Agenda item

The Chairman made the following announcements:

a)    Street Trading

Currently there is not a harmonised street trading policy for the Wiltshire Council area.

The Licensing Committee agreed to introduce a new harmonised consent street trading scheme across the Wiltshire Council area. This will provide a flexible means of controlling street trading activity and allow greater scope for local involvement in decision making through a thorough consultation process for all applications for Street Trading Consents.

An executive summary of the proposed scheme is available in the agenda and a full copy of the proposed scheme and consultation survey is available on the Wiltshire Council website. All interested parties should return written responses to the Wiltshire Council Licensing Team by 17 March.

If members of the public or interested groups would like to complete the survey form, the survey is available on the Wiltshire Council website at http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/council/consultations.htm.

b)   Public Protection Enforcement Policy

The Public Protection Service is reviewing its enforcement policy, and is seeking views from interested stakeholders. 

The policy deals with the entire range of legislation administered by the Public Protection Service covering all environmental health and trading standards powers, as well as any relevant community safety and emergency planning laws.  The draft enforcement policy is on the council's website.

http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/environmentandplanning/publicprotection/publicprotectionenforcementpolicy.htm

c) Fairtrade

Fairtrade is based on the idea that small producers in the developing world should be paid a price for their produce that covers the cost of production and gives the family a living wage. The producer makes a long term agreement in advance with the Fairtrade purchasing company that ensures a guaranteed minimum price.

The Fairtrade mark on products is a guarantee that adherence to the agreement is being monitored. It has been in existence for 16 years and is now widely recognised though not necessarily widely understood.

The success of the Fairtrade movement so far is due in large part to the efforts of small local groups with the support of larger organisations. There are nine towns in Wiltshire which have achieved the status of Fairtrade town awarded by the Fairtrade Foundation.

The Wiltshire Fairtrade Coalition is an association of local Fairtrade town groups, businesses, other organisations and individuals working to promote understanding and uptake of Fairtrade produce.  The coalition offers mutual support and encouragement to members and aims to make Wiltshire a Fairtrade county.

d)   Childcare Sufficiency Statement

Local authorities have a duty, under the Childcare Act 2006, to assess the sufficiency of childcare in their area and produce a report. Wiltshire’s second report has now been drafted and it is out for consultation on the Wiltshire Council website: http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/schoolseducationandlearning/earlyyearsandchildcare/childcaresufficiencyassessment.htm.

Any comments should be forwarded to the early years team using the response sheet provided on the website by 20 March 2011. The final report will be published on the website before 1 April 2011.

Further information is available from earlyyears@wiltshire.gov.uk

e) Outcome of Leisure Review

Wiltshire Council's Cabinet has considered the results of the extensive consultation exercise undertaken between July and October and approved a refined proposal which shall;

·          Retain a strategic view and ensure that the indoor leisure facilities are a key component of the emerging community campus programme.

·         Ensure that the indoor leisure facility service in Wiltshire will be enhanced which creates more opportunities for local people to actively pursue a healthy lifestyle.

·         Give a clear message about the Council’s commitment to providing high quality and efficient local services.

·         Deliver a refined proposal that has been directly shaped by local people.

The Council has been clear about its proposals to transfer some of the local facilities to the community to manage. The Council will now consider the proposal to transfer these facilities in a wider strategic context to enable it to assess the impact of a potential transfer alongside other council buildings and services. This will enable the Council to consider the practicalities and options for wider campus developments.

The Council’s approach is intended to retain community involvement in the campus development project as it is recognised that local input is critical to success.

This refined proposal for leisure acts as a pre-cursor to a report that the Workplace Transformation Team will present to Cabinet on 15^th February 2011 that sets out the high level principles behind a sustainable and affordable campus development project.

Assuming the Council approves the proposed way forward, the Council will continue to work closely with Area board and this will provide the method whereby interested local people and organisations will be able to get directly involved. The Council is keen to continue the on-going dialogue which has already been established with local community groups regarding the local management of services and the Workplace Transformation Team will attend the next Westbury Area Board meeting in April to discuss the proposals further.