Agenda item

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Barry)

Report of the Head of Environmental Services

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Barry)

Cabinet received a report from the Head of Environmental Services to give Cabinet the necessary information to provide a response to inform Lancashire County Council’s review of winter service provisions.

The options, options analysis, including risk assessment and officer preferred option, were set out in the report as follows:-

Option 1- to develop a response to each of six issues raised by the County Council as detailed in the report. This option will allow Cabinet the opportunity to inform the County Council’s winter maintenance review.

Option 2- to decide not to provide a response to the issues raised by the County Council as detailed in the report. This will mean that Cabinet chooses not to inform County Council’s winter maintenance review.

The officer preferred option is Option 1. Winter maintenance has a huge impact on people who live, work in and visit the District. Resources are finite, however, responding to this review gives the City and County Council the opportunity to use them more efficiently and effectively.

Councillor Barry proposed, seconded by Councillor Blamire:-

“(1)      That Cabinet requests that the City Council be given the opportunity to contribute at an early stage to the 2011/12 planning of best routes.

(2)               That Cabinet requests that the County Council’s area based officers be given discretion to divert resources to primary secondary routes if necessary.

(3)        That Cabinet agrees in principle that space could be allocated at the White Lund depot for the rock salt/grit mixture supplied by the County Council.

(4)        That Cabinet broadly supports this proposal but recognises that the involvement of the City Council needs to be clearly defined with the City Council deciding when this involvement starts and concludes.

(5)        That Cabinet supports the principle of provision of mutual aid to clear/treat snow/ice when district services are unable to carry out district functions due to weather conditions.

(6)        That Cabinet supports the City Council's involvement in handling customer calls but would expect to be compensated if this involves additional work and resource requirements.”

Councillors then voted:-

Resolved:

(6 Members (Councillors Ashworth, Barry, Blamire, Bryning, Langhorn and Robinson) voted in favour and 1 Member (Councillor Kerr) voted against.

(1)        That Cabinet requests that the City Council be given the opportunity to contribute at an early stage to the 2011/12 planning of best routes.

(2)               That Cabinet requests that the County Council’s area based officers be given discretion to divert resources to primary secondary routes if necessary.

(3)        That Cabinet agrees in principle that space could be allocated at the White Lund depot for the rock salt/grit mixture supplied by the County Council.

(4)        That Cabinet broadly supports this proposal but recognises that the involvement of the City Council needs to be clearly defined with the City Council deciding when this involvement starts and concludes.

(5)        That Cabinet supports the principle of provision of mutual aid to clear/treat snow/ice when district services are unable to carry out district functions due to weather conditions.

(6)        That Cabinet supports the City Council's involvement in handling customer calls but would expect to be compensated if this involves additional work and resource requirements.

Officers responsible for effecting the decision:

Corporate Director (Community Services)

Head of Environmental Services

Reasons for making the decision:

The decision will ensure that Cabinet has the opportunity to inform the County Council’s winter maintenance review, it is in line with the recommendations of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and will enable officers to consider and report back on the implications of this change in policy.