ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES
PART I SERVICE PLAN 2001 - 2002
CORPORATE OBJECTIVES
Environmental Services is a major provider of services to the City of Salford. We are fully committed
to the Council’s Strategic Plan and we will work with the Chief Executive and other Directorates to
ensure that targets are met and the people of Salford receive the best possible levels of service within
the spirit of the plan.
The Directorate has lead responsibility for the following Strategic Corporate objective.
 Ensuring the City has a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
 As a result of the transfer of Parks and Countryside, the Directorate now has a shared
responsibility for the Corporate objective of ensuring the City provides opportunities for
recreation, leisure and cultural enhancement in partnership with the Education and Leisure
Directorate.
In addition the Directorate will support and contribute to other corporate objectives in the areas of:
 Making Salford a Safer Place, e.g. by making seasonal checks on the sale of fireworks and toy
safety.
 Personal Health, e.g. by helping to identify and control outbreaks of infectious disease.
 Recreation and Leisure, e.g. by maintaining Salford’s parks and open spaces to a high standard.
 Housing, e.g. by dealing with private sector housing conditions that are prejudicial to health or a
nuisance.
 Planning Development, e.g. by providing expert advice on environmentally sensitive planning
proposals.
The above are examples and not a comprehensive list of supporting initiatives; each of our services
contributes widely to the Council’s corporate objectives.
KEY SERVICE OBJECTIVES
Service objectives have been developed to support all the Council’s corporate aims and its 10
objectives. Many features of the Directorate’s objectives are achievable through liaison and working
with other Directorates and external partners. Environmental Services aims to respond to 95% of
complaints and requests for service within a short time frame of 3-5 working days of receipt, dependent
on available resources and the priority element of the work. Where details of reactive workloads, e.g.
complaints and requests for service are included, projections are made based on analysis of last year’s
figures. The work of Environmental Services is not solely an enforcement role and wherever possible
we seek to educate and encourage our clients to enable everyone to contribute to a clean, healthy and
sustainable environment.
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PUBLIC PROTECTION
Commercial Services
 To ensure as far as possible, the provision of clean and safe food and to protect the health
and safety at work of people in the City, and others it may affect.
 To carry out 1520 inspections of food premises by the 31st. March 2002, in accordance with a
planned annual programme which takes into account increased frequencies of inspections to
butcher’s shops due to licensing requirements.
 To carry out 1200 occupational health and safety inspections by 31st. March 2002, in
accordance with a planned annual programme.
 To investigate and prevent the spread of notifiable infectious diseases within 24 hours of
notification.
 To deal with approximately 1700 complaints and requests for service by 31st. March 2002.
 To investigate all fatal accidents and major injuries, that require investigation, the same day as
they are notified to us; all other accidents that require investigation will be dealt with within
three working days.
 To take 215 food samples to monitor the safety of a range of foods by 31st. March 2002.
 To protect animal welfare by undertaking inspections of all licensed premises at least once a
year.
Trading Standards
 To protect the public and the business community by maintaining a fair, safe and equitable
trading environment.
 To deal with 4000 complaints and enquiries from both consumers and the business
community by 31st. March 2002.
 To carry out 1570 inspections at business premises throughout the City to ensure compliance
with Trading Standards laws by 31st. March 2002.
 To carry out 500 calibrations and 3000 verifications of equipment for weights and measures
purposes by 31st. March 2002.
 To sample and test 340 products to determine compliance with legal requirements and
accuracy of description by 31st. March 2002.
 To improve trading practices within the used car trade by encouraging participation in the
Association of Greater Manchester Authorities Fair Play Charter Scheme for used cars.
Consumer Advice
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
To provide advice and assistance to the community on the civil law relating to consumer
protection matters.
 To inform, educate and advise the public on Trading Standards and Consumer Law by
organising local events such as heats of the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities
Value for Money Competition in Schools.
 To continue the expansion of a structured consumer education programme, in conjunction
with Education and Leisure Directorate, for wider implementation in the City’s Junior Schools.
 To continue the development of a Local Business Partnership to develop new ways of
working to streamline the regulation process in consultation with local businesses.
Pollution Control
 To protect and promote health and the environment by preventing and controlling pollution
in conjunction with the strategic role of the Development Services Directorate.
 To deal with 518 air pollution complaints, 898 noise complaints and 186 contaminated land
enquiries by 31st. March 2002.
 To process 449 environmentally impacting planning proposals by 31st. March 2002.
 Regulate industrial air pollution emissions within statutory levels and inspect every authorised
prescribed process twice a year for all major processes.
 To assess and report daily on local air quality and to provide information to the National
Air Quality Monitoring Network.
 To undertake consultation on the Air Quality Review and Assessment.
 To declare Air Quality Management Areas and develop an action plan for the associated area.
 Produce and undertake consultation on the contaminated land inspection strategy
 Implement the Contaminated Land Inspection Strategy
Public Health
 To control pests and vermin and, in conjunction with Housing Services Directorate, to
protect standards of private sector housing.
 To deal with 5500 pest control complaints and requests for service by 31st. March 2002.
 To control rats by carrying out 8000 sewer baiting treatments by 31st. March 2002, in
partnership with Northwest Water plc.
 To promptly investigate and clear, where possible, all reported blocked sewers and drains.
