Agenda item

The Community Environmental Health and Trading Standards Manager presented the Activity and Performance Data, Quarter 2 2024/2025 report, and in doing so the following key points were highlighted: -

Activity Data

The second quarter of 2024/5 was yet another damp affair.  This had impacted on at least one or two of our measures. Worcestershire continued to be a draw for outdoor activities with a range of events and festivals continuing to feature now we were beyond the pandemic, the crowds appeared to be returning, but it was clear that this was not to everyone’s liking.

Some 891 proactive interventions at food businesses were undertaken during the year to date, with only 3% resulting in a business being rated as "non-compliant" (i.e., being issued a rating of 0, 1, or 2). A higher proportion of non-compliant ratings continued to be issued to the takeaway sector and small retailers.

The overall number of Licensing cases recorded between 1st April 2024 and 30th September 2024 represents an increase of 5% compared to 2022/23 and an increase of 6% compared to 2023/24. Applications had fallen slightly following the Q1 peak, probably reflecting that most businesses had tried to get their Temporary Event notices served well ahead of time.

The number of Licensing enquiries, such as queries about regulations, by-laws, and licence conditions, invariably exceeded the number of actual Licensing complaints. Of the actual complaints received during the year to date, approximately 43% had related to taxi licensing, such as reports of poor driver behaviour, unauthorised parking, or poor driving standards, and 21% were related to alcohol licensing, usually indications that a business may be breaching the licensing objectives. A further 14% of complaints related to animal licensing with most cases relating to the unlicensed breeding and/or sale of dogs. Work remained on-going during the period in relation to the investigations relating to Operation Lisbon 2.

Planning enquiries continued to show an increasing number of cases, with volumes between 1st April 2024 and 30th September 2024 representing an increase of 26% compared to 2022/23 and 16% compared to 2023/24. Approximately 90% of enquiries had been consultations for air quality, contaminated land, and nuisance.  Around 20% of enquiries continued to be processed, on a contractual basis, on behalf of other local authorities.

The overall trend on dog related complaints and enquiries remained slightly upwards, officers a significant increase in strays compared to Q1. Most of the cases had been reports of lost or stray dogs with most categorised as "contained strays," meaning dogs were found and held by members of the public. There had, however, been a notable increase in the number of dogs picked up with welfare concerns and subsequently requiring veterinary treatment or examination. Around 55% of dogs were successfully reunited with their owners, although this figure varied between district authorities. The number of dog control complaints remained  low, with 42 complaints received during the year to date, 19 of which related to dogs which were persistently straying from residential properties and 12 related to dog fouling.

Performance

Compliments continue to significantly outnumber complaints.

The overall rate of noise complaints against population was 0.67, lower than the figure at this point last year (0.79,) and well below the figures at Q2 in the most recent years (0.9, 1.08, 0.94 and 0.85, respectively.) This was again a good reflection of the poor weather over the Spring and Summer.

Income brought in during the first half of 2024/25 was £258,989, which was slightly higher than the previous two years (£204,718 and £232,520 respectively,) and significantly up on the 2-years before this. Using the historic budget figure for 2016/17 (£3,017.000) to maintain the comparison with previous years, this came out at 8.6% of that budget. Looking back at this point over recent years for comparison, the figures were 6.8%, 7.7%, 5.42%, 4.37%, 5.3% and 4.7% going back to 2018/19. The figure was approximately 5.7% of current revenue budget, so still healthy.

Members expressed some concern with regard to the notable increase in the number of dogs being picked up with welfare concerns and subsequently requiring veterinary treatment or examination. Members questioned if this was due to the deliberate abandonment of dogs that had been mistreated?

The Technical Services Manager, WRS explained that these dogs had not been deliberately abandoned due to mistreatment, but due to the cost of living increase and feeding their dogs or not being able to afford veterinary costs. Plus, with a lot of dogs purchased or homed during the pandemic, owners had not been able to socialise their dogs, and some dogs could have been purchased with underlying conditions. Also, dogs that had not been groomed properly which leads to dirty, matted fur, therefore making them more prone to fleas and ticks.

Following a question from the Board on the recruitment of the five new officers into the Community Environmental Health Teams, the Community Environmental Health and Trading Standards Manager announced that all five positions had now been recruited into and that the new team members would receive the required training enabling them to be embedded into the team.

With the agreement of the Chairman, Councillor A. Scott, Worcester City Council referred to the new Business and Planning Act 2020, Pavement Licensing policy.  Councillor Scott commented that Worcester City probably received the vast majority of Pavement Licensing Applications, and that the policy had recently been presented to a meeting of the Licensing Committee, whereby Members had suggested a number of amendments. Councillor Scott took the opportunity to invite Board Members to look at the suggested amendments made.

The Director of WRS highlighted that licensing was a reserved matter and therefore each partner authority may / could have a different Pavement Licensing policy tailored to their authorities’ local needs and demographics.

RESOLVED that the Activity and Performance Data Quarter 2 2024/25, be noted and that Members use the contents of the report in their own reporting back to their respective partner authority.