2013-10-28-ladywood-ward-committee-meeting-papers by Brian Simpson

Members are reminded that they must declare all relevant pecuniary and nonpecuniary interests relating to any items of business to be discussed at this meeting. If a pecuniary interest is declared a Member must not speak or take part in that agenda item. Any declarations will be recorded in the minutes of the meeting. BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL LADYWOOD WARD COMMITTEE

Monday 28 October 2013 at 1900 hours in The Blue & Orange Theatre , 118 Great Hampton Street, B18 6AD

AGENDA

APOLOGIES

Attached

MINUTES

To confirm and sign the Minutes of the last meeting held on 29 July 2013. Attached

CODE OF CONDUCT (LADYWOOD)

RECEIPT OF PETITIONS (LADYWOOD)

LADYWOOD TV NEWS

The TNT News Team will show a video of recent events 6

JEWELLERY QUARTER BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT Luke Crane the Jewellery Quarter BID Manager will attend the meeting to give a presentation on the BID and its activities

JEWELLERY QUARTER POLICE ISSUES Sergeant McVeigh will attend to give a presentation

URBAN GULLS UPDATE Update on the issue of the urban gulls in the Jewellery Quarter. Report to be circulated at the meeting.

GOLDEN SQUARE AND STREET LIGHTING Updates on progress

COUNCIL SERVICES' REVIEWS Discussion on Service Reviews of; - Well Managed & Resilient City - Developing a Successful & Inclusive Economy

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- Developing Successful & Inclusive Communities} - Support Services 2 }

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Tranche 2

- Support Services 2

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BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL

LADYWOOD WARD COMMITTEE 29 JULY 2013

MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE LADYWOOD WARD COMMITTEE HELD ON MONDAY 29 JULY 2013 AT 1900 HOURS AT LADYWOOD HEALTH & COMMUNITY CENTRE, ST VINCENT STREET WEST PRESENT:-

Councillor Kath Hartley in the Chair Councillors Sir Albert Bore and Carl Rice

ALSO PRESENT:Clive Skidmore, Ward Champion David Harris, Transportation Policy Rob Groves, Argent (Property Development) Services Dav Bansall, Glenn Howells Architects Louise Robinson, Area Planning Manager Anne Shaw, Head of Access & Development Karen Creavin, Head of Community Sport & Healthy Lifestyles John Tomlinson, Adults & Communities Nick Glover, Corporate Resources Norman Bartlam, TNT News Pat Whyte, District Support Officer Kay Thomas, Area Democratic Services Officer (There were approximately 35 members of the public present). ___________________________________________________________________

MINUTES The Minutes of the meeting held on 17 June 2013 having been previously circulated ere approved and signed by the Chairman. w __________________________________________________________________ CODE OF CONDUCT

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The Code of Conduct for meetings of the Ladywood Ward Committee was received and noted. (See document No. 1) PETITONS No petitions were submitted. _________________________________________________________________

LADYWOOD TV NEWS

The TNT News team showed a film from the young people’s reporting team based in

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the Ward. The recording of ‘Tonight in Ladywood’ showed news items and events from around the Ward since the last Committee meeting. Topics covered included:-

Live broadcast from Holland covering a memorial for 34 crew members who sank with their submarine in 1940. One of the crew was Ladywood man, James Settigue. Ladywood Convention Music – Concert Generation Ladywood Dragon Boat Race

___________________________________________________________________ PARKING REVIEWS – UPDATE ON THE NEXT STEPS IN ST MARKS & CENTRAL LADYWOOD

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David Harris reported on the outcome of the first part of the consultation to assess support for a residents parking scheme and advised that 86% of residents had agreed that they would like to know more about the next stages. The next stage was to enter into a more detailed conversation about the process, restrictions etc and a further update would be provided to the Committee on that stage in due course. In response to a question regarding the next consultation phase the Committee was advised that the initial consultation had been to gauge residents interest and the majority response had been in favour so there would be a further period of consultation but the time period had not yet been decided. Residents would be contacted in due course. The Chair confirmed that there would be extensive consultation at the next stage and would involve meetings, plans etc and would not just be reliant on a survey. The areas were being considered together due to the ‘knock on’ effect schemes in one area had on others but the relevant issues to the individual areas would be recognised. A resident from the St Marks Estate referred to the parking problems in the area and said that action was needed. David Harris said that the comments received from the first stage were being analysed and would be built into a detailed design with restrictions for each road. The financial plan was being arranged so it was hoped that the second stage of consultation would begin in the Autumn. The Chair of the St Marks Residents Association extended an invitation to the next meeting being held on 11 September. A resident from Rodney Close expressed concern that emergency vehicles could not access the close due to parked cars but said that she and her family cared for her mother and was concerned about the cost of the permits. The Committee was advised that when parking restrictions were in place then prosecutions could be made for parking on the pavement. The frustration of residents in relation to motorists who used residential roads around St Marks and Central Ladywood as a ‘car park’ was recognised and the parking schemes would improve matters. The cost of the permits would be £15 and while the concerns relating to cost were recognised the price could not be reduced further. In response to comments regarding former garage sites being used for parking the ownership of those sites was being addressed so that they could be included in the scheme. Councillor Rice said that it was vital that all areas of land, including non-highway land, be included in the scheme or it would not be successful. Residents expressed their frustration at the lack of enforcement action being taken against drivers who parked and obstructed driveways, pavements and garages. David Harris said that although not all residents were in favour of a parking scheme action had to be taken to address those issues that suited the majority of people as had been the case in Chamberlain Gardens. A resident from Chamberlain Gardens said that local residents had fought for 10 years to be granted a residents parking scheme and that the problems that they had experienced had largely been solved. The cost of the permit was worth the improvements that the scheme had brought to the area and the wardens did enforce where parking without a permit occurred. It was suggested that housing officers be involved in the discussions at an early stage. Another resident echoed the comments

made and said that the introduction of the scheme had improved safety, reduced noise, pollution and crime and improved the estate for all. In response to concerns raised David Harris undertook to investigate problems being experienced by contractors working in the Cawdor Crescent / Sadlers Walk area and the Chair said that special consideration could be given to exceptional circumstances, such as where there were a number of carers needing access to a property. A local resident said that those who are driving into the area to park should be issued with tickets and the money generated should pay for the parking scheme rather than charging residents to park outside their homes. In response to questions the Committee was advised that businesses would also be charged for permits and that the maximisation of sites was being investigated so that where there was a possibility income could be generated. A resident from Central Ladywood referred to the issues associated with coaches parking in residential streets and welcomed a scheme that would improve the situation for residents. He urged other Central Ladywood residents to vote in favour of a scheme or he feared that problems would escalate if schemes were introduced in other areas. While welcoming the proposals a resident said that it was also hoped that more cycle stands would be introduced as part of the scheme to encourage more people to cycle to work. The Chair welcomed the update and said that progress on the next stage of the proposals would be reported to the Committee in due course.

PARADISE CIRCUS DEVELOPMENT 1113

â&#x20AC;&#x2039;Dav Bansell and Rob Groves, with the aid of a power point presentation, outlined the plans for the Paradise Circus redevelopment and detailed the site layout, new buildings and the treatment of the roads on the boundaries of the site. Paradise Forum was one of five transformation sites highlighted in the Big City Plan. The site was an important one given the number of land mark buildings, heritage buildings and new buildings such as the new library, New Street Gateway including John Lewis and the Metro extension but was also a challenging site due to the tunnels, car parks and highway network. It was proposed to create a series of squares that connected to other areas of the City that pedestrians could walk between. This was an outline application therefore the design details had not yet been decided but the scheme would be privately maintained and would generate income. The work on the development would be worked around the bus stops, bus routes and tram routes etc to minimise disruption and the developers were working with Centro to adopt a common sense approach, having learnt lessons from previous developments at Brindley Place and Kings Cross. Given the complexity of the site the development would take some time, with an estimated start date on site of 2014 and completion of the first buildings in 2017/18, however it was important that over that time the site did not look like a permanent building site and the best use of the site would be made during the construction phase. In response to a question regarding financing the project the Committee was advised that Argent had underwritten the funding of all of the buildings. Residents asked that ample provision be made for grassed and planted areas throughout the development for the benefit of the health and well being of residents living within the site area. The link between Chamberlain Square and Centenary Square during construction was essential for pedestrians. It was also queried whether an archaeological study had been undertaken. The Committee was advised that the developers had spent considerable time planning and ensuring that access would be maintained during construction and with regard to the archaeological study this was part of the planning conditions. A desk top survey had been undertaken but the site was largely governed by the A38 that ran under the site and the damage that had been done during the 1960â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s therefore nothing of significance was expected to be found.

Anne Shaw advised that the Transport Act was already in place and proposals for the Metro extension would be reported to the Ward Committee in due course. The Chair said that further updates would be requested during the development process.

___________________________________________________________________ COUNCIL SERVICE REVIEWS 1114

The following Green Papers were submitted; (See Document No 2 ) Councillor Sir Albert Bore explained the financial situation facing the City Council and that following the Chancellors latest spending review the gap between expenditure and costs would by 2016/17 be £710m, representing a reduction in the Council’s controllable budget of 50%. In response to this the Council had no other option than to change the way it operated and this meant that some services could no longer be provided. The purpose of the reviews was to obtain residents views regarding which services to stop providing, which to reduce, maintain or operate differently. Residents were able to comment in a number of different ways, via social media, email, post, People’s Panels or at Ward Committee meetings and Councillor Bore stressed how important those views were in shaping the future of City Council services. Reference was made to the four Green Papers that had been circulated at the meeting and Councillor Sir Albert Bore advised that District Committees would be working on the transformation of sport and physical activity facilities over the coming few months. Funding that was related to Public Health was now available to the Council and the use of this and changes in the way that facilities were delivered would be used to improve the health and fitness of residents thus reducing health costs for people in later life. Further Green Papers on other services would be available in September for discussion at Ward Committee as all services delivered by the City Council were to be reviewed in future months. Clive Skidmore, with the aid of a power point presentation explained the 4 areas of the service reviews that were being considered at the meeting adding that adult social care accounted for £1 in every £3 spent by the City Council and while the demand for services was increasing the budget was decreasing. Education services related to school transport, school improvements, early years and the school learning services but not main stream education related services. The situation was being complicated by the number of schools converting to academies and free schools. The review of sports facilities was underway to consider how to reduce health inequalities across the City and reduce the wider burden on the public purse. Local residents then made the following comments; • •

• •

• • •

Some residents living in Ladywood Ward did not live near to a library, swimming pool or other types of facilities discussed and had to travel to use Council services. Birmingham had become the ‘lap dancing capital’ of the Midlands and money created through that entertainment culture should be reinvested in the City to reduce local unemployment etc. Major projects such as the improvements to the tunnels should use a local workforce. Action should be taken to address the number of empty properties in the City. It was recognised that the City Council would be unable to provide all the current services in the future but those who were unable to care for themselves, young people and the unemployed needed protecting. It was unrealistic to expect that volunteers could be expected to fill all the gaps. As there were insufficient jobs for those that were unemployed a method of using their time usefully and to their advantage should be considered as those people were an asset that should be used. When considering public health improvements, cycling was a very important

asset for health benefits but a cycle network needed to be built into a modern transport strategy to ensure it was a safe alternative mode of transport. Investment was required but the health benefits would pay back that investment. Services that the Council was obligated to provide could be provided in a different more cost effective way. A review of the way that Birmingham received Government funding should be demanded as the amount of funding provided in relation to the amount of tax paid was unfair. A City the size of Birmingham should be in control of its own finances. There was concern that Government was inflicting damage on local communities and that volunteers did not have the capacity to keep services going.

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In response to some off the comments made Councillor Sir Albert Bore stated that there would be consultation on transport that would include all aspects and residents views on a 25 year plan – Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan – would be sought in the future. The need to assist young people had already been recognised by the use of £2m from Community Chest funding to match fund schemes through the National Apprenticeship Scheme and provide young people of Birmingham with greater access to Government schemes. A multi agency shop had been set up on Broad Street to work with employers to get young people into work and with the Department of Work and Pensions to assist families most affected by the Welfare Reforms. Local authority borrowing was controlled by the Government and the City Council was not allowed any more public borrowing therefore more reliance rested on the disposal of assets. The work undertaken by volunteers was vital as they assisted the Council in providing varied and far reaching services, without such assistance the City Council would be unable to maintain its current levels of service and it was inevitable that the Council would have to reach out to its volunteers further to ensure that the budget it did have could be used as effectively as possible. ________________________________________________________________

COMMUNITY CHEST 2013/2014 The following report of the Service Integration Head was submitted; (See Document No 3) RESOLVED:1115

That the remaining Community Chest Fund allocation for 2013/14 as detailed in the report submitted be noted.

That funding in the sum of £5000 from the Wards 2013/14 Community Chest for Summer Young Peoples Activities be approved;

That the Service Integration Head progresses the project in line with the City ouncil C financial regulations. ___________________________________________________________________

MATTERS OF URGENT LOCAL CONCERN Dispersal Order – St Marks Estate 1116

The Chair said that she had received a request for a Dispersal Order to be arranged for the St Marks Estate to deal with the issues of anti social behaviour being caused by youths from the estate and the wider Ladywood area. She said that she had raised the issue with Inspector

Little and it would be raised at the next Ladywood Tasking Group meeting on 1 August where it could be discussed in detail. The Chair indicated the Ward Committee’s support in principle for the request.

__________________________________________________________________ ITEMS FOR FUTURE AGENDAS

No items were raised. ___________________________________________________________________ OUTSTANDING MINUTES LIST

Consideration was given to the schedule of Outstanding Minutes and minute no 1105

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(Paradise Forum Update) was discharged and all others continued. (See document No.2) ________________________________________________________________

AUTHORITY TO CHAIRPERSON AND OFFICERS RESOLVED:-

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That the Chairperson is hereby authorised to act until the next meeting of the Committee except that, in respect of the exercise of the Council’s Executive functions delegated to it by the Cabinet, the appropriate Chief Officers are hereby authorised to act in consultation with the Chairman and that the Corporate Director of Governance is authorised to affix the Corporate Seal to any document necessary to give effect to a decision of the said officers acting in pursuance of the power hereby delegated to them; further that a report of all action taken under this authority be submitted to the next meeting and that such report shall explain why this authority was used.

___________________________________________________________________ The meeting ended at 2115 hours.

……..……………………………. CHAIR

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BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL SERVICE REVIEWS GREEN PAPER: SAFE, CLEAN AND GREEN NEIGHBOURHOODS INTRODUCTION Birmingham City Council is facing a big challenge, having to cut the budget we can control by half over seven years. In the past we have often made changes to improve our services and get better value for money. But we now face cuts in government funding on a scale that has never been seen before. We will need to make big changes to balance the books in the years ahead. These changes will have an impact on everyone in the city, so we want to discuss them with you before going ahead. The key question we are seeking to answer is: How can we continue to provide essential services to residents and guide the city through such difficult times, whilst supporting greater fairness and future prosperity? We will need to be clearer on our priorities and ensure that we only spend money on things that support those priorities. We will need to develop new structures and ways of working with services such as the NHS. And we will need to work with the people of Birmingham to get maximum value from all the resources available to the city. To do this we have begun a detailed programme of reviews looking at all our services and how the council works overall. This has never been done before on this scale and it might well lead to fundamental change in how services are provided and how key priorities are delivered.

THE BUDGET NUMBERS The Governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s programme to cut public spending has meant a severe reduction in local authority funding. At the same time, there are big pressures to spend more to meet inflation, the changing population, changes in the law and so on. If we are to respond to this in time we must plan ahead and work out what the funding situation will be over the next three to five years. Our latest forecast is shown in the graph overleaf. As you can see the position has become much worse since the council set its budget in February this year. Even so this may still need to be updated further following future Government announcements.

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The Council faces huge cuts in its grants from Government and increases in demand.

