Agenda item

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1       A report outlining the ongoing recovery of the pest control service was presented to Committee in June of this year. The report highlighted some of the difficulties faced by the pest control team in resuming home treatments and other aspects of the service. We agreed to keep the recovery of the service and the measures we had put in place under close review and the purpose of this report is to update Members on the current position.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to note the current position and waiting times for pest control services and the actions being taken to manage its ongoing recovery.

3.0       Main report

3.1       In the June committee report Members were reminded of the significant impact the pandemic has had on the staff and delivery therefore delivery of service due to furlough, contact tracing and shielding etc.  However, despite significantly reduced resources, the Pest Control  service continued to deliver the sewer baiting programme throughout that time and residents were offered advice and information. The tenants of social housing were advised to contact their housing provider to obtain pest control services.

3.2       In September of last year, the service was able to resume some home treatments, however, risk assessments and health and safety controls meant that these could only be provided   for the most vulnerable or if significant public health issues were identified. Most visits were restricted to external only, with officers providing advice and information.

3.3       The pest control team continued to work with Corporate Health and Safety and when transmission rates reduced, and restrictions eased, further risk assessments, with additional safety measures, enabled home treatments to resume in June.

3.4       In planning to resume the home treatments concerns were expressed by staff and Trade Unions that because of high demand for the service and the reduced number of visits that could be made in a day because of the additional safety requirements, there was potential for a long waiting list to build up very quickly. They were concerned about the negative impact that this could have on public perception of the service and, in turn, on staff morale.

3.5       It was proposed to effectively manage the waiting list in the first instance by only undertaking home treatments in private rented sector and owner-occupied property and continuing to refer the tenants of social housing to the Housing Executive and Housing Associations.

3.6       Given that our pest control service for treatment of public health pests are free of charge C&NS does not have an SLA or MoU with the NI Housing Executive or Housing Associations. As such, at the request of Members, the Operational Director wrote to the Chief Executive of the NI Housing Executive and all Housing Associations advising them of our ongoing approach during the pandemic. A letter of response was received from the Housing Executive noting the approach.

3.7       The Operational Director also wrote to Northern Ireland Water regarding areas of the city that have been experiencing significant issues with rats, requesting the sewer systems in those areas be surveyed and any defects repaired. NIW responded positively and has commissioned survey work as requested. We will continue to liaise with NIW regarding the outcome of this work and any further action required.

3.8       Current Position

            Since we resumed the home treatments in June, the waiting time for an internal treatment has fluctuated between 3-5 weeks and currently sits at 2 weeks. Unfortunately, increased transmission rates in Covid-19 and an increase in the number of people self-isolating during July and August has impacted on the home treatment service, with appointments having to be cancelled , sometimes at the time of the actual visit as the information on people self isolating, asked by the visiting officer as a control measure , is only disclosed  by the householder at that point . This coupled with employees testing positive for Covid-19 and others being required to self-isolate because of contact with someone who has tested positive, and summer leave, has made it difficult to manage the waiting time for appointments. We have done this by balancing resources between sewer treatments and home treatments, however the current waiting time for sewer treatments is 3 weeks. All resources are directed at managing these two aspects of our pest control service and we were unable therefore to recover our seasonal service of treating wasp nests.

3.9       In support of the ongoing recovery of the service we are in the process of recruiting a Pest Control Supervisor to provide additional support to the Pest Control Manager and the team. There is also an ongoing review of City Services and the resilience of the pest control service is being considered as part of that review. In the meantime, we are continuing with our current arrangements and controls for recovery of pest control and continue to monitor the waiting times and balance the service in line with guidance from Corporate Health and Safety and Human Resources.

3.10      It has also been established as requested by the committee, and communicated to committee members via email on 1st July 2021, that Elected Members can log requests for service with the Customer Hub for other statutory agencies such as NI Water and NIHE. However, it should be understood that there is no method to track or update these requests when they are external to BCC.

3.11      Financial & Resource Implications

            There are no additional financial implications associated with this report.

3.12      Equality or Good Relations Implications/Rural Needs Assessment

            There are no implications associated with this report.”

            The Committee considered the report, during which several Members expressed the desire to resume pest control services to all citizens of the city, which would include tenants of social housing who had previously been asked during the pandemic to contact their local housing provider.

            During discussion, the Members considered the role of the other statutory agencies and expressed concern that the Council appeared to be the public’s first point of contact with any pest control issue, despite the fact that the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) and Housing Associations also offered a pest control service.  Whilst the Members were in agreement that they wished to see a full resumption of pest control services to all ratepayers, there was a general consensus that there also needed to be an emphasis placed on the NIHE and local Housing Associations to pick up the costs of the Council providing this service on their behalf.  The Director of City Services was therefore asked to investigate the establishment of a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with the Housing Executive and Housing Associations, with a view to the Council recouping the costs of providing the service.

            After discussion, the Committee:

·        noted the current position and waiting times for pest control services and agreed to the resumption of pest control services to all ratepayers; and

·        asked officers to investigate the establishment of a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with the NIHE and Housing Associations, with a view to the Council recouping the costs of providing a pest control service and to submit an update report to Committee in due course.