Agenda item

REPORT OF THE SERVICE DIRECTOR – PLACE

To inform Cabinet that officers are currently undergoing a competitive dialogue procurement and are seeking a decision from Cabinet on further service design options that can be considered in order to achieve the long[1]term financial sustainability of the service and the Council.

RESOLVED:

(1) That Cabinet agreed the service changes described in 8.2 c) of the report relating to the three-weekly collection of separated paper and cardboard predominantly in bins and the three weekly collection of the remaining dry mixed recycling (A 3,3,3 cycle as described in Appendix 3) be implemented as part of the new waste recycling and street cleansing contract which commences in 2025, the implementation date shall be delegated to the Service Director: Place in consultation with Project Board (in any event to be within four months of contract commencement).

(2) That Cabinet agreed that in the event that the Council is required to make a decision to provide fortnightly collection of residual waste that the dry recycling service shall be fully commingled.

(3) That Cabinet agreed the service changes described in 8.2 d) of the report relating to the removal of the requirement for a continuous street cleansing presence in town centres and moving the back to standard time to 9am be implemented as part of the new waste recycling and street cleansing contract in 2025.

(4) That Cabinet agreed the service changes described in 8.2 e) relating to a removal of approximately 30% of litter bins from predominantly outside the town centres be implemented during the mobilisation of new waste recycling and street cleansing contract for 2025.

(5) That Cabinet agreed the service changes described in 8.2 f) relating to a change to an input specification for high-speed road cleansing to once per year be implemented as part of the new waste recycling and street cleansing contract in 2025.

(6) That Cabinet agreed the service changes described in 8.2 g) relating to the removal of dedicated seasonal leaf fall management be implemented as part of the new waste recycling and street cleansing contract in 2025.

(7) That Cabinet agreed the service changes described in 8.2 h) relating to an extension of the bin delivery/repair Service Level Agreement (SLA) from 5 days to 9 days being implemented as part of the new waste recycling and street cleansing contract in 2025.

(8) That Cabinet agreed the service changes described in 8.2 i) relating to an extension of the missed bin rectification SLA from 5pm the next working day to 72 hours except for missed whole streets which will remain 5pm the next working day, being implemented as part of the new waste recycling and street cleansing contract in 2025.

(9) That Cabinet agreed the service changes described in 8.2 j) relating to a change in street cleansing SLAs being implemented as part of the new waste recycling and street cleansing contract in 2025.

(10) That Cabinet agreed the service changes described in 8.2 k) relating to reducing the number of items collected as part of bulky waste services from six to three being implemented as part of the new waste recycling and street cleansing contract in 2025.

(11) That Cabinet noted that the Capital expenditure identified in 10.3 of this report will need to be added to the Capital programme as part ofthe 2024/25 budget process.

REASONS FOR DECISIONS:

(1) The initial tenders that were received identified that significant cost increases are likely from the waste, recycling and street cleansing services in the next contract. The competitive dialogue procurement process allows the Council to explore service design options which may present benefits to the Council.

(2) Officers have considered the initial offers from bidders and discussed opportunities for specification changes with them, which are aligned with the Council’s aims for high performance, but that will reduce the costs to the Council with minimal impacts on perceived performance.

Audio recording – 22 minutes 40 seconds

The Executive Member for Recycling and Waste presented the report entitled ‘Waste, Recycling and Street Cleansing Contract Service Design’ and advised that:

· This was the largest spend on service contracts each year for the Council and it was a very high-profile service.

· This service had a significant impact on finances and it also influenced the ability to reach carbon reduction.

· The decision reached would also affect our partner East Herts Council and Hertfordshire County Council.

· During the summer of 2022 officers had worked with Members and partners to design a service to meet financial and environmental sustainability objectives.

· Officers had taken this to the market through a procurement process and were currently in dialogue with the bidders.

· The aim was to reduce the burden of significant cost increases that the Council would face if changes were not made at this stage of the procurement.

· The proposed changes to waste collection gave residents more opportunities to recycle by providing more recycling capacity.

· The financial implications were discussed in Part 2 of the report.

· The procurement timeline was tight and Members were asked to be mindful of the significant negative impact that would result by delays in procurement.

The following Members asked questions:

· Councillor Alistair Willoughby

· Councillor Elizabeth Dennis

· Councillor Ruth Brown

In response to questions, the Service Manager – Waste advised that:

· There would be a window of opportunity to change the contract once signed in relation to anticipated changes, such as decisions arising from the outcome of the government consultation to waste collection guidance.

· The specification of three weekly residual waste collections presented financial and environmental benefits.

· Extended Producer Responsibility targeted to be introduced from October 2024. However, the charging system to businesses was unknown and Councils would need to be able to demonstrate that they were effective and efficient in their operations. The definition of effective and efficient was also unknown.

· The government wanted to implement the introduction of the deposit return scheme in 2025.

· The Council was still waiting for clarity regarding the new burdens funding.

· For extended producer responsibility the government expects it to generate new funding for Councils to improve collection of packaging waste. Our new service design includes the collection of soft plastics from 2025 alongside the new three weekly collection service.

· The bidders generally operate zonal systems for waste collections which means that they would still collect missed bins swiftly. But allowing a longer target allows the bidders to reduce their risk pricing against the performance management regime.

· The proposals would help manage costs with no significant impact to residents on service levels.

· The SLA on bin deliveries ensured that residents would always have a bin for their next collection.

During the debate, Councillor Ian Albert advised that the Council needed to make sure it provided a quality and affordable service that worked well for its residents.

Councillor Elizabeth Dennis advised that the Council had a statutory duty to provide waste collection for its residents despite local government finances being tight. She was proud that North Herts Council put its people first by working hard to find positive solutions when there was uncertainly around what the government would propose regarding recycling and waste.

Councillor Steve Jarvis advised that the proposed arrangements for the collection of waste would go some way to addressing the problems that residents raised and that this proposal would increase recycling and make the service easier to use.

The Service Manager – Waste advised that North Herts Councils household waste per head was less than the top performing council, which was an achievement.

Councillor Ruth Brown advised that this service design would not only meet residents needs and reduce carbon emissions, but would also encourage people to recycle more and reduce their overall waste consumption.

Councillor Amy Allen proposed and Councillor Steve Jarvis seconded and, following a vote, it was: