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Agenda item

Update From Cabinet Members

Question and Answer session at the meeting with the Cabinet Member for Sustainability And Parking and the Cabinet Member for City Management and Customer Services.

 

Written updates from the Cabinet Member for the Built Environment (Appendix 1), the Cabinet Member for City Management and Customer Services (to follow) and the Cabinet Member for Sustainability And Parking (to follow).

Minutes:

4.1       The Committee received written updates from the Cabinet Member for the Built Environment, the Cabinet Member for City Management and Customer Services and the Cabinet Member for Sustainability and Parking on significant matters within their portfolios.  

 

4.2       The Chairman welcomed Councillor Heather Acton and Councillor Melvyn Caplan to the meeting.  Councillor Caplan had recently been appointed as the Cabinet Member for the newly combined portfolio of City Management and Customer Services. This change had been reflected in the amended name of the Committee.  The Committee firstly put questions to and received responses from Councillor Acton on a number of matters that were relevant to the Sustainability and Parking portfolio.  These included the following topics:

 

·           What was the impact on the owners of parked vehicles which it was proposed would be relocated to alternative parking locations, including for example during special events?  The Cabinet Member replied that any vehicle moved in this instance would be taken to an alternative safe place and the owner would be able to find out by telephone where the vehicle was located.  Ten days’ notice would be given of any proposed parking changes.  Residents’ permits did advise that owners of vehicles needed to be aware not to leave them unattended for more than a week.

·           What areas do the four marshals and supervisor visit every Thursday and Friday evening under Operation Neon?  Councillor Acton replied that they went to specific hotspots where traffic issues arose, largely in the West End.  If Councillors advised her or officers that there were any specific hotspots they were able to liaise with Transport for London (‘TfL’).

·           What are the numbers of people participating in the cycle schemes particularly the bike loan pilot and adult cycle training?  Councillor Acton agreed to provide the Committee with the specific numbers involved.

·           Had the joint coach marshalling pilot resulted in a decrease in problems in coach parking use in Buckingham Gate and the Aldwych?  The Cabinet Member believed there had been a slight improvement although the biggest impact was likely to be during the summer when tourist coaches used the area.  It was intended that the operation would be expanded for next year’s summer period.  Discussions were taking place with the Royal Parks so that the coaches could use a designated area there.  Motorists and taxi drivers were becoming more aware of issues relating to vehicles idling but there was still a long way to go in terms of educating motorists.

·           Were there any plans to expand the pilot such as in Ebury Bridge Road?  Councillor Acton informed Members that the Council was working across Westminster on addressing vehicle idling.  If there were problems but the coaches were moving the Council would not be able to take action.  

·           What was the position with the configuration issues affecting the portal for parking permit applications when iPads were used within libraries?  Councillor Acton replied that currently iPads could not access this system because of the protections Apple had placed on the iPads which were designed to prevent misuse.

·           Were there any plans to engage residents who had gardens or window boxes to make use of them as biodiversity habitats?  Councillor Acton responded that it was one of the areas being looked at in more detail in the Biodiversity Plan which would be published in draft shortly.  Under the Green City Action Plan there were a number of measures being taken forward.  The Council was working with small landowners and Business Improvement Districts on projects such as the Wild West End.  The Biodiversity Plan would set out how projects would be joined up.

·           The Cabinet Member was asked to provide more detail on seeking funding from the Mayor’s Air Quality Fund for a Low Emission Neighbourhood in the Marylebone area and the nature of the stakeholder support.  She clarified that this was a grant to develop a bid as nine local authorities were seeking funding and only two projects would obtain this.  There was great support from stakeholders including Portman Estate who were very keen to assist the Council in preparing a bid.  The project was likely to include increasing electric vehicle use and reducing pollutants such as from buildings.  She looked forward to working with ward councillors on developing the bid. 

·           What progress was the Council making in partnership with the Mayor and TfL on reducing air pollution, particularly in Marylebone Road?  Councillor Acton stated that the Council was working on a number of initiatives with them.  The road was the responsibility of TfL.  The Council’s response to the TfL’s consultation on the Ultra Low Emission Zone expressed concerns about it not being implemented until 2020 and not taking greater action in relation to diesel vehicles.  TfL and Central Government were looking together at central scrappage schemes.  By 2020 all single deck buses operating in central London would be zero emission (either electric or hydrogen) and all double deck buses would be hybrid.  The Council was also working with the Business Improvement Districts on freight consolidation and reducing vehicular use.   

 

4.3      The Committee then put questions to and received responses from Councillor Caplan on a number of matters that were relevant to the City Management and Customer Services portfolio.  These included the following topics:

 

·           Councillor Caplan stated that he would add to his workload list examining solutions in respect of parking permit applications when iPads were used within libraries.

·           Would the remote monitoring system or ‘smart lights’ encompass all the street lights in Westminster?  The Cabinet Member replied that it was the intention to roll the system out across the City.

·           Councillor Caplan was asked whether there was scope in working with other boroughs in respect of the waste disposal contract re-let.  He replied that he very much supported economies of scale where there was the potential to do so.  However, in this case, the Council’s specifications for collecting refuse were not the same as neighbouring boroughs.

·           The Cabinet Member was asked what the factors were behind the increase in refuse collection complaints in January and March 2015 in comparison to the year before.  He responded that the increases statistically were not significant.  Overall the current performance was reasonable given the number of collections that were made in the borough.  The overall complaints were down 15% in 2015 compared to 2014.

·           How was the Council progressing with encouraging residents to recycle and would collections be made from residential basements?  Councillor Caplan replied that it would be necessary to look at different solutions for different parts of the borough and he would be looking at these in order to improve the levels of recycling.  Continued publicity was important.  He supported the idea of collections from residential basements.  He and the Chairman as ward councillors for Little Venice had provided ward budget money for a second collection during the week.

·           Concerns were expressed regarding some timescales for e-mail responses from the customer contact centre.  He replied that three days responses to emails received at the end of the week were not acceptable.  One approach he was examining was emails being directed more centrally to those officers who were able to provide the response.

·           What was the Council doing regarding fly tipping, particularly large dumps of waste?  Councillor Caplan replied that it was a high priority to deal with the problem.  City Inspectors were able to play their part in combating this.  There were more patrols of regular blackspots.  Fines were able to be imposed when there was evidence of people fly tipping.  It was more difficult when there was no evidence of who the perpetrators were. 

 

4.4       ACTION: The following action arose:

 

·           That the Cabinet Member for Sustainability and Parking provide the statistics for the numbers of people participating in the cycle schemes particularly the bike loan pilot and adult cycle training(Councillor Acton, Jayne Rusbatch, Project and Programme Manager (Public Realm)and Toby Jacobs, Cycling Projects Officer).

 

 

4.5       RESOLVED: That the contents of the Cabinet Member Updates be noted.

 

 

Supporting documents: