Meeting documents

To agree the Minutes of the meeting held on 29 September 2016.

The Minutes of the meeting held on the 29 September 2016 were agreed as a correct record.

There were no declarations of interest.

Councillor M Smith had submitted apologies for the meeting. The Constitution required one Cabinet Member from each Council to be in attendance in order for the meeting to be quorate. As no formal decisions were being made at the meeting, and the reports being considered were for noting only, it was agreed that the meeting continue an informal basis. An item on proposed changes to the JWCC Terms of Reference and Constitution, to include South Bucks, was being considered at the meeting (Minute 58 refers). However, comments on that item could be to be forwarded to the Councils’ respective Cabinet meetings.

The Committee then considered the report which provided an overview of the joint waste service for the period August to October 2016. This included the budget, key targets, formal complaints and key risks. During the discussion the following key points were made:

A single joint waste team for Chiltern, South Bucks and Wycombe was now in place and the joint team were focusing on harmonising processes between the Chiltern & Wycombe and South Bucks contracts.

Whilst reviewing the key targets it was noted that the volume of missed collections had reduced significantly. Service performance still required further improvement, and Serco were reviewing collection rounds in order to achieve this. One Member reported that some rounds were not being completed on a regular basis. It was acknowledged that missed collections may happen occasionally due to vehicle breakdown, but this was not acceptable. A technical problem with the telephone system had impacted on the call targets.

The figures relating to accidents were reviewed. The health and safety processes for both contacts were being reviewed in light of guidance in order to implement an optimal harmonised approach.

The risk register was reviewed and the following changes were agreed:

·         Risk 8 (Contract change notice) to be removed.

·         Risk 9 (KOT changes) to be removed

·         Risk 7 (Contract novation) to be removed

Following the implementation of an audit action plan the external auditors had now concluded that strong controls were in place for the application of controls for KOTs.

The Joint Committee considered a report outlining the proposed 2017/18 budget for the joint waste service, the split between Chiltern and Wycombe, and the proposed fees and charges for 2017/18 highlighting significant changes.

It was noted that officers were proposing to increase the level of indexation that would be applied to the joint contract from 1% to 1.5% to take account of increased contract costs and property growth. The 2017/18 budget had taken account of the current property growth forecasts, but additional collection rounds were likely to be required in 2018/19. Serco were currently reviewing their collection rounds with a view to implementing improved efficiency.

Whilst considering the proposed fees and charges it was noted that changes had been made to align these with SBDC where possible.

In response to a question regarding the eligibility criteria for issuing larger waste receptacles it was noted that an audit would be carried out in 2017. The list of residents’ receiving the collect and return, and clinical waste collection service was reviewed regularly.

Following the implementation of a new joint waste team for Chiltern, South Bucks and Wycombe districts, the Committee received a presentation covering the following key areas:

• Building the new joint waste team
• Project approach to harmonisation and service objectives
• Key challenges
• Communications
• Phases approach/project plan
• Priority 1, 2, 4 and 4 work packages
• Maintaining service delivery
• Preparing for the future

Members were particularly pleased to note the aspiration and enthusiasm of staff in the joint waste team.

The Joint Committee were asked to comment on a draft report being considered at each of the Councils’ respective Cabinet meetings on proposed changes to the Chiltern & Wycombe Joint Waste Collection Committee (JWCC) Terms of Reference and Constitution to include South Bucks District Council and update the document.

Confidentiality and voting arrangements were identified as the two key issues. Each Agenda would be structured to maintain confidentiality, and restrictions on voting had been changed so that Members could not vote on contract issues relating to another Council. Although the Cabinet could agree the proposed changes in principle, Full Council approval was also required.

The Joint Committee, whilst reviewing the proposed changes, made the following key points:

The proposed changes to voting rights were endorsed. It was acknowledged however that decisions were usually arrived at through consensus rather than voting.

The ability to appoint substitute Members was suggested in order to provide flexibility to enable Council’s to appoint alternative voting Members where one voting Member is unable to attend a meeting.

Members welcomed the layout of the proposed Terms of Reference and Constitution. It was noted that the majority of the original document remained unchanged because it was still relevant, but elements had required updating.

Any additional comments from Members could be to be forwarded to the Councils’ respective Cabinet meetings.

It was agreed that meetings of the Joint Waste Collection Committee would be held on a quarterly basis from now on, and the date of next meeting would be circulated to Members electronically.

The new Terms of Reference and Constitution would take effect from the beginning of the next Municipal Year in May 2017.

There was a discussion on chairmanship. This would usually rotate around the participating authorities, but continuity was considered important so it was felt useful to allow the term of office for Chairman to be agreed by the Committee. The proposed Terms of Reference provided for this by limiting appointments of Chairman to a maximum of 2 years, so shorter appointments could be made, if required.