Issue - meetings

It is recommended that the committee resolves to exclude the press and public during item 6 by virtue of paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972

Matter for Decision

To approve in principle a single, shared commercial waste service between the City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council.

 

Decision of the Executive Councillor for Environment and Waste

     i.        Agreed in principle to form a single, shared commercial waste service business account and operation by combining the Commercial Waste Services of Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council as part of the Single Shared Waste Service, located at the Waterbeach Depot, with the Shared Waste Board overseeing the delivery and performance of the Single Shared Waste Service, within the budget and policy framework set by both Councils and subject to the provisions set out in the foregoing report and to undertake full consultation with the staff and unions to deliver these changes.

    ii.        Agreed to delegate the implementation of the proposal set out in 1 above to the Cambridge City Director of Environment and South Cambridgeshire DC Director of Health & Environmental Services, in consultation with the South Cambridgeshire DC Cabinet Member, and the Cambridge City Executive Member, Chair of Environment Scrutiny Committee and Opposition Spokespersons.

   iii.        Agreed to instruct officers to prepare a detailed implementation plan with financial implications to be agreed with the Shared Waste Board to inform the future budget setting work of the two Councils subject to consultation with Chair and Opposition Spokes to include a two year review of progress to the Environment Scrutiny Committee and the South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Cabinet.

 

Reason for the Decision

As set out in the Officer’s report.

 

Any Alterative Options Considered and Rejected

Not applicable.

 

Scrutiny Considerations

The Committee received a joint report from the Director of Environment and Director of Health & Environment Services, South Cambridgeshire District Council. The report provided information on the Commercial Waste business accounts, management and marketing of shared waste service.

 

In response to the Committee’s comments, the Director of Environment, Director of Health & Environmental Services, (SCDC) and the Shared Waste Consultant made the following statements:

 

                     i.        Efficiency savings would be made by a more efficient use of assets, management and marketing as the two organisations would not be competing against each other.

                    ii.        In the future there would be a lower future capital investment requirement and maintenance cost.

                   iii.        Surplus would increase significantly as the business expanded.

                  iv.        Advised that there was a risk in the current contract held by the City Council and that no operation would be risk free. It was important to get the proposals right first time.

                   v.        In the long term there was more than enough opportunity to cover the risk to the City Council in the long term.

                  vi.        Immediate savings would be achieved for the City Council once the deal had been completed.

                 vii.        Noted the comment that the detailed implementation plan with financial implications to be agreed by the Shared Waste Board to inform the future budget setting work of the two Councils should be shared with the Opposition Spokes.

               viii.        Important to keep to the time table and it was up to the Committee to decide how much delegation Officers should be given.

                  ix.        Suggestion of an Annual Report had been referenced in the proposals of the report.

                   x.        Committed to sustainability, the shared service of the two Councils would see an overall reduction of waste to landfill as it would be in the Council’s financial interest to increase recycling.

                  xi.        Noted the suggestion to work with smaller alternative recycling organisations.

                 xii.        The key principle was to grow the business therefore there had been no discussion regarding redundancies. The report emphasised the importance of the consultation of staff and trade unions throughout the entire process.

               xiii.        South Cambridgeshire had a greater capacity for growth in the long term with businesses and elements of the University of Cambridge moving out of the City.

 

The Executive Councillor for Environment and Waste proposed the following amendment to the recommendation of the Officer’s report (additional wording underlined)

 

   iii.        Agreed to instruct officers to prepare a detailed implementation plan with financial implications to be agreed with the Shared Waste Board to inform the future budget setting work of the two Councils subject to consultation with Chair and Opposition Spokes to include a two year review of progress to the Environment Scrutiny Committee and the South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Cabinet.

 

This amendment was carried Nem Com.

 

The Committee resolved unanimously to endorse the amended recommendations. 

 

The Executive Councillor approved the amended recommendations.

 

Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Executive Councillor and (and any Dispensations Granted)

No conflicts of interest were declared by the Executive Councillor