Cutting Labour waste and responding to residents on environmental crime

Last November I blogged about the review I led into the Council's community warden service which sought to deliver better value and better services to residents.

This review began under Labour -  something local Labour councillors forget to mention when Yvette Cooper put her foot in it during her visit to Reading last week.

The review focussed on identifying ways of delivering a more cost-effective service which could respond effectively to residents concerns.

The review identified waste and duplication of resources under the previous scheme operated by Labour.The new warden service which we are launching is an excellent example of doing more with less.

Survey after survey the Council conducted of residents found that local people wanted to see action to tackle environmental crime. This came as no surprise to me or my Liberal Democrat colleagues - residents have been telling us this on the door step for years!

We campaigned in opposition for the Council to use its powers more effectively and to respond when residents reported issues.Dog fouling, fly tipping and graffiti were all real problems when Labour ran the Council and yet effective enforcement action was not taken. This was not as a result of a lack of powers or resources - far from it.

So much money was wasted and despite this the culprits got away with damaging the local environment.

• Under Labour three different teams of Council staff from two Council departments carried out walkabouts in the same areas of Reading
• In Labour's scheme all three roles involved estate inspections in the form of 'neighbourhood walkabouts' and regular liaison with the public through Safer Reading and Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG) meetings.
• Cutting Labour's waste of resources will save £170,000 from Council budgets - reducing the need to put up Council Tax and delivering residents more for their money

In contrast the new improved scheme scheme we are launching includes:

• Enforcement powers to enable RBC officers to issue fixed penalty notices for offenders
• A team of 12 officers dedicated to working on the frontline line
•  6 focussing on environmental enforcement
• 4 officers working on crime prevention
• 2 officers assisting residents with waste and recycling issues

A key feature of the scheme will be that 'no one walks past a problem'. This follows real problems in the past when Labour ran the Council - where issues reported by residents or councillors fell outside of the responsibility of housing or environment departments.

This meant that on many occasions effective action was not taken by the Council and problems at neighbourhood level persisted. The new scheme should mean that staff take greater ownership of issues and residents only have to report the issue once, not three times or two different Council departments.

I will be monitoring the new service closely and really hopes it delivers cleaner, safer streets for residents wherever they live in Reading.

Better services, better value, better neighbourhoods

Yesterday I attended the Council's Cabinet meeting where I responded to two petitions from residents in Dee Park and Coley Park concerned about changes to the Neighbourhood Warden service. One petition requested that the Cabinet reverse its decision in favour of 'maintaining' services organised by Labour. To do this would represent a failure to deliver the services residents across the Borough have consistently asked for, and a failure to deliver services that demonstrate value for money for taxpayers - so unnacceptable to us on both counts.
Cabinet took the decision to redesign the service earlier this year following a review of neighbourhood services across housing and environment teams. At the time of taking the decision there was cross-party support for a more joined-up service which suggests current opposition to the changes by some Labour councillors is perhaps more redolent of political opportunism than anything else. So far, so predictable.
The decision to change the service was taken to deliver better value for money and better service for residents across the Borough - something we committed to doing in our local coaliton agreement with the Conservatives. And it is pretty clear from surveys carried out by the Council that services in some key areas need to improve in line with public expectation.
I understand the genuine concerns raised by residents, however, they should not see a detirioriation in their neighbourhoods but hopefully an improvement through reduced anti-social behaviour and environmental problems. My colleagues and I will of course be monitoring the changes at local level to ensure this happens.
Last night, in presenting their petitions several residents raised the 'reassuring' presence of wardens on the estate. This is a testament to the hard work done by those individuals - and as a ward councillor I have seen this at close quarters in Hexham Road. We are grateful to the wardens, indeed to all Council staff who work hard to keep our estates and neighbourhoods safe.
However, it would be wrong to suggest that wardens alone are the only way in which community reassurance and support can be provided. Since wardens were first introduced they have been joined and supported by a number of individuals from the Council, local Neighbourhood Police teams and the public carrying out walkabouts and other estate-based activites. So, estate inspections by Council officers and others at local level will continue, ensuring communities continue to be supported.
It's also worth pointing out that the changes followed a review of neighbourhood services that was initiated under the previous Labour administration. As with many policy areas across the Council's activities, Labour councillors have not indicated what they would have done in response to their own review. Nor, if they were to continue to provide these services how they would pay for it.
In addition to identifying duplication, the review found that there was a pressing need to focus resources more effectively on issues that are a priority to residents across the Borough: namely tackling anti-social behaviour and environmental issues.
My Lib Dem colleagues and I have been campaigning for years to get the Council to respond more effectively to these two issues in particular. This is based on regular feedback we have had from residents. Our informal findings were backed up by Council surveys which put cleaner streets and action on anti-social behaviour as two of the highest priorities. For years, the previous Labour administration shamefully ignored public calls for action on these issues. Even when the powers existed to take action at local level, Labour did not empower staf t use them. We are committed to delivering more responsive services.
The third theme in our local coalition agreement is about building on and improving the sense of pride in our neighbourhoods and communities, making them more pleasant places to live. One of the key aspects of the new approach to neighbourhood services goes under the heading 'no one walks past a problem' - in short this means extending enforcement powers to more officers at street level to tackle issues. For years we have been campaigning up for a more joined-up approach to enforcement in Reading, including action to reduce dog fouling to improve the quality of our neighbourhoods. Following the changes approved by the Coalition administatration of the Council more officers will have the power to fine people who let their dogs cause a mess in public places. Under the previous regime, promoted by Labour councillors, no-one was penalised for this offence.
As one of the people who has led the campaign in Reading for decent neighbourhoods I will continue to fight to ensure residents in estates get the best possible services and that as far as possible the services the Council provides respond in the most effective way to problems communities face at local level.

