Agenda and minutes

Apologies had been received from Councillors June Nelson and David Yarrow. Councillor Anita MacDonald attended in Councillor June Nelson’s place.

There were no declarations of interests notified.

It was confirmed that all items on the agenda marked as Part 1 would be considered in public.

The minutes of the meeting held on 27 March 2012 and 10 May 2012 were agreed as an accurate record of the meeting and signed by the Chairman.

Mitigating the Environmental Effects of Telecommunication Masts and Cabinets in the London Borough of Hillingdon and Beyond – 2011/2012 

The meeting was informed that following a press release on the Committee’s recent review on the Mitigating the Environmental Effects of Telecommunication Masts and Cabinets in the London Borough of Hillingdon and Beyond, a number of queries had been raised.  It was also noted that the press release had generated particular interest from residents.

Khat – 2010/2011

 Members were informed that the review on Khat had resulted in raising interest from a number of non-profitable organisations that were working with users of Khat and their families. These organisations had indicated that they intended to work together to produce a ‘Khat Awareness’ leaflet for residents.

The Chairman welcomed Jean Palmer, Deputy Chief Executive and Corporate Director who had attended the meeting to assist with queries that Committee members may have during the discussion of their possible review topics for 2012/2013.

The Chairman advised that following a recent press release on cemeteries, Councillor Jonathan Bianco, Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Business Services had suggested that perhaps the Committee could consider the possibility of undertaking a review on cemeteries and Bereavement. Members indicated that should the Committee agree to carry out a review of this topic, particular attention should be focussed on the areas of policies/ guidance/ byelaws/rules/and security currently in place. These areas should be looked at in order to ascertain how their operation was supported and how they ensured that the Council provided a quality service for all its residents. In addition, the Committee indicated that the capacity of cemeteries should also be investigated, as there had been concerns raised about the issue of cemeteries reaching their capacities. 

During discussion it was noted that Cemeteries and Bereavement were two large areas and these should be reviewed separately.

Pest infestation/waste management was suggested as a second topic for a possible review. The Committee agreed that this issue had gained increasing coverage on the news recently and acknowledged that all residents in the Borough were likely to be affected by this issue in some way.

Officers advised that with regard to the topic of pest infestation, there was currently a review being undertaken of the service that provided support in this area. It was noted that many of the services that were previously provided by the Council were no longer being provided. Therefore, in light of the on-going service review in this area, the Committee indicated that it would consider carrying out a review on pest infestation/waste management later on in the year. 

Following discussion, the Committee agreed to conduct its first review on the topic of Cemeteries. Officers were requested to submit a draft scoping report to the next Committee meeting for discussion. 

Resolved

The Committee agreed to consider a scoping report at its next meeting on its first review on cemeteries with the second possible review topic being on pest infestation/waste management.

Resolved

The Committee agreed the Work Programme for 2012/13.

Resolved

The Committee agreed the Forward Plan.