Agenda item

Report number: OAS/WS/22/006

The Committee received report number: OAS/WS/22/006, which updated members on the current status of its rolling work programme of items for scrutiny during 2020-2021 (Appendix 1).  The Chair then drew the Committee’s attention to two issues:

1)   The Committee’s next meeting was scheduled to be held on 9 June 2022, which coincided with the “Platinum Jubilee Parade and RAF Honington 50th Anniversary Parade”, and therefore advised that the meeting would be moved to the following week, Thursday, 16 June 2022.

2)   “20mph zones” – the Chair proposed two options in progressing this piece of work, either:

-      Inviting Suffolk County Council to a “virtual informal Overview and Scrutiny” meeting between April and May 2022 to brief the Committee on the “20mph zone” process; or

-      Inviting Suffolk County Council to the Committee’s June to provide a briefing.

The Vice-Chair suggested holding a virtual meeting between April and May to progress the “20mph zone” topic, which was also agreed by the Committee.

Councillor Cliff Waterman then, on behalf of Councillor Diane Hind raised the issue of anti-idling.  He explained that at the Committee’s meeting held on 2 September 2021 it considered a work programme suggestion on anti-idling and resolved that, members be provided with monthly figures on the number of drivers spoken to informally by Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE) officers, subject to a further update report on air quality and anti-idling campaigns being brought back in November 2021 meeting.  A further meeting was held on 11 January 2022 with the Chair and Vice-Chair of Overview and Scrutiny, Councillors Diane Hind, Julia Wakelam, the Director of Operations and the Democratic Services Officer (Scrutiny) to discuss anti-idling.  At this meeting the possibility of continuing collecting figures on the number of drivers spoken too was rejected by the Director of Operations because there was not the mechanism to record interactions for idling and issue them as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).  Currently the Council had no powers to do the work and were not resourced to do the work (staff/systems) and corporate KPIs were therefore not appropriate.  KPI’s were reviewed by the Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee and agreed by Cabinet/Council, and idling was not currently part of the agreed dataset.  However, the Director of Operations had suggested two options which were:

1)   Agree for CPE Officers to continue to have an informal word with idling motorists in the course of their duties (but not record/report interventions); or

2)   Seek to establish the full impact and cost of obtaining formal powers to enforce idling with the requisite resources, training and back-office system modifications.  If the Committee agrees, then make a recommendation to Cabinet.

Given the importance to our residents’ health of reducing air pollution Councillor Waterman asked the Committee to agree that the Director of Operations be tasked with establishing the costs and impacts of establishing a full anti-idling policy.

The Committee considered the request, which was proposed by Councillor Cliff Waterman, seconded by Councillor Paul Hopfensperger, and with the vote being unanimous, it was

Resolved:

That “Vehicle idling interactions” be included into the Committee’s forward work programme and the Director of Operations be requested to establish the full impact and costs of obtaining formal powers to enforce idling, including the requisite resources, training and back-office system modifications, and provide a report to the Committee by September 2022.