Agenda item

To note the annual performance report for the Environmental

Enforcement Service.

4.1   Gerry McCarthy introduced the report setting out the service’s annual performance across the enforcement remit for the financial year 2019/2020.

4.2   Councillor Hanson noted from the three year comparison table that the mobile Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) issued for Highway Obstruction had increased from zero in 2017/18 to 702 in 2019/20 and that no notices had been issued for dog fouling in the previous 2 years. Mr McCarthy clarified that the significant increase in Highways Obstruction FPNs had resulted from the introduction of mobile technology and the transfer of notices being issued from paper to mobiles. Officers patrolling the streets had not witnessed any dog fouling since 2018/19.

4.3  Councillor Snell asked if the night-time economy (NTE) enforcement work undertaken in Dalston was fully funded from late night levy and requested that the Environmental Enforcement activities be promoted to raise public awareness of the service. Mr McCarthy stated that the Late Night Levy Board had allocated 30 per cent of the late night levy to the Council and this funding had been used to partly fund Enforcement Officers in the NTE areas. In recent months the income from the levy had fallen due to some businesses remaining closed since lockdown in March and this funding would be reviewed in the future. Mr McCarthy said that he would liaise with the Communications team on better ways of advertising the enforcement service and its activities.

4.4   Councillor Race enquired about fly tipping since Covid-19 and the redeployment of resources directly to other areas of the borough where problems had been identified, in particular in Kingsland Road. Mr McCarthy confirmed that there had been no increase in fly tipping during Covid-19, however, during routine inspections of premises some businesses were found to be operating during the lockdown and exceeding their allocated collections. These businesses were either issued a FPN or other enforcement action was taken.

4.5   With regard to the deployment of resources, Mr McCarthy responded that the service had been increasing the use of CCTV cameras in Shoreditch and had installed two CCTV cameras on Calvert Avenue and going forward resources would be redeployed throughout the borough based on the information gathered from CCTV. Councillor Selman added that police resources had been focused on Shoreditch due to the specific issues experienced in that area. As enforcement officers had fewer powers than the police, the Council had to make a case for any additional police resources to be deployed to any particular problem area. The Council had been using levy funding to install temporary CCTV cameras throughout the borough and had sought permission to install temporary cameras along Kingsland Road. This would provide real time data that would enable additional Council and police resources to be co-ordinated and deployed to areas experiencing problems such as crime and disorder or public nuisance.

4.6   Councillor Fajana- Thomas enquired whether wardens had been working during the lockdown and also patrolling housing estates, and the collaborative work between the police and wardens to address disorder and anti-social behaviour (ASB) in Stoke Newington. Mr McCarthy confirmed that officers within the service continued to carry out their duties throughout lockdown and uniformed Enforcement Officers had been tasked on a weekly basis to patrol housing estates identified as having problems based on intelligence from the police, Council’s complaints database and information from Hackney Homes. However, officers were not tasked to patrol estates of registered social landlords on a regular basis. The service also worked in partnership with other Council departments and police ASB team attending weekly meetings to discuss ASB cases and refer them to the weekly ASB action panel for a decision on any joint action. The service dealt with street based ASB but this was ultimately a police matter. Councillor Selman clarified that the Council and police were jointly responsible for ASB but had different set of powers. Any casework could be referred for follow up action to Councillor Selman or Mr McCarthy.

4.7  Councillor Snell welcomed the two apprenticeship positions within the service and the opportunity for further career development, and also indicated that the Council needed to have a clear strategy and priorities for the service in relation to the Late Night Levy. Councillor Selman responded that the police had prioritised resources to address the issues related to the NTE and that the Council’s dedicated team had been working with the police and intelligence hub in terms of taking a more strategic response and the Licensing Committee would be considering a broader strategy for the NTE in the future.

RESOLVED to note the annual performance report for the Environmental

Enforcement Service.