The Strategic Director, Place will submit Document “P” which presents information about the work of the Neighbourhood Wardens and the Environmental Enforcement Team.

Recommended-

That the Committee notes and welcomes the information in the report.

(Regeneration and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee)

                                                            (Ishaq Shafiq – 01274 431066)

Resolved-

(1)       That the information in the report be welcomed.

(2)       That the Neighbourhood Wardens and the Enforcement Team be thanked for the work that they do.

Action:           Strategic Director, Place

Regeneration and Environment Overview and Scrutiny

                                                                        (Ishaq Shafiq – 01274 431066)

The Strategic Director, Place submitted Document “P” which presented information about the work of the Neighbourhood Wardens and the Environmental Enforcement Team.

It was reported that in April 2019 the Neighbourhood Service was restructured in order to further align services and to bring about improvements in service delivery; due to the synergies between Neighbourhood Wardens and Environmental Enforcement Officers the two services were brought together under a single management structure working from each of the five Area Co-ordinators’ Offices.

Members were informed that the new working arrangements allowed Environmental Enforcement Officers to triage their work and delegate work to Neighbourhood Wardens. This meant that Enforcement Officers were able to prioritise more complex cases and focus their attention on formal enforcement sanctions such as serving statutory notices and preparing prosecutions.

It was reported that working closer with Enforcement Officers and the provision of additional training would improve the knowledge and skills of Neighbourhood Wardens and increase their capacity to deal with environmental problems affecting the visible environment. The co-location arrangements facilitated improved communication between the Enforcement Officers, Wardens, Street Cleansing Operatives, Parks staff and Ward Officers pooling together skills, expertise, data and knowledge to have a greater reach and more informed impact.

Staff from the Neighbourhood Wardens and Enforcement attended the meeting and spoke on the examples of the work they undertook.

It was reported that Environmental Enforcement Officers responded to complaints generated through the Council’s Contact Centre, e-contact and from referrals by Wardens, other Neighbourhoods staff and stakeholders.  These referrals known as service requests could range from fly tipping, rubbish in gardens, waste from commercial premises, burning of waste to rodent infestations.

A Member commented that businesses had to take responsibility and dispose of their litter appropriately and consider the impression that it gave to people coming in and out of the City; officers needed to work closely with takeaways to reduce litter.

In response to the comments raised by Members it was reported that work would be undertaken with business in relation to disposing of litter.

A Member suggested that businesses could do more in the way of being more environmentally friendly such as looking at putting food in environmentally friendly containers etc.

Resolved-

(1)       That the information in the report be welcomed.

(2)       That a pro social messaging campaign in Bradford East around litter be explored.

Action:           Strategic Director, Place

Regeneration and Environment Overview and Scrutiny