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Environmental & Waste Services Portfolio - Budget 2012/13

Meeting: 10/01/2012 - Environment Scrutiny Committee (Item 6)

6 Environmental & Waste Services Portfolio - Budget 2012/13 pdf icon PDF 582 KB

The report contains the following project appraisals:

·        Vehicle replacements 2012/13

Minutes:

Matter for Decision:  

The Officer’s report set out the overall base revenue and capital budget position for the Environmental & Waste Services Portfolio. The report compared the proposed 2011/12 Revised Budget to the budget as at September 2011 and detailed the budget proposals for 2012/13 and 2013/14.

 

Decision of Executive Councillor for Environmental & Waste Services:

 

Review of Charges:

(i)                Approved the proposed charges for Environmental & Waste services and facilities, as shown in Appendix B of the Officer’s report.

 

Revenue Budgets:

(ii)              Approved, (with typographical amendments listed below), the current year funding requests and savings, (shown in Appendix A of the Officer’s report) and the resulting revised revenue budgets for 2011/12 (shown in Table 1) for submission to the Executive.

(iii)            Agreed proposals for revenue savings and unavoidable bids, as set out in Appendix C of the Officer’s report.

(iv)            Agreed proposals for bids from external or existing funding, as set out in Appendix D of the Officer’s report.

(v)              Agree proposals for Priority Policy Fund (PPF) bids, as set out in Appendix E of the Officer’s report.

(vi)            Approved the budget proposals for 2012/13 as shown in Table 2, for submission to the Executive.

 

Capital:

(vii)          To seek approval from the Executive to carry forward resources from 2011/12, as detailed in Appendix G of the Officer’s report, to fund re-phased capital spending.

(viii)        Approved capital bids, as identified in Appendix H of the Officer’s report, for submission to the Executive for inclusion in the Capital & Revenue Projects Plan or addition to the Hold List, as indicated.

(ix)            Confirmed that there are no items covered by this portfolio to add to the Council’s Hold List, for submission to the Executive.

(x)              Approved the current Capital & Revenue Projects Plan, as detailed in Appendix J of the Officer’s report, to be updated for any amendments detailed in (vii), (viii) and (ix) above.

(xi)            Approved the following project appraisals as detailed in Appendix K of the Officer’s report: Vehicle replacements 2012/13.

 

Reason for the Decision:

Service Plans and draft Budgets were key elements of the Councils budgetary and policy framework.

 

Any alternative options considered and rejected:

Not applicable.

 

Scrutiny Considerations:

The committee received a report from the Accountant (Services) regarding the Environmental & Waste Services Portfolio - Budget 2012/13.

 

As part of his introduction, the Officer stated that the savings detailed in table 2 (Overall Budget Proposals) were incorrect and should read as follows in order to agree with the relevant appendices:

 

Service Reviews - 2012/13: (£180,000)

Service Reviews - 2012/14: (£218,000)

 

Other - 2012/13: (£50,500)

Other - 2013/14: (£103,000)

 

Although the individual lines were incorrect the totals remained unchanged.

 

The committee made the following comments in response to the report:

 

Councillors sought clarification concerning:

(i)                The public convenience capital programme.

(ii)              The condition of Barnwell Toilets.

(iii)            Concerns relating to the increase in collection charges.

(iv)            The litter bin replacement programme.

(v)              The Recycling Champions Scheme.

(vi)            Typographical errors on P51 of the Officer’s report.

(vii)          Whether the Council or Police received stray dog collection fees.

(viii)        Whether the Council’s focused on recycling or reducing waste.

(ix)            If moths were covered by pest control criteria.

(x)              If the Council had sought funds made available by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for the purpose of implementing a weekly black bin collection in Cambridge.

 

In response to Member’s questions the Executive Councillor for Environmental & Waste Services, Director of Environment, Head of Refuse and Environment  plus Waste Strategy Manager confirmed the following:

 

(i)                The capital allocation included repair costs.

(ii)              The Director of Environment undertook to ask the Project Delivery & Environment Manager to provide Councillor Wright with information regarding Barnwell Toilets.

(iii)            Collection charges had not risen for the last 8 years, so the City Council had increased its bulk waste collection charges in line with other authorities.

(iv)            The intention was to review litter bin provision to ascertain what bins were needed and where. Dual purpose bins would be provided for recycling and rubbish.

 

The Executive Councillor for Environmental & Waste Services would undertake joined up activity with the Executive Councillor for Arts, Sports & Public Places.

(v)              The Director of Environment undertook to ask the Waste Strategy Manager to provide Councillor Owers with information regarding the Recycling Champions Scheme, awareness raising campaigns and how efforts were being focussed in areas of highest need.

 

The effectiveness of awareness raising campaigns such as door knocking was variable, but valuable as a community engagement tool because it allowed the Council to build up neighbourhood trend profiles.

(vi)            Officer report page 51 reference RB 3837 - This was included in the table as a £37,000 saving but in the detail below as £47,000. This was a typographical error as the figure should read £37,000 in both.

 

Capital plan appendix on page 63 of the Officer’s report - The £150,000 in 2012/13 for the Public Conveniences budget was queried. In last year's budget cycle a capital bid was approved for the refurbishment of Silver Street conveniences at a total of £500,000 phased as £350,000 in 2011/12 and £150,000 in 2012/13.

(vii)          The Director of Environment undertook to ascertain which organisation received stray dog collection fees. Responsibility for the out of hours collection service transferred from the Police to City Council circa 2009. A contractor undertook work on behalf of the Council.

(viii)        The current focus was on recycling rather than reduction, the focus would be reduction in future. Various campaigns, such as Recycling Champions, would help to facilitate this.

(ix)            The commercial review of pest control would determine if moths were covered under the criteria.

(x)              The Council was maintaining a watching brief, but had not sought funds made available by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for the purpose of implementing a weekly black bin collection in Cambridge.

 

The committee resolved by 5 votes to 0 to adopt the recommendation, subject to amendments to typographical errors in the Officer’s report.

 

The Executive Councillor approved the recommendation.

 

Conflicts of interest declared by the Executive Councillor (and any dispensations granted)

Not applicable.