Agenda item

To consider the report of the head of corporate services and the head of housing and environment.    

Cabinet considered the report of the head of corporate services and the head of housing and environment.  The report set out a proposal to improve the way the council’s garden waste service was paid for and administered by introducing a permit scheme from 1 April 2025. 

The Cabinet member for environmental services and waste presented the report and outlined the issues with the current payment process and explained the new permit approach. 

The Joint Scrutiny Committee had supported the proposed scheme but requested that Cabinet:

·       continued to offer direct debit payments as well as other payment methods such as cash and telephone payments;

·       retained the minimum number of collections per year, for customer assurance;

·       ensured that a clear communications plan was put in place to show residents how to pay and to keep updated on the changes;

·       gave future consideration to an initial fee to join the service, and to introducing bin microchipping. 

Cabinet thanked the committee for its suggestions. 

Officers had considered the implications of the committee’s suggestions and had discussed them with the Cabinet member. 

The Cabinet member welcomed the proposal, believing that the council needed a better system to administer its garden waste service.  The proposed permit scheme would provide a more efficient payment system and allow the council to retrieve bins where payments had not been made.  After initial set up costs, the scheme would be self-financing. 

Regarding Scrutiny Committee’s suggestion to retain direct debit payment as an option, this would mean the project would have to be paused and reviewed.  The Cabinet member rejected this as it was the management of direct debit payments that was causing administrative issues, and was one of the main reasons to transform the service.  Moving to an online annual payment would not limit customers’ ability to pay through other means.  Customers could contact the council’s Customer Contact Centre, which would continue to support payments over the telephone or face-to-face at Abbey House. 

The Cabinet member reported that there would be a minimum of 20 collections per year, and a clear communications plan would be put in place before the scheme was introduced in April 2025.  Regarding Scrutiny Committee’s suggestion of introducing an initial joining fee, this would be considered in the forthcoming waste and street cleansing strategy. 

Cabinet welcomed the proposal, as it would bring efficiencies with a more automated and customer-friendly permit-based approach.  This had been tried and tested at other councils and had become best practice.  However, Cabinet considered that the communications plan was key to ensuring success.  Implementation of the scheme should be monitored carefully, and a review should take place during the first year of its operation. 

RESOLVED to:

(a)       approve the implementation of a garden waste permit payment model commencing 1 April 2025, subject to the approval of growth bids as part of the council’s 2024/25 budget;

(b)    authorise the head of corporate services and the head of housing and environment, in consultation with the relevant Cabinet members, to:

(i)     agree any revisions to the terms and conditions of the council’s garden waste provision, and

(ii)    award a joint contract for provision of garden waste permits as required.