Meeting documents

To agree the Minutes of the meeting held on 23 May 2013.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 23 May 2013 were agreed as a correct record.

Inter Authority Agreement (Minute 4)

It was noted that Wycombe had sent correspondence to the County Council regarding the Inter Authority Agreement, and that a meeting between both authorities was due to be held to discuss this.

Programme Report and Risk Register (Minute 5)

In response to a comment regarding complaints from residents, Members were advised to record details of the resident's property and pass details to the Senior Waste Officer so that the matter to be investigated further.

It was noted that the Joint Scrutiny Task & Finish Group would receive information about customer service performance at a meeting that would take place that evening.

It was noted that the joint reporting of performance indicators to the County Council could be discussed at the Joint Waste Collection Committee on 25 July, when the BCC Deputy Cabinet Member for Environment would be in attendance.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Chairman spoke in memory of Councillor Roger Emmett who had recently passed away. Councillor Emmett had been a long standing Member of Wycombe District Council, had served on the Joint Waste Collection Committee and was closely involved in the Chiltern and Wycombe joint waste collection programme. A minute's silence was then observed by all present in honour of Councillor Emmett.

The Committee received a report showing the proposed Joint Waste Client Budget for 2013/14, the provisional budgets for 2014/15 and 2015/16, and the cost and income sharing proposals. Potential Avoidable Financial Pressures (AFP) income from BCC would be reported at a future date once discussions with the county council had concluded.

It was noted that staffing costs were expected to reduce in future years as temporary contracts, required during the initial service roll out, came to an end. Confirmation of the historic staff pension costs arising from the transfer of Wycombe staff to Chiltern were still awaited from Buckinghamshire County Council. It was noted that due to the unpredictability of the of rate inflation this would be included, if necessary, in the budget for future years at the time the budget was submitted for approval. Staff were also encouraged to make savings to offset the cost of inflation.

The Committee was keen to ensure that sufficient resources were available, in particular during the roll out of the new service, and it was agreed that if additional resources were required then these would be provided.

There was a discussion on the regular reporting of the year to date budget figures and it was agreed that these would be reported to the Committee quarterly with any significant items of one off expenditure being reported on an ad hoc basis. The frequency of reporting would be reviewed and amended as required.

The Committee received a report showing the results of the customer satisfaction survey for the new joint waste service, carried out in May 2013. The level of customer satisfaction was higher in Wycombe and it was thought that this may be due to a number of contractor performance issues experienced towards the end of the Chiltern contract. Customer satisfaction levels were anticipated to increase as the new joint service was rolled out and performance improved.

The survey also identified litter and fly tipping at bring sites as a problem. Clearing away rubbish left at bring sites consumed significant resources and the Committee supporting the use of enforcement action to target the problem. Officers would look to use targeted communications and publicity in addition to continuing to work closely with the county council's fly tipping enforcement team.

The customer satisfaction survey results would be considered by the Joint Scrutiny Task and Finish Group meeting that evening.

RESOLVED -

                    

That the report be noted.

To resolve that under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Act.

Note: the relevant paragraph number and description is indicated under the Minute heading.

Paragraph 3 - Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

Paragraph 3 - Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

Members considered a report providing an update on the joint waste collection programme and during which the following key points were made:

Bio Waste Infrastructure

Members were pleased to note that BCC had confirmed that bio waste infrastructure would be ready in time for the start of the new joint waste collection service. The first collections would start in Chiltern on 15 July 2013.

Phase 1 (Chiltern roll out)

The delivery of new waste receptacles was almost complete and the roll out had gone very well. A press release was planned to remind residents of their new waste collection day. There had been a large number of residents requesting a survey to review the viability of the new receptacles at their property. It was agreed that Members would be sent general information about the review process and a copy of the correspondence that had been sent to residents that had submitted a request.

Phase 2 (Wycombe roll out)

The roll out of the new service in Wycombe remained on track and the timescales for activities were noted. The residents' welcome pack would be delivered at the end of July and road shows would take place in key locations during August and in local areas during September.

Customer Services

Customer contact information showing call and email volumes and green waste collection subscriptions in Chiltern was, circulated at the meeting. Customer contact levels had increased, although this was now expected to reduce following the roll out in Chiltern. Some Chiltern residents had reported that they had lost their green waste sticker and it was suggested that this issue be discussed in September. In Chiltern auditing would be carried out to ensure that only those properties enrolled in the green waste collection scheme would receive collections.

Risk Register

The Committee noted the risk register.

Note: Councillor Mrs J Teesdale left the meeting at 12.05 pm.