Issue - meetings

That (A) a Shared Waste and Street Cleansing Service with North Herts District Council (NHDC) be implemented and a joint contract for these services be procured;

(B)     a report be brought forward in the Autumn 2016 advising of progress and recommending award criteria for the joint contract; and

(C)    the Ambassador and Executive Member for Shared Services be given delegated authority to make minor changes to the scope of the shared service in consultation with North Herts District Council.

The Leader of the Council advised that since the agenda had been published, the documents forming the Outline Business Case at Essential Reference Papers ‘B’ and ‘B1’, had been classified as containing exempt information as defined by paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.  She asked Members to treat these papers with care and advised that, if any Member wished to ask any detailed questions on the contents of these, the meeting could exclude the press and public.

The Ambassador and Executive Member for Shared Services submitted a report seeking approval for a Shared Waste and Street Cleansing Service with North Herts District Council.  He detailed the specific proposals in the Outline Business Case, at Essential Reference Paper ‘B’ of the report submitted.  In particular, he highlighted how the projected savings would be achieved from the proposed shared service.

The Executive approved the proposals as now detailed.

RESOLVED - that (A) a Shared Waste and Street Cleansing Service with North Herts District Council (NHDC) be implemented and a joint contract for these services be procured;

(B)      a report be brought forward in the Autumn 2016 advising of progress and recommending award criteria for the joint contract; and

(C)      the Ambassador and Executive Member for Shared Services be given delegated authority to make minor changes to the scope of the shared service in consultation with North Herts District Council.

The Ambassador and Executive Member for Shared Services submitted a report setting out proposals for a shared Waste and Street Cleansing Service with North Herts District Council (NHDC).  The Head of Environmental Services and Leisure provided a summary of the report.

The Head reminded Members of previous decisions resulting in the current proposals. Specifically, he referred Members to Essential Reference Paper ‘B’ of the report submitted, for the results of that detailed work. He stated that the ‘Strategic Outline Case’ (SOC), considered by the Committee last year had provided a high level assessment of likely risks, costs, savings and outcomes and short-listed options for further evaluation. This had shown that there were potentially significant savings to be made from a shared service.  The more detailed report presented indicated greater savings than previously estimated, totalling £707,000 per annum for both Authorities, of which £213,000 would accrue to East Herts Council.

Members were advised of the detailed guiding principles of a shared service for waste and street cleansing as well as the main drivers behind this approach.  The main advantage would be efficiency savings without a reduction in the quality of service provided by either Authority.

Members were advised of the detailed governance arrangements of the proposed shared service.  The Head stated that if the shared service was approved by both Authorities, then the procurement would commence in the autumn with a contract being awarded in spring 2017 to commence in May 2018.

In response to a query from Councillor K Crofton, the Head detailed the differences between the waste and street cleansing regimes at both Authorities.  He advised that there would be no problems in absorbing the differences within any new shared contract.

The Head confirmed to Councillor M McMullen that there were differences in the contractual costs in place at both Authorities.  He summarised some of the key differences and emphasised that the terms of conditions of all the contractor’s operatives involved were protected by the Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment (TUPE) regulations.

The Head responded to a number of other queries from the Committee regarding the recycling performance of NHDC and the amounts of the various types of waste produced in both Districts.  He stated that the current refuse trucks were the latest Euro 5 compliant diesel vehicles and technology was in use to monitor how they were being driven to maximise efficiency and save on fuel costs.

Members were advised that more fuel efficient electric and gas/diesel powered vans were on the road but the cost and efficiency of using such technology in large refuse trucks was currently questionable. 

The Committee received the report and recommended to the Executive that the implementation of a Shared Waste and Street Cleansing Service with NHDC and the procurement of a joint contract be approved.

RESOLVED – that (A) the report be received; and

(B)   the Executive be advised that Environment Scrutiny Committee supports the implementation of a Shared Waste and Street Cleansing Service with North Herts District Council (NHDC)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 108