Labour failing to use powers that would help keep parks clean

A few weeks ago I blogged about my support for the campaign led by local resident Tom Lendrum to get Labour-run Reading Borough Council to take action to deal with the problem of dog fouling - a major issue for residents living in Whitley and I have no doubt, other parts of Reading. I tabled a question to this week's full Council meeting on this issue -

"What is the Council doing to tackle the problem of dog fouling in the Borough, and how many fixed penalty notices have been issued for this offence by ward?" Note: my ward colleague Cllr Kirsten Bayes tabled the same question around the same time last year.

In order to prosecute people who allow their dogs to foul public places councils must first introduce 'Dog Control Orders'. DCOs were introduced in 2005 via the Clean Neighbourhod and Environment Act. Fixed penalty notices can then be issued in areas covered by these orders such as public parks and roads. The Labour Lead Member for the Environment, Cllr Paul Gittings confirmed in his written response to my question that since the Act came into force five years ago Labour-run Reading Borough Council has not introduced a single Dog Control Order anywhere in the Borough and as a result no fixed penalty issues have been issued for dog fouling. Cllr Gittings told me that 'dog owners are encouraged to clear up dog waste' via poop scoop signs which have been put up on lampposts to raise awareness. Encouragement is clearly not working as there is no threat of enforcement if they don't. It's pretty obvious you need to use a carrot and stick approach!
The written answer from Cllr Gittings says that the previous Dogs [Fouling of Land] Act 1996 (which made it an offence for persons who fail to clear up after their dog and gave RBC the power to issue fines of £25) but the administration didn't issue any due to 'health and safety concerns for officers and the requirement to return any monies collected to the Department of the Environment'?! This is ironic given the health hazard dog waste poses the public.
As I pointed out in my previous post on this issue dog fouling was recently identified in a survey carried out by RBC as the number one issue for residents living in South Reading. And it's not the first time the Lib Dems have raised it! It's time Labour politicians in Reading started taking this issue seriously. I have requested that the Environment Scrutiny Panel investigates this issue at the next available opportunity.I hope it will recommend to the administration of RBC that action is taken soon to introduce DCOs and go further towards making our pavements and parks more pleasant places for local people to use.

Campaigning for a cleaner, greener Whitley

This afternoon local campaigner Roy Haines and I went to meet to Tom Lendrum, Whitley resident and Chair of the South Whitley Neighbourhood Action Group. I know Tom through my role as Chair of the South Reading Safer Community Forum which deals with crime and anti-social behaviour issues.