Source: Birmingham City Council, Corporate Resources Directorate, July 2013 The council has already made significant savings in recent years, for example £275m has been saved in the last two financial years, with the non-school workforce reduced by 27% since April 2010. But despite this we still need to save at least a further £450m by 2017-18, in addition to over £100m of savings in the current financial year. The total estimated saving of £825m is about two thirds of the funding in 2010-11 that we had any choice over how to spend (what we call the “controllable budget”). Because of this combination of grant cuts and spending pressures we may not be able to deliver some of the services we now offer and it is likely to become more and more difficult to deliver those that we are required to provide to an appropriate quality, unless we change the way that we do things. Focusing on the next two years in the first instance, for which information is more certain, this is likely to mean that we need to find further reductions on average across our services of 25% of the “controllable budget”.

BACKGROUND TO THIS REVIEW The challenge for the service review has been to help the council answer two key questions: How can the council support the development of a safe, clean and green city? How can the services in the review support a council-wide savings programme, which needs to identify £450m of savings to meet the current revenue pressure? Page 2 of 21

The review has examined a wide range of services which are all critical to the council’s priority of a safe, clean and green city. These services represent 7.1% of the council’s overall controllable revenue base (£1.046bn). The specific services in the review are: Budget Year 2013/14 £’000

Service Area Clean Domestic/Trade Refuse & Recycling FWM Performance & Business FWM Business & Development Waste Management Contracts Waste Management Executive

Gross Spend

Capital Costs

Income / Recharges

Grants

Controllable Budget

40,761

(182)

(14,635)

(6,771)

19,173

689

(3)

686

432

34,796

(247)

(82)

34,467

852

(186)

666

227

(328)

(101)

Fleet Stores

1,026

(829)

197

Fleet Workshop

3,568

(4,648)

(1,080)

983

(303)

680

21,675

(8,481)

13,194

Community Safety

3,286

(46)

3,240

District Engineers

29,659

(29,258)

Public Rights of Way

Rivers and Brooks

803

703

140,956

(478)

(58,750)

(6,771)

74,957

Fleet Transport

Pest Control Street Cleansing Your City Your Birmingham Safe

401

Green Climate Change & Sustainability Total

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The review has challenged services to develop bold and innovative responses to the financial situation, while recognising that the level of loss of government support makes a reduction in overall service levels inevitable. In these circumstances, where at all possible, we will need to protect the most vulnerable service users and the most deprived areas of Birmingham. THE APPROACH TAKEN BY THE REVIEW We need to consider a number of changes to the basic way in which we do business as a local authority if we are to sustain services in the future. Service reviews are not being constrained by crude savings targets, and they need to identify a route to successful future service delivery even in the face of significant savings requirements. There is considerable potential for increased savings and income to be generated, but there is also a need to test proposals carefully within and outside the council before they can be implemented. However, we believe that, despite the challenges presented, these proposals offer potentially significant gains and so this is the right time to be considering them. The review has adopted the three step approach common across the service reviews programme:

Step 1: Develop a clean, green and safe city through efficiencies and better partnership working

Step 2: If step 1 is insufficient, consider a number of more radical service change options

Step 3: If the Government pressure continues to outweigh the solutions, cease services on a prioritised basis

Step 1: The review has identified early savings potential including reducing back office capacity, better integration, closer working with the private sector and increasing partner contribution to citywide priorities. Step 2: The review has challenged services to consider more radical options. These and the step one proposals are set out in this green paper. Step 3: Cease services or deliver minimum statutory level of service The review has considered options for ceasing services, apart from those that are considered to be the statutory core. The outline approach adopted is shown in the diagram overleaf. Page 4 of 21

A mapping concept of service priorities to inform the dialogue The â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;statutory coreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of services

Primary Priority Services (i.e. the safe minimum for supporting basic services)

Secondary Priority Services (i.e. those best suited to truly developing the ambitions of developing safe, clean and green neighbourhoods)

Tertiary Priority Services (i.e. those with wider benefits, but not core to developing a safe, clean and green neighbourhoods)

Service Service

Service

We have conducted evidence collection sessions for all the services. Each service has been considered in terms of fitness to outcomes and fitness for purpose, as well as the manner in which the services are provided to communities in Birmingham. This has helped to identify the overall savings challenge for each service.

INITIAL FINDINGS OF THE REVIEW THEME: CLEAN The vision for these services is that the council, communities and business will work to reduce the level of litter dropped on our streets and the amount of domestic refuse that is being generated, and increase further the level of recycling. The council will either provide the services directly or commission them in the most effective and cost efficient manner possible. The council will invest in raising awareness and in Page 5 of 21

persuading people to help make the city cleaner. Alongside this, the council will use its enforcement powers appropriately where necessary. Fleet and Waste Management Fleet and Waste Management (FWM) provides: Domestic refuse collection Domestic recycling collection Trade waste and recycling collection Waste disposal Street cleansing Public conveniences A successful bid to the Government has secured ÂŁ29.8m to introduce wheelie bins. The service intends to take a more strategic approach to waste and litter prevention and reduction and several key themes are being developed: Implementation of wheelie bins A recycling incentive scheme Development of new information technologies Focusing on prevention awareness and enforcement. Community engagement Work with local business Increasing income from trade waste Increase mechanised street cleaning Introduce large capacity compaction bins. Domestic refuse and recycling This service provides collections of domestic sacks or containers of refuse and paper, multi-materials and green waste recycling as well as recycling bank collections. The council currently provides a weekly bagged refuse collection service and fortnightly collections of recyclable material and green waste. Recycling in the city is static at 32%. The service is being changed to a wheeled bin collection of domestic waste and a paid for green garden waste service charging ÂŁ35 pa from next year to cover direct costs. The council can get income from paper recycling and more recycling could expand capacity at the waste plant which the council could sell off. The wheeled bins that are being introduced should help with this. It should be noted that all recyclables and waste belong to the contractor Veolia, apart from paper. The service has developed a full business case proposing changes (including a recycling incentive scheme) which is being considered outside of the service review process.

