is requested that officers investigate and actively pursue all grant funding sources for the provision of education and the publicity campaign. Recommendation R4: As part of the publicity campaign, schools should be involved in production of the campaign. A borough wide competition to be held for junior schools to design a litter prevention mascot, and for senior schools to produce an anti litter slogan. Officers are requested to investigate other ways in which to involve Blackpool school children of all ages within a litter publicity campaign. Recommendation R5: Officers to investigate the minimum age that fixed penalty notices can be issued to minors.

Recommendation R6: Officers to investigate the provision and location of litterbins for cigarette ends around the town centre and this should include outside Council offices.

4. Blackpool as a Holiday Town

Members consider that because Blackpool is acknowledged as Britain's most popular holiday destination, the style of litterbins should reflect this. The working group consider that because currently litterbins are all of a style, this is not the case within the town. It is recommended that officers investigate using alternative styles of litterbins that would encourage visitors to dispose of their litter in a correct manner. Suggested styles of litterbins should be imaginative, informative and assist in promoting Blackpool.



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Recommendation R7: Street Scene officers to investigate using different styles of litter bins, which are more in keeping with Blackpool being a premier holiday resort and more relevant to the town’s tourism image.

5. Focus on Offenders

The working group was of the opinion that dropping litter whilst not only very expensive for the Council to clear, is anti social and of severe detriment to the town’s image. Continuing the emphasis on the theme that Blackpool is Britain's most popular holiday destination, litter does give the ‘wrong image’ to visitors and residents alike. Therefore it is strongly suggested that officers actively pursue enforcement action against offenders within the area of fly tipping and illegal dumping of trade refuse, which reflects badly on the town’s image. There is a difference between domestic and trade waste, and the cost to the authority for the removal of illegal trade waste and fly tipping in 2005/6 was in excess of £300,000.

It became apparent through the various consultation processes that illegal tipping should be dealt with separately from domestic penalties. Therefore the consensus of the working group was to pursue active enforcement for the dumping of trade waste and fly tippers using the new powers within the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environmental Act 2005. Due to the impact on the environment, the town’s image and the financial cost, the working group did not wish any amnesty period to be given, or additional publicity undertaken.

Recommendation R8: Focus enforcement action against premises and individuals who dump trade waste with immediate effect from April 2006, making full use of the new powers allocated to the Council within the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environmental Act 2005. Particular emphasis should be focused on fly tipping, the use of domestic litter bins for trade waste and areas along the Promenade. There should be no amnesty period given for fly tipping offenders.

6. Officer Training

Oldham Metropolitan Council identified that from their experience, some existing staff are not suited to undertake enforcement duties, which include the issuing of fixed penalty notices. The street scene approach of multi-tasking does suggest that enforcement action can be increased in response to the implementation of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environmental Act 2005 and the use of fixed penalty notices.



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In light of this new legislation, Councillor Rowson attended a training seminar on the 7th December run by Encam’s, called ‘An Introduction to Fixed Penalty Notices’. The training confirmed that a fixed penalty notice is an offer to ‘discharge liability to conviction’ and is not an alternative to a prosecution.

The working group suggests that officers check their scheme of delegation to issue fixed penalty notices. Within Oldham Metropolitan, all field-based officers within the Council are trained in how to report incidents of litter dropping and this includes enforcement of litter items being out of car windows. It can therefore be determined that any joint enforcement – cross Council enforcement - is ‘good practice’. The scrutiny working group recognises that any enforcement links, which can be developed across the Council, should be actively encouraged.

Historical evidence from the issuing of fixed penalty notices for parking offences, suggests that 80% of tickets are paid within the discount period. Evidence also suggests that if the 10% of non-payers are not pursued, the other 90% who do comply, will within a short period of time, stop complying. It should be noted that after training, the following numbers of staff, in addition to the two dog wardens, would be in a position to issue fixed penalty notices:

• Environmental Protection 9 • Housing Enforcement 3 • NEAT 13 • Unified Streetscene workforce 15 • Parks 3

This gives a total number of officers able to issue fixed penalty notices of 43. Recommendation R9: Provide an adequate number of enforcement officers able to issue fixed penalty notices, from both Environment Services and Street Scene, in order to meet the requirements of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environmental Act 2005. This will require a number of officers to be continuously trained in current enforcement practices. 7. Enforcement Strategy

The legislation also identifies that there is a requirement for an ‘Enforcement Strategy’, which states how the Council pursues the enforcement of fixed penalty notices, and it is essential that officers are following the enforcement procedure detailed within the strategy.



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The training from Encam’s confirmed that it was only fair and reasonable when not giving a caution, to explain to individuals that they were being ‘reported’ for an offence. When an offence is committed, the details of the offence should be explained in plain clear language. In addition when issuing a fixed penalty notices, an officer must state who they are, and that they are an authorised person of the Council, all of which should be included within the strategy. Because this document details the Councils’ procedure on enforcement fixed penalty notices, there is a requirement to advise individuals of any discounts for early payment, a warning policy, and what was pursued to prosecution. This document is determined to be ‘disclosable’ and should be available as a public document. Recommendation R10: To produce an Enforcement Strategy, which is available to the public, detailing how the Council pursues the enforcement of fixed penalty notices. The strategy should be written in plain English and available in different formats to meet diversity requirements.



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Recommendation Recommendation Accepted (Yes/No)

Target Date for Action Lead Officer

OSC Update

Notes

Consultation Process R1

To provide with immediate affect, a dedicated Street Scene School Education officer, to educate and inform schools, colleges, area forums and liaise with other Blackpool community and resident groups.

Consultation Process To produce a high profile publicity campaign to warn all residents, students, visitors and school children, that from April 2006 Fixed Penalty Notices will be issued for many litter associated offences. This campaign should warn that after the publicity, the Council would actively pursue litter-associated offences and enforcement action, wherever possible.

Consultation Process

R2 R3

Due to the budget implications of recommendations R1 – R2, it is requested that officers investigate and actively pursue all grant funding sources for the provision of education and the publicity campaign.



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OSC Update

Notes


As part of the publicity campaign, schools should be involved in production of the campaign. A borough wide competition to be held for junior schools to design a litter prevention mascot, and for senior schools to produce an anti litter slogan. Officers are requested to investigate other ways in which to involve Blackpool school children of all ages within a litter publicity campaign.


Officers to investigate the minimum age that fixed penalty notices can be issued to minors.

Consultation Process

R6

Officers to investigate the provision and location of litterbins for cigarette ends around the town centre and this should include outside Council offices.



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OSC Update

Notes

Blackpool as a Holiday Town R7

Street Scene officers to investigate using different styles of litter bins, which are more in keeping with Blackpool being a premier holiday resort and more relevant to the town’s tourism image.

Focus on Offenders R8

Focus enforcement action against premises and individuals who dump trade waste with immediate effect from April 2006, making full use of the new powers allocated to the Council within the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environmental Act 2005. Particular emphasis should be focused on fly tipping, the use of domestic litter bins for trade waste and areas along the Promenade. There should be no amnesty period given for fly tipping offenders.



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Recommendation Action Taken By

Target Date for Action

OSC Update

Recommendation Accepted (yes/No) Explanation

Officer Training

R9

Provide an adequate number of enforcement officers able to issue fixed penalty notices, from both Environment Services and Street Scene, in order to meet the requirements of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environmental Act 2005. This will require a number of officers to be continuously trained in current enforcement practices.

Enforcement Strategy R10

To produce an Enforcement Strategy, which is available to the public, detailing how the Council pursues the enforcement of fixed penalty notices. The Strategy should be written in plain English and available in different formats to meet diversity requirements.


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