Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

The Chair welcomed all attendees to the meeting and explained the emergency evacuation procedure.

Apologies were received from Cllr Tait.

To note any declarations of interest from councillors. They are asked to

indicate the relevant agenda item, the nature of the interest and in particular

whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest.

Any declaration of interest made at the meeting which is not on the register of

interests should be notified to the Monitoring Officer for inclusion.

No declarations of interest were made.

An error in the minutes of the Environment and Sustainability Policy Committee held on 26^th September 2024 was identified under item 11, in which the variance figure for 2024-25 Capital was noted as £300k rather than £133k. This was to be corrected for the final version.

The minutes were otherwise approved as an accurate record.

Updates against matters arising from the last meeting were provided.

To receive any announcements from the Chair.

The Chair acknowledged the concern raised over the limited number of items on the agenda. Delays to some expected items included the need for a corporate Capital review of spend and future capital budgets and challenges linked to procurement regulations.

Member briefings had been scheduled for immediately following the Policy Committee.

Up to 30 minutes is allowed for this item.

Any member of the public or councillor may participate in Public Forum. Public Forum items must relate to the remit of the committee and should be addressed to the Chair of the committee.

Members of the public who plan to attend a public meeting at City Hall are advised that you will be required to sign in when you arrive. Please note that you will be issued with a visitor pass which you will need to display at all times.

Please also note:

Questions

1.      Written public questions must be received by 5.00 pm, at least 3 clear working days prior to the meeting. For this meeting, this means that questions must be received at the latest by 5.00 pm on Friday 1^st November. Please email questions to policycommittees@bristol.gov.uk

2.      Any individual can submit up to 3 written questions.

3.      Written replies to questions will be available on the Council’s website at least one hour before the meeting.

4.      At the meeting, questioners will be permitted to ask up to 2 oral supplementary questions.

Statements

1.      Written statements must be received at latest by 12.00 noon, at least 2 working days prior to the meeting. For this meeting, this means that statements must be received at the latest by 12.00 noon on Tuesday 5^th November. Please email statements to policycommittees@bristol.gov.uk

2.      Statements, provided they are no more than 1,000 words in length, will be circulated to all committee members and will be published on the Council’s website at least one hour before the meeting.

Petitions

1.      Details of the wording of any petitions, and the number of signatories to petitions must be received at latest by 12.00 noon, at least 2 working days prior to the meeting. For this meeting, this means that petition details must be received at the latest by 12.00 noon on Tuesday 5^th November. Please email petition details to policycommittees@bristol.gov.uk

2.      At the meeting, individuals presenting petitions may be required to read out the objectives of the petition.

When submitting a question or statement please indicate whether you are planning to attend the meeting to present your statement ask your question

The Committee noted that the following public questions had been received with written responses provided.

1.           Cllr Don Alexander                     Policy Committee agenda and work programme

2.           Suzanne Audrey                          Loss of established trees

Written responses to the questions were provided and circulated.

An additional Public Forum Statement regarding the loss of trees was also submitted by Suzanne Audrey.

It was noted that a statement regarding the agenda and work programme had also been submitted by Dan Ackroyd, but this was unfortunately missed from inclusion in the published pack. It was agreed that this statement would be circulated directly to Members.

The Committee NOTED the Public Forum.

The Committee RESOLVED to note:

1.    The performance against the Business Plan relevant to this Committee, including Appendix A2 and related issues raised, and measures to address performance issues to be implemented by relevant services.

The Committee considered a report (agenda item 7) which presented the Q1 2024-25 performance against the Business Plan relevant to the Environment and Sustainability Policy Committee.

The Chair noted that there were no decisions to be taken on this report, which was for the Committee’s information.

The Strategic Intelligence and Performance Advisor presented the report.

The key points raised as part of the discussion of this item included:

1.    A Member highlighted the importance of tracking performance of Bristol Waste metrics.  Some information had been included in the report (paragraph 7).  This issue was suggested and noted for consideration as part of the review of metrics.

2.    A Member noted the recycling rates as an area for improvement.  A public information campaign around the process and its benefits was suggested.  The Chair noted that while the recycling rates were positive for a core city, year on year improvement had not been seen.  Useful information on the topic was available on the Bristol Waste website.

3.    A Member noted the reference to fly tipping.  It was noted that fines had recently been increased to the legal maximum, but this had not affected the rates.  It was raised that it would be useful to consider the push factors around this, as well as information from the enforcement teams around littering. The Chair stated that updates around the work of the Enforcement Team was due to be circulated to all councillors.

4.    The wording for the metric in regard to the ‘removal’ of fly tipping was queried.  Figures on how quickly fly tipped items were removed and the levels of prosecutions were highlighted as useful for the committee to consider.  Fly tipping prevention was discussed, including consideration of push factors.

5.    The Chair drew attention to item 5 regarding funding received from WECA to deliver the Ecological Action Plan.

The Committee RESOLVED to note:

1.    The performance against the Business Plan relevant to this Committee, including Appendix A2 and related issues raised, and measures to address performance issues to be implemented by relevant services.

The Committee RESOLVED:

1.    To note the contents of report, on the provisional P5 outturn position for budgets within the remit of the Environment and Sustainability Committee

The Committee considered a report (agenda item 8) which presented the financial forecast at the end of Period 5, 2024/25.

The Chair noted that there were no decisions to be taken on this report, which was for the Committee’s information.

The Finance Business Partner for Growth and Regeneration presented the report.

The key points raised as part of the discussion of this item include:

1.    It was noted that Capital and Revenue expenditure were on track, i.e. no variance.

2.    It was flagged that a column may be missing from Section B (p24).  This will be checked and circulated if necessary.

3.    Members queried the progress of discussions around the 2025-26 budget.  It was noted that the Government’s budget announcement to increase National Insurance contributions was being discussed.  Employee costs were a significant proportion of the Bristol Waste Company (BWC) budgets and the NI increase could have a significant impact.  It was noted that pay negotiations were ongoing between BWC and the unions.  Any changes to the Bristol Waste contract would need to be carefully considered.

4.    Potential sources of revenue were discussed.

The Committee RESOLVED:

1.    To note the contents of report, on the provisional P5 outturn position for budgets within the remit of the Environment and Sustainability Committee