Agenda and minutes

Meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 16 January 2024.

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on Tuesday 16 January 2024 be approved and signed as a correct record.

Members may make any declarations of interest at this point and may also make them at any point during the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest at this point in the meeting.

Matters arising schedule setting out current position of previously agreed actions as at 12 February 2024.

With no comments or questions, the Matters Arising Schedule was DULY NOTED.

Presentation by Sally Grindrod-Smith, Director – Planning, Regeneration & Communities, regarding a progress update for the Cultural Strategy.

The Committee heard from the Director for Planning, Regeneration and Communities regarding the progress of the Cultural Strategy. This had been requested, and passed by unanimous vote, at the previous meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in January 2024.

The Committee heard that the Peer Challenge in 2020 had recommended:

“The Council should therefore consider a Cultural Strategy to understand the work that is needed in order to maximise the benefits and to achieve a clear strategic position.”

The Cultural Research Report in June 2021 identified cultural activity already taking place across the district and identified key themes for future work. The Cultural Strategy Action Plan in September 2021 identified five priority work streams and a Cultural Events and Marketing Officer fixed term role was established and recruited to. It was explained that the Director of the Centre for Culture and Creativity at the University of Lincoln, and the Midlands Chair of Arts Council England had supported the Council to develop the brief to tender for the provision of services for the delivery of a Cultural Strategy. In the summer of 2022, Tom Flemming Consultancy was appointed after a competitive tender exercise. In September 2023, a session was held for all Members to explain the background, development and purpose of the Cultural Strategy with the intention of it being presented to the Prosperous Communities Committee for final approval.

With regard to the Leisure, Culture, Events and Tourism Member Working Group (LCET), it was explained that the group had oversight of the development of the Cultural Strategy. Objectives of LCET were:

•              To work together to actively promote the district’s strengths and to maximise opportunities.

•              To ensure the work undertaken across leisure, culture, events, and tourism is co-ordinated and aligned with corporate priorities.

•              To lobby, influence and challenge the wider organisation to highlight the importance of the work of the group.

•              To market the district as a location for major events and festivals.

•              To champion activities in relation to leisure, culture, heritage, events and tourism.

The Committee heard that the group met monthly and was supported by Officers from across the relevant council service areas. LCET fell under the parentage of the Prosperous Communities Committee and, as with all Working Groups, had no direct decision-making powers, instead feeding into the work plan of the parent committee.

With regard to the next steps for the Cultural Strategy, the Director – Planning, Regeneration and Communities explained that having received feedback from Members following the session in September 2023, and via LCET, the following steps had been identified:

•              Strategy to be updated to reflect feedback

•              Finalisation of an Executive Summary

•              Final review by Leisure, Culture, Events and Tourism Group

•              Prosperous Communities Committee receive the Cultural Strategy for consideration and approval

•              Funding secured for Cultural Development Officer – move to recruitment

•              Delivery of action plan

The Chairman thanked the Director for her presentation and invited questions or comments from the Committee. Members expressed their  ...  view the full minutes text for item 36.

This is a discussion item in preparation for the next meeting.

The Chairman introduced the item and explained to Members it was a discussion item in preparation for their presentation from Rachel Stamp, Contract Management and Performance Senior Officer from Lincolnshire County Council, at the meeting on 26 March 2024. The Chairman explained to Members that scrutiny was seeking an update on the roll out of purple bins across Lincolnshire, and there would be an opportunity for Members to ask questions and make comments ahead of the next meeting.

The Director of Operational and Commercial Services presented background information to the item, explaining that the roll out the purple-lidded bins in West Lindsey took place in April 2022, following a decision from Members in November 2021 to give residents the opportunity to separate paper and card from other recyclables, as the Council aimed to produce a cleaner product from residents’ recycling and to prevent contamination. He then highlighted the following salient points:

•              West Lindsey was the third district council in Lincolnshire to make this decision along with Boston Borough Council and Kesteven District Council.

•              The initiative provided better and improved environmental outcomes for West Lindsey and linked with the Council’s Joint Municipal Waste Strategy objectives which were to improve the quality of recycling and produce a common set of materials produced across Lincolnshire and contribute to the recycling target.

•              The purple bin collection was operated on an alternate fortnightly basis to the blue bin at no additional cost to residents.

•              The collaborative work effort between West Lindsey and Lincolnshire County Council, the authority for waste disposal, was successful and officers from both authorities worked hard to bring the scheme forward, from officers working on the ground supporting the roll out, as well as the customer service support available to residents.

•              The Council had tested and successfully implemented Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the first time, with a web bot used to answer residents’ questions, to reduce demand and respond in a timely manner to residents.

•              There were some issues with embedding the scheme and the change for residents recycling, for example there were instances with bins being rejected, but the service was now embedded in the district with cooperation from residents and was operating business as usual now.

•              In terms of dry paper and card contamination, contamination had been reduced from 30% to under 10%. 

Members listened to the presentation and observed the increase in cardboard and paper packaging from online deliveries to residents and this was being left as there was not enough room for this to fit in residents’ bins. The Director of Operational and Commercial Services responded that the team made every effort to collect overspill cardboard left out by residents on collection day. However, if this had been left outside and become wet it would not be possible to be collected as this would contaminate the waste collection load. He advised that residents should break down and fold cardboard packaging as much as possible to fit inside their bin.

In preparation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37.

With no comments or questions, the Forward Plan was DULY NOTED.

The Chairman suggested that the Committee could receive updates regarding the Health Scrutiny Committee. This was noted to be included in future agendas.

With no further comments or questions, the Workplan was DULY NOTED.