 To deal with 450 reported private sector housing conditions that are prejudicial to health or a
nuisance by 31st. March 2002.
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SUPPORT SERVICES
Bereavement Services
 To provide burial and cremation facilities in appropriate settings in a dignified and correct
manner, to meet the needs of the community; including the maintenance and upkeep of
lawn type cemeteries and cemetery chapels, incorporating both the hard and soft landscape.
 To provide burial and cremation facilities within the City. Previous figures indicate the
Directorate meets an annual service requirement of;
 750 burials, including administration
 2000 cremations, including administering and issue of certificates
 To provide memorial facilities at cremation and burial sites and to process 380 memorial
applications.
 To provide access to the Book of Remembrance 365 days per year.
 To carry out an ongoing survey of memorial stones greater than 4ft in height, within the
City of Salford Cemeteries, for structural safety and remediate 100% of those stones
identified as unsafe up to 31st. March 2002.
 To carry our infrastructure improvements to the City’s cemeteries in order to provide safe
and dignified facilities to visitors by March 31st 2002 within available budget resources.
 To facilitate and provide consultation forums through the established Clergy/Funeral Directors
and Friends of the Cemeteries forums in accordance with planned programmes.
STRATEGIC AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT UNIT
 To provide guidance on internal and external issues affecting performance and practice in
the Directorate, as well as developing operational and educational programmes for
environmental issues, and attracting income relating to service provision. The unit has
recently been made responsible for the strategic development and management of parks and
open spaces
Strategic Development Unit
 To provide guidance on internal and corporate strategic issues affecting performance and
practice in the Directorate; the implementation of the Strategic Plan and Community
Strategy, the progression of quality initiatives, and develop income generation strategies
based on the services the Directorate provides.
 To facilitate and complete the Best Value service review of Refuse Collection; Street
Cleansing; Recycling; including service depots; Grounds Maintenance (Schools) and
Dog Wardens by March 31st 2002.
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 To be involved in the production of corporate publications for all 9 Community
Committee areas containing the City Council’s Community Charter alongside local
information.
 To ensure the collection and provision of Performance Indicator data to meet
Directorate, Corporate and National requirements in the pursuit of Best Value.
 To be involved with the maintenance, development, promotion and application of quality
initiatives e.g. Charter Mark, IIP, on behalf of the Directorate.
 To promote, develop and maintain consultation techniques on behalf of the Directorate,
including Customer Forums and Customer Satisfaction Surveys.
 To actively promote and sell contracts and investigate new sources of income to the
Directorate based on the services it provides, to facilitate inward investment, thereby enhancing
service provision to the City’s residents and businesses.
Salford Pride
 The purpose of this section is to provide a holistic environmental education and
awareness raising service to all age groups within the City as well as actively promoting
practical environmental improvement activities in which local communities play a lead
role, thereby developing a sense of environmental responsibility amongst the City’s
residents and businesses.
 To deal with 1500 requests for service and information relating to recycling, composting, reuse and waste minimisation by 31st March 2002.
 To instruct and co-ordinate the rapid removal of graffiti in response to approximately 312
complaints by 31st. March 2002.
 In partnership with the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority, to recycle 20% of
domestic waste by 31st. March 2002.
 To carry out a programme of waste management, anti-litter and anti-graffiti, educational
and promotional activities.
 Provide city-wide kerbside collection for the recycling of textiles and newspapers and
magazines and develop other recycling initiatives, by way of private and public sector
partnerships.
 To be classed, by the Tidy Britain Group, in the top twenty cleanest cities in the United
Kingdom at all times.
CONTRACT SERVICES
Refuse Collection And Street Cleansing
 To provide a refuse collection and street cleansing service to enable the city to maintain a
clean environment.
 To collect domestic refuse from all residential properties in the City.
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 To review the available options for delivery of Street Cleansing Service to ensure service
developments/improvements and equality in the receipt of these services.
 To deliver the Refuse Collection Services in line with the outcome of the consultation on the
service review of November 2000.
 To ensure all roads and pavements are swept at enhanced frequencies, resulting in improved
levels of cleansing through the use of increased mechanisation.
 To provide an effective and hygienic collection service for medical waste throughout the
City.
 To undertake work, on behalf of the Development Services Directorate, to ensure that roads
are kept free from ice and snow and that regular gully cleansing is undertaken.
 To meet the statutory requirements in relation to the provision of a Dog Warden Service to
effectively control stray dogs and promote responsible dog ownership in relation to 1200
requests for service by 31st. March 2002.
 To arrange for the removal of all abandoned vehicles following the issue of a seven day
notice.
Vehicle Management Services
 To procure, manage and maintain a high quality fleet of vehicles for the Council.
 To consider all options, having regard to value for money and effective vehicle supply, within
the Council replacement programme. To plan the vehicle replacement programme for
2001/2002 and procure the required vehicles within the preferred option by 31st. March 2002.
 To ensure the maintenance and repairs of Council vehicles in order to secure the maximum
efficient use and availability of the fleet.
 To pursue a policy of replacing vehicles with those which have reduced exhaust emissions or
utilise low polluting fuels.
 To implement the recommendations of a service review following the termination of the
contract under the CCT regime on 31st December 2000.

To provide and manage a Private Hire and Hackney Carriage testing facility to test all
relevant vehicles at least once a year (with intermediate tests as required) to protect the
safety of people travelling in the City.
Outdoor Services
 To manage and maintain the City Councils green spaces through the provision of a
comprehensive Grounds Maintenance and Landscaping Service.

To undertake all grounds maintenance services including grass maintenance, planting bed
maintenance and tree maintenance services, having regard to value for money and desired
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outcomes to promote the image of the City.

To manage the Council’s “green budget” on behalf of all client Directorates.

To provide a landscaping service.

To maintain the City Council’s playgrounds and park furniture at 56 locations throughout
the City.

To provide a mobile park patrol 7 days a week.
Parks and Countryside

The purpose of this unit is to develop and manage parks and open spaces via the
development of strategic plans which enhance and ensure the future of these resources
for the residents of the City.
 To jointly continue with the Education & Leisure Directorate the development of Buile Hill
Park as a recreational, educational and training facility.
 To develop achievable master-plans for Buile Hill Park and Peel Park involving the
securing of opportunity funding from all sources as well as developing strategic partners thereby
ensuring the long-term viability of these parks.
 To provide, manage and maintain allotments in line with local need and in accordance with
statutory instruments.
 To develop, manage and maximize the use of the City’s key parks and outdoor leisure
facilities.
 To continue a development and improvement programme of countryside facilities.
DIRECTORATE WIDE INITIATIVES

EQUALITY OBJECTIVES
To continue to implement the Corporate Equality of Service Delivery Policy.
To maintain the minimum Level 1 and 2 of the Commission for Racial Equality Standard.

