The committee discussed the Compliance and Enforcement Services - Performance in 2022/23 report. This report provides an update on demand for and performance of the Compliance and Enforcement service during 2022/23. The report also provides a forward look at on- going and new challenges as a result of changes to legislation, policy and areas of growth that will have an impact on the work carried out by Compliance & Enforcement teams. The members scrutinized the report in three sections; the neighbourhood compliance, neighbourhood crimes and neighbourhood project teams. The report was praised for its detail and comprehensive oversight of the work done ‘on the ground’ by these teams across Manchester.
The committee raised the question – how can we benchmark ‘good’ in Manchester’s context – are we benchmarking against other city councils? It was answered that in Manchester our neighbourhood teams operate differently, and conduct more work around compliance enforcement than most other Local Authorities across England, therefore the data of comparison is not available. Manchester does work within the core cities network to be aware of others’ initiatives whilst being mindful of the unique configuration of the compliance services in Manchester. When asked about response to graffiti on private property, the committee was assured that removal of offensive graffiti is the prioritised response. Committee raised concern around unlicensed vape sales, evidence of illegal shops selling vapes to minors, question whether there is a proactive plan for trades standards to approach shops selling vapes to check compliance. Compliance team and trading standard team work closely with public health bodies, police and trading standards at the national level and targeted work in response to Cllrs and residents to gather intel to act on, with use of test purchasing and reactive basis in response to intel. Seeking to lobby for stronger regulations in response to vaping as an exponential environment and health concern in Manchester.
Committee registered shock in numerous cases of unlawful evictions and dangerous housing conditions, primarily residencies with damp and mould. Would more resources help mitigate these dangers, how much resource is proportionally devoted to housing enforcement services. Is there additional resources for private home standards enforcements? Answer: funding streams are numerous, grant funding, selective funding, and beyond, therefore it is difficult to be sure of the exact proportion of funding of neoighbourhood teams devoted to housing. The compliance and enforcement team are collaborating with the homelessness sector and voluntary sector in North Manchester specifically around poor housing conditions in these wards. Where these sectors identify issues, the enforcement team will always act along fastest route to get residents into safer housing conditions. The enforcement teams are now accessing more properties and holding all landlords to account, including private landlords. More can be done around selective and landlord licensing, which shall be another tool to improve housing conditions. There can also be more done to bring empty homes back into use to tackle the housing crisis in Manchester.
Committee then scrutinized the Climate Change Action Plan quarterly for the City Council, identifying challenges, achievements and updates from the last quarter (October – December).Broadly, progress is being made, the climate change partnership has agreed to progress Manchester towards climate literate city status. This is a deep education piece for residents and will likely improve outcomes around emissions.
Compliance and Enforcement Services - Performance in 2022/23 - https://democracy.manchester.gov.uk/documents/s44705/Compliance%20and%2…;
Manchester City Council Climate Change Action Plan Quarterly Progress Report: Quarter 3 (October – December 2023) - https://democracy.manchester.gov.uk/documents/s44618/Q3%20Report%20CCAP…;
Manchester Airport and Aviation Emissions - https://democracy.manchester.gov.uk/documents/s44614/Manchester%20Airpo…;
Greater Manchester Clean Air Plan Update -https://democracy.manchester.gov.uk/documents/s44866/Clean%20Air%20Plan…;