Agenda item

The Cabinet is requested to consider the agenda report and its appendix and to make the following resolutions:

(1)  That the good overall report for Chichester Contract Services be acknowledged and, for the foreseeable future, the independent advice that the service should remain ‘in-house’ be accepted.

(2)  That the actions set out in para 5.2 of the report be accepted.

RESOLVED

(1)  That Chichester Contract Services managers and officers be congratulated on the excellent results of the study.

(2)  That the good overall report for Chichester Contract Services be acknowledged and the independent advice that the service should remain in-house be accepted for the foreseeable future.

(3)  That the actions set out in para 5.2 of the agenda report be approved.

(4)  That the Waste and Recycling Panel be asked to consider the findings of the report as part of its ongoing work.

The Cabinet received and considered the agenda report and its appendix in the main agenda supplement (copies attached to the official minutes).

The report was presented by Mr Barrow.

Mr Riley was in attendance for this item. He was joined by Mr L Attrill, who was one of the authors of the consultant report (pages 279 to 301) produced by WYG UK in Southampton.

Mr Barrow highlighted the very pleasing and positive findings in WYG’s assessment of the very high standard of excellence in performance delivery achieved by Chichester Contract Services (CCS), CDC’s frontline service for waste and recycling and street cleansing and grounds maintenance.

Mr Attrill explained WYG’s methodology and identified the headline results which showed how and why CDC was, in terms of cost effectiveness, among the top five of its clients which delivered an in-house service; CDC’s commercial waste collection service was among the one of top authorities outside London. CDC excelled in overall standards of street cleanliness and had the cleanest subway (Oaklands Way) in the country. The challenges of litter clearance of the A27 were fully recognised. Its horticultural services were run to a very good standard. The dry recyclate rate improvement was very much against the national trend. The key point to arise from the findings was how CDC could safeguard this highly successful standard for the future. WYG did not recommend that CDC (a) alter the CCS recycling programme, (b) introduce a food waste collection service at this point in time or (c) reduce the frequency of residual waste collections. It had been an absolute pleasure to undertake this assessment of CCS and so to demonstrate to other councils the way forward in municipal excellence.

Mr Barrow highlighted three of the headline points in para 3.3 of the report, namely the first (recycling), second (dry recycling) and fourth (contamination rates) bullet points. He thanked Mr Attrill, Mr Riley and all the CCS staff, not forgetting the recently retired head of CCS, Rod Darton.

Members commended CCS and its staff for the very high standard of excellence for which it was already renowned and which was incontrovertibly demonstrated by WYG’s report.

Mr Dignum stated that two additional recommendations would be put to the Cabinet, one congratulating CCS and the other requesting CDC’s Waste and Recycling Panel to consider the findings of the WYG’s report (see (1) and (4) respectively below).

Decision

The Cabinet voted unanimously on a show of hands to make the resolutions set out below.       

RESOLVED

(1)  That Chichester Contract Services managers and officers be congratulated on the excellent results of the study.

(2)  That the good overall report for Chichester Contract Services be acknowledged and the independent advice that the service should remain in-house be accepted for the foreseeable future.

(3)  That the actions set out in para 5.2 of the agenda report be approved.

(4)  That the Waste and Recycling Panel be asked to consider the findings of the report as part of its ongoing work.

[Note At the end of this item Mrs Taylor left the meeting for the rest of its duration]