COMMUNITY ACTION PLANS
The review of the Community Strategy, “Building on Success”, emphasised the importance of
integrating the local objectives identified in the community committee Community Action Plans into
directorate service plans. The directorate takes the issues relating to the community committees and
Community Action Plans seriously and is committed to the principle of providing a locally responsive
service.
We have developed a comprehensive Link Officer structure to support the work of the community
committees and have introduced local Environmental Co-ordinators to ensure that, as far as possible,
local demands are met. We have published a list of service standards and pledges about the level and
type of service local people can expect from the directorate.
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Each Community Action Plan has been analysed by the directorate and those objectives that relate to
the work of the directorate have been identified. Many of these objectives have been included in the
general work of the directorate, as included in the Service Plan, and all have been commented on.
These objectives and the directorate’s comments on them, as agreed with the Lead Member, are
attached as Appendix 1 to this plan.
The Service Plan is reviewed quarterly and relevant officers are asked to monitor and action
Community Action Plan objectives.

CRIME AND DISORDER
The Directorate recognises the duty under Section 17 of the Crime & Disorder Act to mainstream
crime and disorder issues, and takes its duties under this section seriously. A number of our activities
contribute towards Objective 6 of Salford’s strategic plan, “Making Salford a Safer Place”.
We are responsible for the control of counterfeit goods – perfume, sports and leisure wear, computer
games and programmes, music CDs, DVDs and videos. We are also responsible for the control of sales
of age restricted goods – cigarettes, pre-recorded videos, knives, solvents, fireworks, etc. and we carry
out test purchases by young people and produce guidance literature. We operate a proof of age scheme
(jointly with Oldham and Rochdale Councils, Police, education and health authorities.
We operate Environmental Hit Squads in Langworthy/Seedley and Broughton & Blackfriars, to
counter the visible impact of litter, illegal dumping, knocked over wheeled bins, dumped furniture, dog
fouling, etc., all of which contribute to create “distressed” communities. We remove abandoned
vehicles which attract vandals and vehicle related crime. Our graffiti removal service gives priority to
racist/anti police graffiti. The dog warden service removes stray animals.
We are responsible for protecting Council vehicles against crime by fitting alarms, immobilisers and
extra locks, and we prune/remove trees to ensure better lighting around houses.
We are responsible for investigating and resolving a whole range of complaints, many of which have a
crime and disorder element, including, noise nuisance (domestic, commercial and industrial), dumping
of domestic refuse, filthy and verminous premises, illegal dumping of waste (including toxic), odour
and dust problems, wire burning, etc. We also ensure compliance with a range of statutory laws
concerning food hygiene and safety, health and safety, environmental pollution, consumer protection
and weights and measures.
We also carry out one-off operations in conjunction with the police or other agencies, to tackle specific
problems, e.g. over-weight vehicles, under-age sale of fireworks.
AREA APPROACH
An area approach to service delivery is a major aspect of how we do things in Environmental Services.
Wherever possible our services are organised into geographical teams to cultivate local knowledge and
to ensure that our staff are aware and responsive to local issues and needs. The area approach to
service delivery also allows staff to broaden their skills in all areas of work and to take a multidisciplinary approach to meet the needs of the area.
This will be the second year where Environmental Co-ordinators have been assigned to specific areas
of the City to provide a responsive supervisory contact for all aspects of the Environmental
Maintenance Service. This has been further enhanced by each Environmental Co-ordinator being given
service responsibility for two Council wards. This supervisory system plays a crucial part in ensuring the
new street mechanisation system and hit squad, work in an effective and efficient manner.
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The current refuse collection service review proposes that in future refuse collection will be provided
via an area zoned approach. This will provide a more efficient delivery of the service in that any
operational difficulty encountered by a refuse collection vehicle will be resolved via other refuse
collection vehicles working in the same area coming to its assistance. In this way problems such as
missed bins or vehicle breakdown will be speedily addressed.
To ensure that our services meet the demands of the Community Strategy, link officers have been
assigned to all of the current nine Community Committees within the City. These managers make sure
that, where possible, our efforts and services are directed where and when they are most needed.
We have and are developing Service Standards for each Community Committee Area to inform our
customers of the timing and levels of service they can expect from the Directorate together with