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Strategic Policy Considerations The council, in accepting the Government funding of £29.8m, has undertaken to continue with weekly collections for a five year period from 2012. The council must ensure that future working patterns and practices continue to conform with equal pay legislation and assist the wider savings requirement An improved raising awareness programme must be developed with residents and in schools in order to change behaviours so that less domestic refuse is generated and greater amounts are recycled As part of the Government funding bid, the council committed to market test the service and we had planned to progress with “soft” market testing once the wheeled bins programme had been implemented after December 2015. The financial position of the council is such that we need to consider bringing forward the original timetable. Emerging Recommendations The council currently provides one free collection of bulky waste per household per year, but charges for subsequent collections. The council could extend its charging policy to charge for all collections of bulky waste and receive income or make savings of up to £1m per year, alongside a re-assessment of the accessibility to Household Re-cycling Centres.

Trade Refuse The ‘trade refuse’ service provides a collection service for businesses with charges based on the volumes of waste collected. The service consists of management, marketing and sales, contract management and operational resources which collect and process waste. The council is required to ensure that there is a trade waste service in the city but does not have to provide it itself. There is a strong market at present for trade waste services in the city. The service has been changing the way that it operates and has already identified savings which are included in the medium term financial strategy. These service changes include: Amending the charging policy so it better reflects the actual costs of disposal that are borne by the service Reducing the number of crew members on waste collection rounds Undertaking raising awareness and engagement with businesses, running enforcement campaigns and using enforcement powers proportionately and fairly to ensure that trade waste is collected and does not go into the domestic waste or public litter bins on the streets. Page 7 of 21

Emerging Recommendations The case for outsourcing the service and the implications of this on the domestic waste service were considered in 2010. The study identified that this could potentially provide a one off cash receipt of £7.5m. However, trade waste currently generates an annual surplus of £1m from a turnover of around £7.5m. Any such change would need to take into account the annual surplus and the fixed infrastructure or support costs that are currently shared across waste services. If this service was outsourced these costs would fall on the services that remain with the council, negating the saving from the capital receipt. These costs are estimated at about £1.6m per year. Waste Management The Council has a long-term (25 year) contract with Veolia ES (Birmingham) Limited (“VES”) to deliver a range of waste management services. The contract commenced in 1994 and expires in January 2019 and currently delivers the following services: Treatment and disposal of residual waste – mainly through the operation and maintenance of the Tyseley Energy from Waste (EfW) facility with some landfill disposal of wastes over and above its capacity Marketing of the electricity generated at the Tyseley EfW Operation and maintenance of the council’s five Household Recycling Centres (HRCs) at Perry Barr, Lifford Lane, Tyseley, Castle Bromwich and Norris Way Operation and maintenance of the council’s transfer stations located at Lifford Lane, Perry Barr and Tyseley (including receipt of waste collected by the council and its bulking and onwards transportation to a relevant treatment/processing facility) Composting of green waste Processing and marketing of collected recyclable materials Management of street sweepings Miscellaneous other minor services. The £34.5m budget in this area is contractually committed and the bulk of it is effectively uncontrollable up to 2019, with around £10m forming capital repayments (mortgage) for the Energy from Waste plant. Increases in recycling will not in themselves generate income before 2019, as the charge to the council for recycled material is the same as for residual waste, although increases in paper volumes provide an opportunity to increase income. There is a small opportunity to generate income from freeing and selling capacity at the plant although this and the income from paper have already been taken into consideration in the wheelie bin programme

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business case. This means that the only controllable element of this budget is effectively landfill tax totalling around £2m per annum. As the contract expires in January 2019 the council will need to make new arrangements for the provision of these services, taking into account the recommendations of the forthcoming Transport, Connectivity & Sustainability scrutiny committee’s review entitled “From Waste to Resources”. The council has the ambition to be the greenest city in the UK and will therefore need to consider the options not simply as a process for the replacement of the existing contract, but a commissioning exercise on how it proposes to deal with the management and treatment of waste as a whole in the future. This could lead to alternative treatment methods for waste. Emerging Recommendations Develop a publicity and awareness campaign alongside the recycling incentive scheme to ensure the amount of waste being produced by households continues to reduce and recycling rates increase over the next few years. Waste disposal is a major cost to the city council and whilst new disposal and recycling technologies and new contractual arrangements can reduce costs, the behaviour of local residents will have the single biggest impact. Birmingham has one of the highest levels of waste per household in the UK Explore the business case for developing additional processing capacity to deal with third party waste at the Tyseley Energy from Waste Facility as part of the commissioning exercise Maximise any opportunity to access additional revenue from the spare incinerator capacity that is generated following the rollout of wheeled bins in the city. It should be noted that some savings from this recommendation are already included in the medium term financial strategy Continue to look for opportunities through on going negotiation with Veolia for better reflection of the value of recyclables and incinerator waste. At present all recyclables and waste belong to Veolia except for paper Consider the outcomes and recommendations from the Transport, Connectivity & Sustainability O&S Committee’s developing review entitled “From Waste to Resources” as part of the formulation of the future provision of waste services going forward post 2019. Fleet Services Stores and Transport Workshop This service provides the internal and external fleet maintenance functions, the driving school and the stores and distribution functions. The fleet services are essential to ensure that mechanics are available at the depot and waste collection crews do not need to wait for vehicles to be repaired before they can go out to collect waste.

