NEIGHBOURHOODS OVERVIEW & SCRUTINY COMMITTEE
20th June, 2011
Meeting commenced: 1:30pm
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ended: 2:55pm
PRESENT: Councillor Loveday - in the Chair
Councillors Compton, Hudson, Humphreys, Hunt, Brendan Ryan and Nicky
Turner (Councillor Bernard Lea was also in attendance at the invitation of
the Chair)
Sarah Clayton – Head of Strategy & Enabling, Sustainable
Regeneration Directorate
Brian Edwards – Gypsy and Traveller Liaison Officer
Mark Rayner – Senior Principal Surveyor, Urban Vision
Inspector Robert Findlow – Greater Manchester Police
(All in attendance with regard to the item detailed in Minute 16 below)
Mike Relph – Senior Democratic Services Advisor
9.
APOLOGIES
An apology for absence was submitted on behalf of Councillor Val Burgoyne.
10.
DECLARATION OF INTEREST
There were no declarations of interest.
11.
QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
There were no questions from members of the public.
12.
WORK PROGRAMME
The work programme for the Neighbourhoods Overview & Scrutiny Committee, as
of 16th May, 2011, was submitted.
Councillor Gina Loveday referred to waste recycling particularly the disposal levy
imposed on local authorities in relation to contamination caused by plastic. She
said this issue, particularly the negative impact the levy could have on the city
council needed to be added to the work plan.
RESOLVED: THAT the work programme be noted and the impact of the waste
disposal levy arising from the recycling of plastic material be added to it.
13.
FORWARD PLAN
Details were submitted of the key decisions which were contained within the City
Council’s Forward Plan for June 2011 and had particular relevance to the remit of
the committee.
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Neighbourhoods Overview & Scrutiny Committee
20th June, 2011
RESOLVED (1): THAT the forward plan, in as far as it relates to the
Neighbourhoods and Overview Scrutiny Committee be noted.
RESOLVED (2): THAT Members be provided with further background details on
the discount waiver policy.
14.
MINUTES
The Minutes of the Committee held on 16th May 2011 were agreed as a correct
record and signed by the Chairman.
15.
OVERVIEW ON THE WORK OF THE ENVIRONMENT AGENCY
(Previous Minute 4 – 16th May 2011)
Reference was made to the presentation on Environment Agency activity in
Salford, give to the Committee at its meeting held on 16th May, 2011. It was
suggested there was possible need for members to receive a progress report on
the items covered by the presentation and they be included in the Work Plan.
16.
UNAUTHORISED ENCAMPMENTS
The Committee received a presentation from Sarah Clayton, Head of Service
Strategy and Enabling, Sustainable Regeneration, with regard to gypsies and
travellers and the protocol for managing unauthorised encampments, which
focused on the following key issues :
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Definition of a gypsy or traveller
National and local overview of gypsies and travellers
Issues faced by gypsies and travellers
Protocol for managing unauthorised encampment
Purpose
History
Responsibility for dealing with unauthorised encampments in Salford
Role of Urban Vision
Role of gypsy and traveller liaison officer
Role of Salford City Council’s legal section
Councillor Ann-Marie Humphreys suggested there was a tendency for the younger
members of the gypsy and traveller community, particularly females, to leave the
education system early. Reference was also made to the legal requirement for all
young people to remain in education until 16 years of age and what powers were
available to partner agencies to ensure this. Sarah Clayton replied the extent of this
problem seemed to vary depending on whose view was sought, particularly within
the travelling community itself. Sarah said she would investigate the powers
available to the City Council and other agencies to ensure that all young people
remained in full time education until 16 years of age and report back accordingly.
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Neighbourhoods Overview & Scrutiny Committee
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Councillor Brendan Ryan asked on average how long the eviction process took.
Mark Rayner replied that, in the past this has been two weeks, however this was
being done in line with common law for which a court order was not required and
meant it was significantly quicker.
Councillor Bernard Lea suggested there were weaknesses with the protocol for
managing unauthorised encampments, particularly in terms of the liaison and
coordination between the relevant agencies making particular reference to
involvement of Magistrates Court. Mark Rayner replied there was a need to liaise
with Magistrates Court as a common law process was now used in evictions. This
had been adopted following a review of procedures and was found to be the most
suitable approach in most cases, though there would always be instances where
some evictions would be longer than others.
Councillor Gina Loveday referred to the statistics in relation to the number of
unauthorised encampments on council land which during the period 2010 to date,
which amounted to 27 sites. She sought clarification as to whether this meant a
number of different encampments on individual sites, which in some cases may
have meant they were occupied on more than one occasions, rather than the total
number of different sites across the city. Mark Rayner confirmed that this was the
case.
Councillor Bernard Lee asked whether the protocol for managing unauthorised
encampments required formal approval from the Lead Member for Housing. Sarah
Clayton replied that as an operational protocol it did not require such approval but
the Lead Member for Housing had been consulted thoroughly on it.
Inspector Robert Findlow said there was an anomaly in the protocol in that, it
proposed enforcement action be taken when one caravan was illegally parked on a
site, however, current legislation only allowed measures to be taken when there
were two or more caravans.
In response to a questions as to what efforts were made to prevent returns to sites
where unauthorised encampments had been removed, Inspector Robert Findlow
replied that registration number of vehicles were taken but enforcement was
difficult. In the traveller community it was common for vehicles to be used by more
than one person and although photographic evidence could be used to identify
individuals, to prevent them returning to sites, this had a tendency to inflame the
situation when evictions were being enacted.
Councillor Christine Hudson referred to the issue of waste and litter caused by
encampments, particularly once sites had been vacated. Brian Edwards replied this
was recognised as a particular problem and various approaches had been made to
resolve it, but had always proved difficult to enforce. Sarah Clayton added that, the
committees input would be welcomed with regard to possible solution to address
the problem of waste and litter on the sites on unauthorised encampments,
together with their support to implement these.
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Neighbourhoods Overview & Scrutiny Committee
20th June, 2011
Councillor Graham Compton asked whether all the partner agencies felt the
protocol was an adequate tool in dealing with the management of unauthorised
encampments. Sarah Clayton said the protocol had been drawn up in consultation
with all the agencies and they had all signed up to it, so it was seen as effective.
Councillor Bernard Lea suggested the management of the eviction process was not
clearly defined particularly there was no named single point of contact. Mark
Rayner replied Andy Mullen, from Urban Vision, fulfilled this role, although he
would be happy to answer any questions that elected members had as and when
they arose.
RESOLVED: THAT Sarah Clayton, Mark Rayner, Brian Edwards and Inspector
Robert Findlow be thanked for their presentation, the contents of which was noted:
and provisionally they be invited back to a future meeting to provide an update on
progress, particularly the operation of the protocol for managing unauthorised
encampments in practice, together with any impact the closure of Salford
Magistrates Courts has had on the legal process.
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