provision of a call centre to maximise the receipt of customer enquiries and easier access to all our
services.
The Director of Environmental Services has a key role to play as Community Strategy Area Coordinator for the Walkden and Little Hulton Community Committee.
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ORGANISATION OF THE DIRECTORATE
In order to discharge its functions efficiently and effectively Environmental Services has been
structured into the following service units.
SERVICE AREA
NUMBER
OF STAFF
Commercial Service
12.8
Senior Management and Strategic Development Unit
7
(SDU)
Trading Standards
11
Pollution Control
9
Vehicle Management Services
34.2
Outdoor Services
205
Public Health
9
Bereavement Services
21
Refuse Collection Street Cleansing
198
Dog Warden Service
2
Support Services
21.1
Parks and Countryside
12
TOTAL
542.1
* Certain service costs are offset by income derived through their activities.
NET SERVICE
COSTS*
2000/2001
327440
266690
262850
231580
3228450
4613680
59740
252540
2969030
50420
1297370
816640
14376430
SERVICE DEVELOPMENTS
Environmental Services are committed to reviewing and improving the services that we provide in
response to current best practice and the needs and wishes of our customers. We will continue to work
to meet the demands placed on our services by Salford’s citizens, our elected members, Central
Government and other stakeholders.
In order to develop our services to meet the challenges of the future we will work towards the
following:
 To identify further clear performance targets and service standards arising from consultation
with the Directorate’s customers with a greater emphasis on measuring outcomes.
 To provide a menu of services from the Directorate to enable purchase of such services from
Community Budgets to the benefit of their local environment.
 To provide a responsive out of hours noise service to meet the demands of the public and
the recommendations of the Directorates Noise Review 1998 as agreed by the City Council.
To meet this identified and agreed need will require the provision of extra resources, which
the directorate will actively seek.
 Continue to improve the provision of services in relation to the maintenance of the hard and
soft landscape through a process of review, benchmarking and innovation, in conjunction
with all those having an interest in the service.
 Following the achievement of a Charter Mark Award for our Public Protection Service, and
the applications for Bereavement Services and Salford Pride in September 2000, we plan to
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extend the process to other service areas as this demonstrates to customers that they are
receiving quality services.
 To ensure the Directorate’s responsibilities outlined within the corporate Environmental
Strategy are met, as far as available resources will allow.
 Establish links and partnerships with other local authorities, public service providers and
private sector organisations, locally and nationally, to benchmark good working practice;
support the principle of Best Value in service delivery and therefore enhance service quality
and provision.
 Continue to conduct and evaluate Customer Satisfaction Surveys. To establish Customer
Forums where panels of service users will be asked to comment on each service and test out
ideas for service development.
 To integrate relevant aspects of Community Action Plans, from the City’s Community
Committees, in the development of future service plans.
 Improve links with all sections of the community particularly by taking steps to remove
barriers to effective provision of services to minority groups and disadvantaged sections of
the community and therefore ensure equality in service delivery.
 To fulfil our commitment to provide quality services within the various accreditations
awarded to the Directorate, including Investors in People, Charter Mark, and ISO 9002.
 To learn from the current Best Value Reviews as to the best approach to implementing
service improvements, coming out of these studies, during the 5-year rolling programme of
service reviews.
 To implement a more flexible approach in the provision of our green space maintenance to
enhance our parks and open spaces, through the use of the development of a ‘Green
Directory’ supported by a consolidated Green Budget.
 To extend the revised Safe Award for Food Hygiene Excellence (SAFE) to all eligible
businesses following routine inspections.
 To introduce the Tidy Business Standards in partnership with the Tidy Britain Group which
helps businesses deal with waste efficiently and via a system of upgraded certificates
promotes a more environmentally friendly approach to carrying out their business activities.
 To extend the Workshops for Businesses aimed at helping those small and medium
enterprises to comply with legal requirements regarding food safety and health and safety.
 To develop a Service Plan to meet the requirements of the Food Standards Agency “Food
Law Enforcement Service Planning Guidance”
 To continue to develop practices in line with the Community Legal Services Quality Mark.
 To expand the surveys into under-age sales to assess the effectiveness of the ‘proof of age’
initiative.
 In conjunction with Development Services, to actively produce an effective Strategic Plan
for the management of Parks and Countryside.
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