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This is not currently a trading service although some small elements of external work are undertaken on a chargeable basis such as MOTs and acting as an HGV testing station for the DVLA. The fleet service primarily undertakes works within Fleet and Waste Management and for other council directorates. However, the volume of work from other directorates has reduced as vehicle fleets have declined as a result of efficiencies and outsourcing such as the highways PFI. However it does have a highly skilled marketable workforce who can undertake a range of work on very complex and specialised vehicles, ranging from servicing and repairing vehicles to body shop work. Some aspects of the fleet service such as provision of tyres are currently sourced externally. Emerging Recommendations The service to increase the efficiency by increasing the utilisation of the garage and the hours that the service operates. This would require consultation with employees about working patterns and redesign of the space available. This could potentially include different layouts and investment in equipment in order to achieve the desired savings The service to provide costed options for externalisation or operating as a fully traded service. The business case for the service would include analysis of employee implications and the skills and equipment required to operate in this way The service to consider and cost variables within the options being developed, such as a joint venture with a private sector partner or delaying on the basis of implementation alongside any other externalisation of fleet and waste services which might be undertaken. Street Cleansing This service provides all street cleansing related activity throughout the city, including ward-based mechanical and non-mechanical sweeping, litter bin emptying and the removal of graffiti, fly-tipping and fly-posting and dead animals. At present there are large differences between different parts of the city in terms of the amount of fly-tipping and the cleanliness of the streets. The amount of litter on the streets is also particularly concentrated around night time activities and fast food outlets. The reduction in resources resulting from previous budget challenges and the new operating model has resulted in a reduction of around 20% of full time equivalent staff deployed in front line street cleaning activities. The size of ward based teams varies significantly according to the workload and the smaller team sizes are putting pressure on service delivery. A more productive option would be to organise crews on a district basis within depots, this provides a bigger crew, facilitates more efficient and effective use of expensive equipment such as compaction vehicles and mechanical sweepers and provides real flexibility to cover absences and peaks and troughs in workloads. Page 10 of 21

The city is predicted to grow significantly over the coming years in terms of housing stock and additional roads which will require cleansing each year. The additional costs for this will need to be contained within any future service model. The budget position of the council means that street cleansing can no longer afford to simply pick up litter and fly tipping. The council therefore needs to ensure that the local community, statutory organisations, schools and local businesses play their part in maintaining the local environment by changing their behaviour. This means that the council must undertake awareness and enforcement campaigns using enforcement powers proportionately and fairly to ensure that behaviours are changed. The service is investigating the introduction of new bins in key locations. These compact the rubbish eight times more than existing bins which reduces the frequency at which they need to be emptied. Some savings from this initiative have already been assumed for the introduction of these bins in the city centre. Work is also underway to explore the double shifting of sweeper vehicles, to increase value obtained from these expensive assets, and the increased mechanisation of street cleaning activities. However it is worth noting that even with these changes the budget savings that are required of the service will inevitably mean a reduction in crew sizes and will lead to a significant decline in street cleaning performance. Emerging Recommendations The service to organise crews and work plans on a district basis within depots rather than a ward basis; this provides a bigger crew, facilitates better more efficient and effective use of the councilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s expensive equipment such as compaction vehicles, large and mini mechanical sweepers, and provides real flexibility to cover absences and peaks and troughs in workloads The service to prepare for further reductions in street cleaning levels, particularly those rounds which are linked to domestic waste collection schedules and routes, following the introduction of the wheeled bins in December 2015 An improved awareness programme to be developed with schools, community groups and local business in order to change behaviours so that less litter is dropped by citizens A wider communication and engagement exercise to be undertaken with public and private sector organisations and businesses to remind them of the benefits of keeping their land and neighbouring public areas clean. This is particularly important for fast food outlets and those involved in the night time economy and for organisations which deliver events in the city that generate extra litter Continue to develop the street champion programme across the city with local communities, schools, faith groups to raise awareness as well as undertake litter pickups regularly in support of the street cleansing service

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The service to work with the licensing function so that food outlets and others which generate increased litter take greater responsibility for keeping the locality clean or contribute to the street cleaning costs in their neighbourhoods The council to act on a range of enforcement powers presently available, where awareness raising with businesses has not worked, including: o Litter Abatement Notices - Some organisations, including schools, colleges, the Highways Agency and Network Rail are already under a duty to keep the land they occupy clear of litter. We should serve a Litter Abatement Notice on any of these organisations where their land is defaced by litter, requiring them to clear the litter and to continue to do so at specified times in the future. Similar notices could also be served for graffiti, requiring the land owner to take action and remove it. It is a criminal offence not to comply with such a notice. It is a summary offence and cases are heard in the magistrates' court. The maximum penalty upon conviction is £2,500. If the notice is not complied with, the council should act on the power available to it to enter the land in order to clear it and to then recover the costs in doing so o Litter Clearing Notices - Where private land is defaced by litter, the council should serve the occupier of the land with a notice requiring them to clear it and take steps to prevent it from becoming defaced by litter again. This action would be taken as a last resort, where informal approaches have failed. It is a criminal offence not to comply with such a notice, it is a summary offence and cases are heard in the magistrates' court. The maximum penalty upon conviction is £2,500. As an alternative to prosecution, the council may serve the occupier with a fixed penalty notice set at £100. If the notice is not complied with, the council also has the power to enter the land in order to clear it and to then recover the costs in doing so o Street Litter Control Notices - The council should also serve Street Litter Control Notices on the occupiers of certain premises requiring them to clear litter from the footway and adjacent land within 100 metres of their premises. This is aimed at making business responsible for litter that has originated from their premises. The types of premises such notices may be served on include food businesses, betting shops, pubs, sports grounds and automated teller machines. Notices can be served where there is recurrent defacement of the street, and the notice can require the occupier to clear litter and to install and maintain litter bins for example. It is a criminal offence not to comply with such a notice, a summary offence, and cases are heard in the magistrates' court. The maximum penalty upon conviction is £2,500. As an alternative to prosecution, the council may serve the occupier with a fixed penalty notice set at £100. The council to rationalise and co-ordinate the enforcement activity so that the same officer of the council can deal with a variety of issues (parking, litter, dog fouling etc.) The service to actively pursue the advertising and sponsorship options available from the introduction of larger capacity litter bins in the city Page 12 of 21

