Agenda and minutes

This meeting is to be webcast and the Chairman will read the following announcement:

“I would like to remind everyone present that this meeting will be broadcast live to the internet and will be capable of subsequent repeated viewing, with copies of the recording being made available for those that request it.

By being present at this meeting, it is likely that the recording cameras will capture your image and this will result in your image becoming part of the broadcast.

You should be aware that this may infringe your human and data protection rights, and if you have any concerns then please speak to the Webcasting Officer.

Please could I also remind Members and Officers to activate their microphones before speaking.”

The Chairman reminded everyone present that the meeting would be broadcast live to the Internet, and that the Council had adopted a protocol for the webcasting of its meetings.

To report the appointment of any substitute members for the meeting.

There were no substitutions reported at the meeting.

Cllr Lea was nominated, seconded and voted as Vice-Chairman for the meeting as Cllr McCann had provided apologies for the meeting.

To declare interests in any item on the agenda.

In considering whether to declare a pecuniary or a non-pecuniary interest under the Council’s Code of Conduct, Members are requested to pay particular attention to paragraph (11) of the Code in addition to the more familiar requirements.

This requires the declaration of a non-pecuniary interest in any matter before Overview & Scrutiny which relates to a decision of or action by another Committee or Sub-Committee of the Council, a Joint Committee or Joint Sub-Committee in which the Council is involved and of which the Councillor is also a Member.

Paragraph (11) of the Code of Conduct does not refer to Cabinet decisions or attendance at an Overview & Scrutiny meeting purely for the purpose of answering questions or providing information on such a matter.

There were no declarations of interest made pursuant to the Council’s Members’ Code of Conduct.

To carry out appropriate external scrutiny of Transport for London (TfL), to address the concerns of residents. The attached report summarises the themes and questions submitted to TfL.

The Chairman welcomed Jasmit Jabbal – Community Partnerships Specialist and James Kealey – Engagement Officer from TfL to the meeting, and advised members of the Committee that the scrutiny of TfL would use the themes 1 to 4 from questions that members had submitted in advance of the meeting.

The Committee raised several queries and were advised as follows:

Theme 1 was summarised as, the short to medium term concerns about Central Line service levels and progress on rolling stock and track improvements.

      I.        Progress on Central Line Improvement Programme (CLIP).

There was long-term investment through the Central Line Improvement Programme (CLIP). This £500m programme would boost future reliability, provide wheelchair bays, better customer information systems, CCTV in carriages and new seating. The first completely refurbished train was now in customer service.  The original timescale had slipped due to a range of factors, this included financial constraints, the impact of COVID and unexpected motor failures on the trains. TfL confirmed that all trains should now be upgraded by the end of 2029.  One refurbished train had entered service and a second train was being tested. The refurbished trains would not be air conditioned.

    II.        Current Service levels on the Central Line and Loop.

There had been specific issues with the motors on the trains that had an impact on the central line service. The full fleet of trains running on the 85 trains in service, but 55 were running, numbers were depleted due to the unexpected motor failures, corrective works and refitting motors were being carried and trains were being put back into service and improvement should be seen.     TfL confirmed that normal service should run to 85 trains in, service but could not commit to a timescale for the repairs to be completed.

   III.        Members derided the lack of direct service on the loop, the disparity between services to different station, queried the number and frequency of trains, and timetabling issues.

The rationale for scheduling trains was carried out using demand information TfL would provide a written answer to the Committee

  IV.        Levels of noise and vibration on trains.

Engineering solutions and buffering of the tracks could reduce noise and vibration, emptier trains could be noisier and in the long term the refurbishment of trains should assist in this.

Theme 2 was linked to resourcing issues around station facilities and staffing levels, including carparks and increased parking charges.

    V.        The cleanliness and quality toilets at stations, fare dodging and people pushing through barriers to avoid payment, disabled access at all stations specific issues with Loughton and crossing between platforms at Epping, safety on trains and in the locality of the stations, the cleanliness and quality toilets at stations, localised littering.

TfL would raise these issues and provide contact details for station managers in the district, the managers were best placed to resolve local issues.

There was a long term ambition to ensure step free access at stations, this was dependant on funding, as there were and specific  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

The next meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee will be held on Tuesday 19 Novemebr 2024 at 7pm.

The date of the next meetin was noted as the 19 November 2024.