Tom wrote to me recently as he is totally fed up with the amount of dog mess in Whitley - on pavements and in green spaces. and he's also fed up with the apparent lack of action by Labour-run Reading Borough Council on this issue.

And he's not the only person in Whitley who is annoyed about this: last year the Council carried out a survey of South Reading residents and dog fouling came out as the number one issue! So why hasn't the Council done anything about this problem? Let's be clear about this: allowing a dog to foul in a public place is illegal. Most people know it's illegal but the lack of enforcement gives people the impression they will get away this - and the reality is they probably will.

And Council do have powers to take action on this issue - under the Clean Neighbourhoods Act 2005 which came into force few years ago. These include the power to issue fixed penalty notices. Sadly figures released by the Keep Britain Tidy campaign last week found that across the UK dog fouling that was previously in decline has risen back to 2005/6 levels - which begs the question is this legislation (brought in by Labour) working?

Tom is involved in the Neighbourhood Watch scheme on Heroes Walk. You get a good view of the local park from his house. "42 dog walkers use this park every day" he told me. He sees them arriving - some use the dog waste bins provided by the Council, but many do not. We joined him for a walk around the park.The additional bins have helped (as they have helped in Cintra Park where I have been campaigning for action), but the lack of enforcement action overall means that the park is still dirty as many owners fail to clean up after their pets.

Last year, Tom got so frustrated at the amount of mess in his neighbourhood he wrote to all 47 Reading Borough councillors individually. He told me he got less than ten replies (and none at all from the Conservative councillors). My colleague Cllr Kirsten Bayes responded to Tom at the time on behalf of the Lib Dem Group. I dug out her response and read it again today:

"Dog fouling is clearly a significant issue in the Borough. Over the last couple of months, I have raised this concern twice with the Council on behalf of residents, once regarding a pathway to Cintra Park, and also regarding pathways on the Hexham Estate (these being in the Redlands Ward which I represent).

My colleagues Cllr Benson and Goodall have also raised similar concerns, in particular regarding Cintra Park - Cllr Benson has been campaigning for some time on this issue. As well as being unsanitary and unhealthy, dog fouling also serves to make pathways and open areas unusable, which especially affects children, the elderly and people with movement difficulties. We have been campaigning to keep all footways clean and clear of obstructions, and regularly survey residents to find out where problem areas exist."

Kirsten followed up her response with a question to Council. At the March meeting of the Council last year she asked the Lead Member for the Environment:

"What is the Council doing to tackle the problem of dog fouling in the Borough, and how many fixed penalty notices have been issued for this offence?"

The reply Kirsten received revealed that only ONE fixed pentalty notice had been issued by the Council since it first had the power to fine offenders.

I am not calling on the Council to suddenly start fining people but it's time the Council made it clear to the public that they took this problem seriousl. For example they could increase dog warden patrols in South Reading, monitor dog fouling levels and install additional bins etc. Fines should be a last resort but they do need to be used sometimes to get the message across that this is a crime. I have tabled the same question to Council that Kirsten asked last year to be answered at our next meeting to find out what Labour are doing about this problem. If this is the number one issue for people living in South Reading why is Labour ignoring it? I think local people deserve a proper answer.From Tom's point of view and it seems from the point of view of the vast majority of people who responded to the recent South Reading survey last year the problem of dog fouling in Reading is a real one and it is getting worse. And they don't think Labour think it is a priority.

Dog fouling might seem like a minor issue but it has a big impact on how people feel about their neighbourhood and by extension their quality of life. It's one of those things like litter, graffiti and fly-tipping that make neighbourhoods feel rundown and depressing: so it should matter to politicians!It's about time the Labour councillors running Reading Borough Council listened to local people like Tom Lendrum and did something about this problem: enough is enough!

I built my reputation as a local councillor by campaigning for a cleaner and greener Redlands. Visit my blog for more details of my campaigns in this area. As Reading West PPC for the Lib Dems I will make it my business to campaign for cleaner and greener neighbourhoods across Reading West constituency for the benefit of residents. As part of this, I have signed up as a supporter of the Keep Britain Tidy Campaign - you can here. And If you live in Whitley or any other part of Reading West and you have concerns about the cleanliness of your neighbourhood Roy and I would like to hear from you. Please get in touch!