The service to work with the Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) to coordinate street cleaning exercises and rounds. Pest Control Pest Control is a trading service which provides domestic and commercial pest control. The domestic work is free at the point of service and treats rats, bedbugs and cockroaches in private residential property. In addition free mouse poison is provided mainly through Neighbourhood Offices. The demand on the service is cyclical and dependent on the weather. The service is responding to this by considering changing working patterns for example having annualised hours as there are greater demands in the summer months. The cost of this â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;free at point of deliveryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; service for households is underwritten by commercial work with private businesses that employ our services. The team also undertake clear-outs from filthy and verminous premises, removal of waste caused by pests and removal of some types of contaminated material. Experience in other local authorities suggests that charging for pest control services that are currently free to residents can be counter-productive and they have reverted to a free service within a short time. However, there is also a strong market for these services in Birmingham and many private sector providers who deliver the same services as the council. Emerging Recommendations The service to change its workforce profile in order to reflect the summer peak in work activity and consider increases in fees to provide additional income to the council The service to develop a business case for externalising this service and deriving an annual income from sign posting residents to the successful bidder. As a minimum, the costs of the free mouse poison and other services currently free of charge would be covered The service to review its market position including charges, to ensure that the best possible return is being made for the council The service works with the planning department to ensure that developers include local environmental impact of construction works in their project costs, especially when near residential areas.

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Your City, Your Birmingham This budget is devolved and used directly by District Committees to target their priorities either through the employment of a warden or a part time cleaning crew that is directed by local members to their “hotspot” priorities. The budget is mostly spent on: An environmental apprenticeship scheme Warden activity Cleaning operations. The budget allocated to districts for 2013/14 is £73k compared with £1.3m five years ago. This has reduced as a result of the pressures exerted on district expenditure and ranges from £30k in Northfield to £1k in Sutton Coldfield. Emerging Recommendations The budget for this programme to be built into the street cleaning provision as part of the future operating model for that service, so that it can be targeted at the areas of greatest need.

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Summary of proposed savings from the “Clean” theme Savings £m Savings Proposal

Step

Fleet and Waste Management - bring forward market testing of service, as outlined in DCLG bid, to test and ensure value for money

2014 /15

2015 /16

2016 /17

tbc

Waste Management - Extending charges to all bulky waste collections.

1.0

Street Cleansing (Option 1) - The service to consider modelling a differential service across the city which is based on need, but also includes an overall reduction in cost of the street cleaning service (this is an alternative to Street Cleansing Option 1 at a 15% reduction)

2.2

Street Cleansing (Option 2) - The service to consider modelling a uniform city wide reduction in services, so that all wards have the same proportion (20% reduction)

2.9

Street Cleansing – The service to consider working with the licensing function so that food outlets and others which generate increased litter contribute to the street cleaning costs in their neighbourhoods.

0.1

Street Cleansing – The Council to adopt a range of enforcement powers including: Litter abatement notices, litter clearing notices, street litter control notices (either less resource or income).

0.1

Street Cleansing – The service to actively pursue the advertising/sponsorship options available from the introduction of larger capacity litter bins in the city.

0.05

Street Cleansing – The service to work with the Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) to coordinate street cleaning exercises and rounds.

0.05

Street Cleansing – The service to consider organising crews and workplans on a district basis within depots rather than a ward basis, this provides a bigger crew, facilitates better more efficient and effective use of the equipment

0.7

Pest Control - Reviews charges so that they are in line with private sector providers of these services to ensure that all costs are covered and a surplus is provided to the City Council.

0.6

All Clean Services - An improved awareness programme is developed with residents and in schools in order to change behaviours so that less domestic refuse is generated and greater amounts are recycled (1% improvement per annum).

0.1

0.2

0.3

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THEME: SAFE The vision is of individuals and communities feeling safe in the city. This will be achieved by the council and its partners working with communities in order to empower them to play a greater part in their own safety with minimal intervention. Community Safety Birmingham Community Safety Partnership (CSP) is a joint partnership between Birmingham City Council, West Midlands Police, West Midlands Fire Service, Staffordshire and West Midlands Area Probation Trust and the Third Sector Assembly who work together to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour, make neighbourhoods safer and reduce the fear of crime. The council contributes ÂŁ2.15m, with the rest coming from partners in the form of grants and direct support from staff. The council has a statutory duty to work in partnership and to develop and implement strategies to tackle crime and disorder. From 13 April 2011 CSPs became responsible for conducting reviews of domestic homicides that occurred within their geographic boundaries. The provision of CCTV in the city is being reviewed and a cabinet report will be presented which identifies efficiency savings for this. Emerging Recommendations Bring complementary services together like drugs misuse and youth offending Signpost more calls to other organisations and other, cheaper channels Capitalise on troubled families and similar projects and working with housing and environmental health to prevent anti-social behaviour. Consider how communities can managing expectations and community tolerance of each otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lifestyles Engage businesses to help keep land clean and encourage better coordination from the Business Improvement Districts Encourage more individual, business and community responsibility Explore using enforcement powers more widely in order to affect behaviour change. District Engineers The district engineer service designs, consults and implements local road safety measures in order to reduce injury accidents and collisions. These include pelican, toucan and zebra crossings, priority build outs, speed cushions and road humps.

