Agenda and minutes

There were no Declarations of Interest made by Members at this point in the meeting.

The Chair welcomed those present and advised that as there were no scheduled tests, should the fire alarm sound, attendees should evacuate the building via the nearest fire exit and assemble at the Bottle of Notes opposite MIMA.

The Minutes of the previous meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Board held on 22 January 2025 were submitted and approved as a correct record, subject to the word ‘million’ being added after the figure £3.485 on page four.

Councillor Gavigan, Executive Member for Environment and Sustainability, was in attendance at the meeting, accompanied by G Field, Director of Environment and Community Services, to provide the Board with an overview of his portfolio in relation to Environment and Sustainability.

The Executive Member stated that Environment and Community Services strived to deliver services that met the Council’s Strategic Vision ‘For Middlesbrough to be a thriving, healthier, safer and more ambitious place where people want to live, work, invest, and visit. We will support our residents to live fulfilling lives, to ensure that our communities thrive’.

The two key areas within the portfolio of the Executive Member were:-

·        Environment Services

·        Highways and Infrastructure

Matters of significance for each of the two key areas were highlighted as follows:-

Environment Services

Waste and Recycling

A new green waste subscription service was launched last year and the Board heard that registration for the service for 2025/26 had now opened.  In just over two days, 3,018 households had renewed their subscriptions and there had been 191 new subscribers to the service.  In addition, 76 households had taken up payment plans which meant they could stagger the payment of the £40 annual charge.

Members were informed that forthcoming changes to waste and recycling services included:-

·        Separate collection of paper and cardboard recycling.  From April 2026, all Councils would be required to comply with Government Legislation (Simpler Recycling) to make separate collections of paper and cardboard from other recycling streams at the kerbside.  Middlesbrough currently operated a co-mingled kerbside collection which meant that all recycling streams (paper, cardboard, plastic, tin and glass) were collected together from a single bin, without the need for pre-separation by residents.  The new legislation would mean that paper and cardboard would need to be collected from a separate receptacle to other recyclable materials. As a consequence, households would need to be supplied with a new collection receptacle.  The potential options included a large canvass sack or small wheeled bin.  The preferred option would be to provide an additional small, wheeled bin, however, appropriate consultation would take place in due course.

·        Food waste collections.  Also from April 2026, Councils in England would be required to undertake weekly collections of household food waste.  Households would be provided with a small collection ‘caddie’ to be kept inside, together with a larger outside bin, into which the contents of the caddie would be placed for weekly collection.

A discussion ensued and the following issues were raised:-

·        Members expressed reservations regarding the collection of food waste particularly in relation to keeping the food caddie indoors and whether this would cause odours and also whether the outside containers would attract vermin.  It was explained that the caddies were small, sealed containers and that some Council departments had been trialling them and had found no issues.  Compostable liners for the caddies would be provided.  In terms of attracting vermin, Members were reassured that the outdoor containers were sealed units and that it would be no different to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24/66

The Chair introduced the item for the Board’s consideration.  A copy of the Work Programme was attached at Appendix A and Members were asked to raise any issues they had in relation to any of the items listed.

A Member made reference to the item named ‘Homelessness Reduction and Rough Sleeper Prevention Strategy 2024 – 2029’ and queried whether the terminology being used was appropriate.  The Democratic Services Officer agreed to feed the comment back to the service area.

A Member queried whether the item ‘Transfer of Land and Assets at Gresham to Middlesbrough Development Corporation’  was on hold or proceeding.  The Democratic Services Officer agreed to make enquiries. 

AGREED that the report be noted and that the Democratic Services Officer follow up with regard to:-

1.     The terminology used in the item ‘Homelessness Reduction and Rough Sleeper Prevention Strategy’.

2.     Request an update regarding the current position on the item ‘Transfer of Land and Assets at Gresham to Middlesbrough Development Corporation’.

There were no outstanding actions.

NOTED

Place Scrutiny Panel

The Chair of the Place Scrutiny Panel updated the Board that the Panel had met on 27 January 2025 and had received annual updates on Flood Risk Management and RIPA.  The Task and Finish Group on Home to School Transport was in the process of drafting a Final Report on the topic.  The Task and Finish Group on Empty Properties had circulated evidence to the wider Panel and was awaiting response and further guidance on next steps.

People Scrutiny Panel

The Chair of the People Scrutiny Panel advised that the Panel had not met since the last meeting of OSB but was due to meet on Monday, 17 February, when it would receive further evidence in relation to its scrutiny topic of ‘Children Missing from Education’.  The Panel would also consider terms of reference for its new scrutiny topic of ‘Homelessness’.

Overview and Scrutiny Board – Task and Finish Group: Community Cohesion

Councillor Kabuye updated Members that the Group was due to meet with the Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner next week and would then start putting together all of the evidence gathered.

AGREED that the information provided be noted.

There were no other urgent items to be considered.