Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Andrew Jones (Cabinet Member for the Economy).

Apologies for lateness were received from Councillor Ashok Patel.

If a Councillor has a disclosable pecuniary interest in a particular item, whether or not it is entered in the Authority’s register of interests, or any other significant interest which they consider should be declared in the public interest, they should declare the existence and, unless it is a sensitive interest as defined in the Member Code of Conduct, the nature of the interest at the commencement of the consideration of that item or as soon as it becomes apparent.

At meetings where members of the public are allowed to be in attendance and speak, any Councillor with a disclosable pecuniary interest or other significant interest may also make representations, give evidence or answer questions about the matter.  The Councillor must then withdraw immediately from the meeting before the matter is discussed and any vote taken.

Where Members of the public are not allowed to be in attendance and speak, then the Councillor with a disclosable pecuniary interest should withdraw from the meeting whilst the matter is under consideration. Councillors who have declared other significant interests should also withdraw from the meeting if they consider their continued participation in the matter would not be reasonable in the circumstances and may give rise to a perception of a conflict of interest.

Councillors are not obliged to withdraw from the meeting where a dispensation to that effect has been obtained from the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting and note any outstanding actions.

The Chair noted the following correction (underlined) on page 11 of the agenda pack.

“That the future work programme include: Sports provisions, Arts and Culture development and Parks.”

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting held on 27 July 2022, with the amendment noted above, were agreed as an accurate record.

This report provides an update on the development of the borough’s new ten-year Cultural Strategy. 

Thomas Dodd (Arts Officer) presented the item updating the Committee on the development of the new borough-wide Cultural Strategy which was due to be published in the first quarter of 2023. Paul James (Activist Group, a consultancy supporting work on the strategy) and Melanie Nock (Executive Director of HF ArtsFest) were also in attendance.

Paul James (Activist Group) gave a short presentation on the work undertaken to date and the next steps. He noted that the aim was to present a full working draft of the new cultural strategy for feedback and comments by members in March 2023.

Councillor Adam Peter Lang asked how the Council was engaging with young people. Paul James said an engagement event had been planned at a local school. Two other schools had expressed an interest in holding engagement events.

Councillor Jackie Borland asked how engagement would be balanced between Hammersmith and Fulham, especially given the stated focus on heritage. Paul James said the intention was for it to be even-handed between the north and south of the borough.

Councillor Liz Collins noted that the cost-of-living crisis had affected the viability of some arts projects in the borough and asked if the Council could explore other funding sources to support them. Paul James said having a cultural strategy was a key first step in the process of unlocking funding from outside sources and that should be reflected in the action plan.

Melanie Nock (Executive Director of HF ArtsFest) asked what the relationship between the Arts Commission report and recommendations was to the new strategy. She also asked if there were quick wins that could be done in the short term. Paul James said the Arts Commission’s recommendations were the starting point for the strategy but there was still more engagement to do before an action plan could be produced.

Councillor Borland asked if all of the borough’s arts groups would be included in the engagement process. Paul James said more groups were being engaged than for the original Arts Commission report. There would also be a generic survey open to everyone and he encouraged members to share it widely when it was released.

Melanie Nock underlined the importance of the smaller arts organisations in the borough. She said it would be welcome, following a long period of engagement, to see more concrete action being taken.

Councillor Sharon Holder (Cabinet Member for Public Realm) addressed the Committee and noted the following points:

·       She asked that the Youth Council took part in the engagement process

·       She felt it was important to ensure Fulham residents were fully engaged and suggested officers do an event at the Fulham Christmas market.

·       She asked officers to ensure that disabled people’s groups were engaged

·       There was no mention of tourism, and she asked officers to look at how to market what the borough has to offer (e.g. black history trails).

The Chair made the following points:

·       Co-production with disabled residents was a focus for H&F and he asked that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

This report outlines the waste prototype collection scheme and the recent survey work undertaken in the areas using the service.

Annie Baker (Assistant Director, Street Environment Service) presented the item that outlined the waste prototype collection scheme and recent survey work undertaken in the areas using the service.

Councillor Adam Peter Lang asked if the pandemic and more people working from home had any impact on waste collection or fly tipping. Annie Baker said the pandemic had changed behaviours, with more food being consumed at home and more home deliveries. She added that the pandemic hadn’t impacted fly tipping significantly.

Councillor Lang asked officers to keep engaging with residents and landlords on any service changes to avoid unnecessary issues. Richard Shwe (Assistant Director of Environment Operations) said the Council was committed to engaging with residents. He noted his surprise when only 3% of residents complained about the prototype service and felt it showed the benefit of working with residents.

Councillor Ashok Patel said residents were encouraged to put wheelie bins out on the street the day before the collection, but he felt they served as an indicator for criminals to know which homes were unoccupied. He suggested the waste collectors could return bins to the garden to avoid this. He noted that in his experience people preferred to put their waste in a black sack and take it to the bin outside, but the survey said otherwise. Annie Baker said bins should be returned to where they were collected from, but if it continued to be an issue it could be looked at. Regarding sacks, she said people were previously putting smaller bin liners from around the home into a black sack but now they could put that waste directly into the bin, removing an item of single use plastic.

Councillor Jackie Borland noted some residents had commented on bins being left in the street after collection. She asked if there was a way to improve that. She also asked why officers thought there had been such a large increase in recycling. Annie Baker said the design of the scheme was to ‘nudge’ people to recycle more – for example the provided bins gave more space for cardboard and other recyclables compared with refuse.

Councillor Borland asked if the Council could offer different options to households based on how much space they had (i.e. homes without the space for a wheelie bin but could fit a food caddie). Annie Baker said only households with space for wheelie bins had been given them and the others got the food waste option.

Councillor Liz Collins noted there was an issue in her area with people stealing bins, so they had to be chained up. She asked if the green bins were free for residents. Annie Baker said the bins were provided without charge but said it was important they were moveable by the crews. Bins that had been stolen or damaged would be replaced.

The Chair thanked officers for the report and congratulated them on the successful prototype scheme. He was encouraged to see increased recycling rates now that food waste  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To note the dates of future meetings:

·        1 February 2023

·       29 March 2023

The following dates of future meetings were noted:

·       1 February 2023 (Rescheduled for 30 January 2023)

·       29 March 2023