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Emerging Recommendations Reappraise whether the service should be localised in districts or quadrants in order to balance the needs of users of the service with the availability of increasingly limited personnel to provide support. Public Rights of Way Rights of Way (PROW) form part of the highway network and provide opportunities for sustainable travel for short journeys to local facilities, schools and public transport. As highways they are the responsibility of the council to ensure that they are maintained, open and available for use. The council also has responsibility for maintaining statutory registers regarding public rights of way. There are about 1,800 PROW in Birmingham. These range from small alleys between streets to field paths. PROWs not recorded on the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Definitiveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; map and Statement by 2026 will be extinguished and this is the main concern of the service. The service is currently prioritising certain PROWs. There are limits to fees and charges and only charging on a cost-recovery basis is allowed. The service has added a new cost to development sites so if there is a change, an additional fee is charged which covers the cost of adding the PROW to the definite map. Emerging Recommendations The service to continue to benefit from the input of volunteers for inspections The service to consider the potential for not adding all paths to the definitive map and statement (letting selected ones lapse) and possible reductions in maintenance costs The service to develop on-line resources to streamline enquiries regarding PROW and provide advice and guidance to other services involved in delivering sustainable travel and developing networks for access that require changes to the network The service to review the role of the PROW team in delivering advice and guidance for reducing crime and anti-social behaviour in light of changing legislation, passing responsibility for making closure orders for this reason to the police The service to review opportunities for developing local community networks to deliver a proportion of maintenance and management of Public Rights of Way. Drainage and flood risk management Birmingham currently has a team of four officers who support the city in clearing water courses and maintenance of rivers/brooks and reservoirs. The team also provides emergency response to those who are suffering from flooding and risk management of flood defences. Page 17 of 21

The team has recently secured a £24m grant to improve the flood defences of the River Tame in Witton and Perry Barr. The role of the citizen and community has been changed in recent years with a greater emphasis on individuals and community groups undertaking actions to help themselves with protection from floods or in instances when there is imminent danger of flooding.

Summary of proposed savings in the “Safe” theme Savings £m Savings Proposal

Step

2014 /15

2015 /16

2016 /17

Community Safety - Reorganise and integrate service and encourage more individual, business and community responsibility

1.0

District Engineers Service - Reappraisal of whether the service should be localised in districts or quadrants in order to balance the needs of users of the service with the availability of increasingly limited personnel to provide support

0.15

THEME: GREEN The vision is for the council to be more energy conscious as well as reducing energy costs and increasing recycling.

Energy management and carbon reduction The Climate Change and Environment Team was set up in 2011/12 with a staffing of 7.6FTE and a budget of approximately £700k. The focus of the team has been to ensure that the council minimises its Carbon Tax liabilities as well as providing an advice function to support the planning management service. The council has been undertaking audits to determine the worst performing buildings in terms of energy consumption in order to develop business cases which will reduce the overall costs. Emerging Recommendations Consider the business case for dimming street lighting in different locations and the potential impact of this on localities and communities Investigate changing the voltage being supplied to council facilities and consider the business case for implementing this across all central administration buildings

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Accelerate the development of energy efficiency business cases for council buildings in order to maximise the reduction of costs incurred in terms of energy consumption Explore funding streams (national and European) which could support the vision of reduced energy consumption and increased recycling. Summary of proposed savings in the “Green” theme Savings £m Savings Proposal

Step

Energy Management - Explore funding streams (national and European) which could support the vision of reduced energy consumption and increased recycling

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2014 /15

2015 /16

2016 /17

0.1

KEY QUESTIONS Do you agree that we should develop some of these services on a more commercial basis? This would include increasing revenues as well as reducing costs. Do you agree that we should develop awareness raising programmes to try to change behaviour and reduce the demand for these services. For example should we put resources into persuading people not to drop litter or fly tip and businesses to clean up around their properties? Do you have any suggestions for how we might do this? Do you agree that we should strengthen enforcement by making more use of the powers we already have to prosecute people who break environmental rules? Do you agree that we should market test services to explore best value? Do you agree that we need to increase charges for services where appropriate? Do you agree that we should continue to review the terms and conditions of staff to ensure that we are achieving value for money whilst ensuring fairness?

THE DIALOGUE The first round of this dialogue will continue through the autumn. Following that there will be a formal budget consultation for 2014-15 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; that will be a separate exercise which we are legally required to carry out. All the information you need will be posted at: http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/servicereviews You will be able to take part in the dialogue by: Sending your comments by post or email Submitting comments on Facebook and via Twitter Attending the next meeting of your Ward Committee Details for all these are on the web site.

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In addition we will be holding discussion sessions on specific services with groups of service users and other interested people. We have also engaged the permanent Peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Panel during the summer. Our scrutiny committees will be looking in detail at aspects of the education and adult social care reviews. If you are part of the network of people and organisations involved in our social inclusion process, led by the Bishop of Birmingham, you will also be able to join in discussion of how we can limit the impact of cuts on social exclusion and inequality. City Council staff will also be encouraged to join in the debate.

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