Agenda item

(A period not exceeding 20 minutes for questions and statements from members of the public and Elected Members to the Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones. Questions/Statements should relate specifically to an item of business on the agenda and be limited to a maximum of 100 words. As stated within Executive Procedure Rule 3.3 each person will be allowed to submit one question/statement per meeting.A question may only be asked if notice has been given by delivering it in writing or by e-mail to the Governance Team, no later than 5.00 p.m. on Thursday, 13th June, 2019.  Each question or statement must give the name and address of the person submitting it. Questions/Statements should be sent to the Governance Team, Floor 2, Civic Office, Waterdale, Doncaster, DN1 3BU, or by email to Democratic.Services@doncaster.gov.uk)

Mr Tim Brown asked the following question:-

“Mayor Jones, DMBC’s workforce profile on page 21 Delivering for Doncaster 2018-19 Quarter 4 is showing “Ethnic Minority” 5.06%. 

Please provide a breakdown of the 5.06% to allow for an understanding of the White (White Irish, White European and White) and non-white composition of DMBC workforce (Black, Asian, Mixed and Other) and encourage the Interim CE Mr Allen to meet with black parents and young people to explore implementing best practice from the likes of the NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard. The intended outcome is to help DMBC improve its inadequate workforce equality, diversity and Inclusion workforce performance”.

The Deputy Mayor, Councillor Glyn Jones, provided Mr Brown with the following response:-

“Thank you for your question Tim. You will see by the table provided to you the breakdown of Doncaster Council’s workforce profile in regards to Ethnic Minority. As a Council we believe it is important that our workforce reflects the diversity of our population. Once our interim Chief Executive takes up the post, he will continue to meet with parents and young people across Doncaster. As a Council we continually take note of best practice and implement where possible and appropriate”.

Mr Brown made a supplementary statement expressing his concerns at the lack of employment opportunities for young BME applicants, and that artificial barriers be removed for job descriptions.

Councillor Glyn Jones agreed with Mr Brown that barriers such as requirements of prior experience for apprenticeship positions were not helpful and believed, that this had been remedied.

Councillor Jones reported that two similar questions had been received from Councillors Nick Allen and Jane Cox and which would be answered together. As Councillor Cox was not in attendance, a response would be sent to her.

Councillor Nick Allen asked the following question:-

“My question is about item 11 of the 2018-19 Quarter 4 Finance and Performance Improvement Report. What are the real reasons for the significant increase in fly-tipping over this period? Do you think recent rule changes, including a restriction on the amount of rubbish Doncaster residents can take to HWRCs, has led to that. This is counter intuitive because we are

punishing people who want to recycle, and this does not fit with the long term green agenda.” 

Councillor Glyn Jones provided the following response:-

“Doncaster has six Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC’s) that are geographically situated across the borough, ensuring that residents have ample access to these sites. They are provided for household waste. This does not include commercial waste or construction type waste.

I would like to make it clear that there are no restrictions put in place for residents using their car to come to an HWRC to deposit waste or recycling from their home, and that the Council is actively encouraging waste minimisation and recycling.

There is a permit system set up for vans and trailers. These are valid for two years, are free of charge, and there is no limit on how many visits can be made. We have recently changed the permit system to allow sign written vans to access HWRCs, so long as the waste is not in connection with the business. This demonstrates that the Council is committed to ensuring that residents with larger vehicles are not disadvantaged.

The Council also offers a one off discretionary trip for residents who have hired a van to remove rubbish or move home etc; again to ensure that the HWRCs remain accessible to residents.

Finally, the Council is investigating the possibility of allowing commercial waste on one of the HWRCs. However, this will be a chargeable service.

A new joint contract across Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham for HWRC management commenced in October 2018. This contract has harmonised the majority of site operations and conditions of operations. One of the amendments, in a drive to stop traders using the site for disposal of commercial waste, was a restriction in the amount of inert (building rubble), volume and visits. These were restricted to 5 x 25kg bags of inert waste and two visits per year. This introduction has raised concerns with some residents about a link between this restriction and a rise in fly- tipping. Fly-tipping has been on an increase nationally for 5 years, as reported by DEFRA, and it is too early to confirm whether the HWRC change has had an impact on this figures.

Some site users have also misinterpreted the restriction thinking we were limiting general visits, so we have decided to remove the two visits a year rule for inert waste deposits at our HWRCs. I can also confirm that the Environment Teams are reviewing the fly-tipping processes and recording of complaints, so we can better understand the picture of fly tipping within Doncaster.

A bit of background to how seriously we take fly-tipping and littering. Over the last two financial year we have issued over 11,900 Fixed Penalty Notices for littering and fly-tipping, and undertaken 55 fly tipping related prosecutions.

Councillor Chris McGuinness added that people can go to the HWRC as many times as they wish although they are restricted to a total of 5 bags each visit. The Council takes fly-tipping seriously, and over the last two financial years, the Council have issued over 11,900 Fixed Penalty Notices for littering and fly-tipping and undertaken 65 fly-tipping related prosecutions. In some cases, a company hired to remove waste by a resident will not be registered, or have the required permit, leading to fly-tipping. On those occasions the Council can use the householder duty of care and fixed penalties can be awarded to a person who has hired a company to dispose of waste which had resulted in fly-tipping. This has resulted in 23 households in Doncaster receiving a fixed penalty of £250. Covert surveillance cameras have also been installed at fly-tipping hotspots across the borough.