Agenda and minutes

Venue: Meeting Room 1, 135 Eastern Avenue, Milton Park, Milton OX14 4SB

Contact: Ron Schrieber, Democratic Services Officer 

Items
No. Item

7.

Apologies for absence

To record apologies for absence and the attendance of substitute members. 

Minutes:

South Councillor Ian White (substituted by Jane Murphy), and Vale Councillor Amos Duveen submitted apologies.

8.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 113 KB

To adopt and sign as a correct record the Joint Scrutiny Committee minutes of the meeting held on 18 June 2019 (attached). 

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 18 June 2019 were agreed as an accurate record and were signed by the Chairman.

9.

Declarations of interest

To receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests in respect of items on the agenda for this meeting.  

Minutes:

None.

10.

Urgent business and chairman's announcements

To receive notification of any matters which the chairman determines should be considered as urgent business and the special circumstances which have made the matters urgent, and to receive any announcements from the chairman. 

Minutes:

None.

11.

Public participation

To receive any questions or statements from members of the public that have registered to speak. 

Minutes:

None.

12.

Performance review of Biffa Municipal Plc - 2018 pdf icon PDF 308 KB

To consider the report of the head of housing and environment (attached).

Minutes:

The committee considered the report of the head of housing and environment, which assessed Biffa Municipal Limited’s performance in delivering the household waste collection, street cleansing and ancillary services contract for the period 1 January to 31 December 2018.

 

The report recommended that the contractor be awarded an overall rating of “Fair”.

 

South Councillor David Rouane, Cabinet member for housing and environment, introduced the report. Also present to answer questions were Vale Councillor Jenny Hannaby, Cabinet member for environmental and technical services, Liz Hayden, Head of Housing and Environment, Ian Matten, Environmental Services Manager and Pete Dickson, Debbie Doohan and Francis Drew, Biffa.

 

The report stated that the operational problems experienced in 2017, caused by the ageing fleet, continued to impact on the first six months of this review period resulting in the end of year Key Performance Targets (KPTs) being lower than would be expected from one of the councils’ contractors. While there was an improvement in eight out of the ten KPTs, compared with the previous review, it was not enough to change the overall classification.

There had been a significant improvement in performance in the first six months of 2019. With the exception of missed bins and levels of detritus, all targets were being met or exceeded and officers were confident that Biffa’s overall performance would be in a higher classification for 2019.

 

In response to members’ questions, the committee was informed that:

 

·         With regard to KPT1, missed collections, a missed bin had to be reported within 24 hours in order for it to be recorded and rectified.  It was vital, therefore, for residents to report any missed bins within this time frame.

·         The levels of litter and detritus (KPT 4) were assessed by independent inspectors.

·         With regard to KPT8, deliveries – replacement bins, the bin stock was relatively old but the number requiring replacement was not high when compared with other local authorities.

·         The personal digital assistant (pda) used by crews identified missed bins.

·         The need for improved communication to help ensure residents were aware of what should/should not go in each bin was recognised.

 

RESOLVED: to support the assessment of Biffa’s overall performance of the household waste collection, street cleansing and ancillary services contract in 2018 as “Fair”.

13.

2018/19 performance review of Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) pdf icon PDF 216 KB

To consider the report of the head of community services (attached).

Minutes:

The committee considered the report of the head of community services which assessed Greenwich Leisure Limited’s (GLL) performance in delivering the joint leisure management contract for the period 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019.

 

The report recommended that the contractor be awarded an overall rating of “Excellent”.

 

Helen Pighills, Vale Cabinet member for community services introduced the report. Also present to answer questions were South Councillor Maggie Filipova-Rivers, Cabinet member for community services, Donna Pentelow, Head of Community Services, Dylan Evans, Active Communities Manager, Ben Whaymand, Leisure Facilities Team Leader, and John Amatt, Jamie Coleshill and Kevin Williams Hercus, GLL.

 

In response to members’ questions, the committee was informed that:

 

·         With regard to Key Performance Targets (KPTs) 11,12 and 13, GLL was constantly working to reduce energy usage.

·         Although there was no KPT regarding community participation, GLL was committed to working in partnership with the council to deliver a programme of community activities.

·         Gender neutral changing areas were provided where appropriate and as part of planned refurbishment works.

·         The accuracy of the percentages set out in Annex F – client monitoring scores, would be reviewed.

 

GLL and officers agreed to explore a member’s suggestion to explore measures to reduce car usage as a first means of transport to leisure centres and encourage customers to walk, cycle or use public transport.

 

The committee congratulated GLL and officers on the contactor’s excellent performance  in 2018/19.

 

RESOLVED: to support the assessment of GLL’s overall performance of the leisure management contract in 2018/19 as “Excellent.”

14.

Work schedule and dates for all South and Vale scrutiny meetings pdf icon PDF 77 KB

To review the attached scrutiny work schedule. Please note, although the dates are confirmed, the items under consideration are subject to being withdrawn, added to or rearranged without further notice.

 

Minutes:

The committee noted its work programme.

 

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Vale of White Horse District Council
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OX14 3JE