Agenda item

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“Relevant Background Information

      The figures presented in this report cover the second quarter of the financial year i.e. the period from July 2008 to September 2008.  Monitoring figures were measured by Cleansing Services Quality Officers.  Enforcement, and Education and Awareness information was supplied by the Customer Support Service, and the Community Awareness Section within Cleansing Services, who were responsible for these functions over the period concerned.

      The monthly monitoring programme consists of a random 5% sample of streets throughout the city being inspected and graded.  From the grading, a Street Cleanliness Index is calculated and plotted for the various areas of the city, and the city as a whole.

      The index range is from 1 to 100, with a Cleanliness Index of 67 being regarded as an acceptable standard by Tidy NI.  The results show the trends on a month to month basis.  To alleviate the influence of spurious results on the overall index, the results are averaged over the last 4 surveys.  Spurious results may occur for reasons such as adverse weather conditions, seasonal problems etc.

Key Issues

      The overall city wide cleanliness index for this quarter is 72.  This is the same as the previous quarter’s cleanliness index of 72.  The index for the same period in the previous year was 69.

      The breakdown by individual area is as follows:

      North

      The North Cleanliness Indices for July 2008 to September 2008 were 72, 70 and 69 respectively.  This represents an increase for July (up 4), August (up 2) and September (up 2), by comparison to those figures for the same period in the previous financial year viz. 68, 68 and 67 respectively. 

      These figures represent a good level of cleanliness for the area.

      South

      The South Cleanliness Indices for July 2008 to September 2008 were 74, 75 and 77 respectively.  This represents a similar score for July and an increase for August (up 8), and September (up 8) by comparison to those figures for the same period in the previous financial year viz. 74, 67 and 69 respectively.

      The area is maintaining a consistently very good level of cleanliness.

      East

      The East Cleanliness Indices for July 2008 to September 2008 were 75, 76 and 73 respectively.  This represents an increase for July (up 5), August (up 1), and September (up 5), by comparison to those figures for the same period in the previous financial year viz. 70, 75 and 68 respectively.  The area is maintaining a consistently very good level of cleanliness.

      West

      The West Cleanliness Indices for July 2008 to September 2008 were 71, 72 and 67 respectively.  This represents an increase for July (up 4) and August (up 5), and a similar score for September, by comparison to those figures for the same period in the previous financial year viz. 67, 67 and 67 respectively.

      These figures represent a consistently good level of cleanliness for the area.

      Central

      The Central Cleanliness Indices for July 2008 to September 2008 were 74, 70 and 68 respectively.  This represents an increase for July (up 6), and a decrease for August (down 4) and September (down 5), by comparison to those figures for the same period in the previous financial year viz. 68, 74 and 73 respectively.

      Changes in the levels of litter have contributed to the reduction in scores over this period e.g. in August, Smoking related litter rose by 9% and Fast Food related litter rose by 21%.  In September, Confectionary related litter rose by 26%, Smoking related litter rose by 39% and ‘Other’ related litter (e.g. papers, elastic bands, cardboard etc) rose by 23%. 

      These figures however still represent a good level of cleanliness for the area.

      Complaints/Enquiries

      There were 1315 complaints/enquiries regarding street cleansing during the quarter (by comparison to 1165 last quarter).

      There were 7 Corporate Complaints (7 Stage One, 0 Stage Two and 0 Stage Three) during the quarter – none of which related to street cleansing.

      Enforcement

      There were 432 Fixed Penalty Notices issued under the Litter (NI) Order 1994, and 78 summonses issued.  In addition 136 Article 20 Notices were issued requesting information.

      Community & Education Projects

      During the last quarter, the Community Awareness Team organised 26 cleanups involving 760 volunteers.

      The team has attended a number of summer scheme activities during the quarter involving 533 participants.  The team also attended the Biodiversity day at Belfast Zoo, Queens Freshers day and the Garden gourmet event in Botanic gardens.

Resource Implications

      There are no financial, human resources, asset or other implications in this report.

Recommendation

      The Committee is requested to note the contents of the report.”

            The Committee adopted the recommendation.