Purpose

To review a proposed restructure of the
Community Warden Service, including the Straying Dogs
provision.

Content

Exempt Paragraphs 1 & 4 –
Information Relating to an
Individual; and
 
Information relating to any
consultations or negotiations, or contemplated consultations or
negotiations, in connection with any labour relations matter
arising between the authority or a Minister of the Crown and
employees of, or office holders under the authority.

RESOLVED

That the
Cabinet:

a)     
approves Option 2 for the Community Warden Service, as set out in
Section 6 of the report and to note the Community Protection Team
– Proposed Service Model and Structure (Appendix A of report
HCS/064)
 
b)     
delegates authority to the Head of Community Services to conduct
the necessary consultation arrangements, fulfil the changes and
decisions on all human resources matters, subject to the
appropriate guidelines and procedures, as set out in the
Constitution.

(Generic Delegation 11 will be used to enact this
recommendation)
 
c)     
delegates authority to the Head of Community Services to conduct a
tender process and procurement exercise in accordance with the
Council’s Procurement Code, for the straying dogs service to
be delivered by a specialist provider.
(Generic Delegation 3 will be used to enact this
recommendation)
 

d)     
delegates authority to the Head of Community Services, in
consultation with the relevant Cabinet Member and Head of
Governance, People and Performance to approve the contract award of
the straying dogs service following an appropriate procurement
process.
(Generic Delegation 3 will be used to enact this
recommendation)
 
e)     
delegates the negotiation, approval, and completion of all relevant
legal documentation, following the awarding of the contract, to the
relevant head of service, Head of Governance, People and
Performance, and Head of Corporate Finance, in consultation with
the appropriate Cabinet Member.

(Generic Delegations 2 & 3 will be used to
enact this recommendation)

Reasons for the
Recommendations
 
The conclusion of the review is
that the current service model is, in parts, no longer fit for
purpose and is not designed to meet the increased level of demand
for more complex enforcement activity.

 
Revising the role profiles and
salary scale as recommended is critical to ensuring the Council can
attract and retain staff with the required specialist skills,
qualifications and experience to deliver a high performing and
quality service.

 
The proposed revised Community
Protection model (attached as Appendix A) will modernise the
service in order to meet the identified demands namely, providing
local residents with an enhanced enforcement response to
anti-social behaviour, low level public-space crime and
environmental crime.  

 
The straying dogs service
continues to face challenges related to the size, breeds and
behaviour of dogs, and Crawley is facing a similar national trend
of an increase in abandoned dogs, rather than lost pets. To
successfully address this service requirement, the recommendation
is to procure and enter into a contract with a specialist provider
for the straying dog service to fulfil this function. 

 
The recommendation is to
refresh the Community Wardens Service including all associated
functions, processes and procedures and relaunch it as the
Community Protection Team which will deliver enhanced enviro-crime
and ASB investigation and enforcement activity.