Issue - meetings
Session Four - Homelessness / Cost of Living
Meeting: 06/12/2023 - Select Committee Review (Item 8)
Session Five - Place Services
Minutes:
Also in attendance: Councillor Tom Briars-Delve (Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change), Councillor Mark Coker (Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Transport), Paul Barnard (Service Director for Strategic Planning and Infrastructure), Ross Jago (Head of Governance, Performance and Risk), Anthony Payne (Strategic Director for Place) and Philip Robinson (Service Director for Street Services).
Councillor
Briars-Delve
(Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate
Change) gave an
overview of his budget area
and highlighted the following
points:
a)
Environmental
Services, including
Environmental Planning and Street Scene, was one of the largest departments in
the Council, comprised of nearly 500 staff
and had a gross budget of £41 million and a net budget of
£21 million;
b)
The largest element of
Environmental Services was Street Scene and Waste Services which
stood at £8 million net, and included
waste recycling collection, street cleansing and
grounds;
c)
Environmental Planning
had continued to help the Council access external and national
funding which woulddeliver
nature and community
projects;
d)
The income for
Environmental Planning would increase in 2024-25 to £1.9
million;
e)
Statutory services had
been carried out to over 123,000 households throughout 2022-23 and
the garden waste service had been
used by over 26,000
households;
f)
The Climate Impact
Assessment Tool had been implemented and applied to all key decisions made by the
Council;
g)
Carbon Literacy training
had been carried out with officers and
Councillors;
h)
A total of over
£11 million of grand funding had been
secured to aid net zero infrastructure and sustainable transport
projects.
Councillor Coker (Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Transport)gave an overview of his budget area and highlighted the following points:
i)
The Department for
Transport visited the Bus Section
which resulted in a £1.6
million grant for a two year
period to maintain
and enhance the
network;
j)
Active Travel Funding
had been successfully acquired and had enabled the delivery of Safer School Street
Programmes;
k)
Plymouth was the best
Local Authority in the country at delivering cycle training for
children in Year 6;
l)
Plymouth had been made the Vice-Chair of the
Peninsula Transport Board and Chair of the Rail Task-Force;
m)
Living Streets Budget
for Councillors would be
reintroduced.
In response to questions, the following was discussed:
n)
All roads
in Plymouth were professionallymonitored and evaluated and
undertook an annual road condition
survey;
o)
Section 106 updates for
all Councillors would be
reintroduced;
p)
Plymouth City Council
were working towards a silver accreditation as a carbon literate
organisation;
q)
Ongoing contract
negotiations were considered in the budget;
r)
The awarded funding from
the Department for Transport (DFT) was awarded contractually to the
Council to spend on bus services;
s)
A Bus Champion had been
introduced to be the go between the bus companies and members of
the public;
t) Plymouth City Council had worked directly with Plymouth Energy Community resulting in an additional £3 million ... view the full minutes text for item 8