Issue - meetings

The Chair to summarise the issues raised during discussion of the Veolia contract and the Committee will comment on the next steps of working with the new contract.

Feedback was provided from the presentation during the Area Forum session on the Council’s new environment contract with Veolia including the targets for recycling and carbon emissions reductions, plans to reduce fly-tipping, improving trade recycling and a forthcoming introduction of fortnightly collections in the Muswell Hill area for non-recyclable waste, which would be rolled out across the borough if proved successful. Local action plans were being devised and it was advised that an update would be provided to the September meeting as part of providing the flexibility to respond to each areas priorities.

Concerns had been raised about the level of promotion and communication that had accompanied introduction of the new contract, for example a general lack of awareness about the new Village Manager roles. It was recognised that the contract was still fairly new and that the contract should be a standing item on the agenda for the Area Forum to allow ongoing monitoring and evaluation. The importance of local people having a say in monitoring targets and negotiating variation for the local area was emphasised.

With regards to the satisfaction survey to be used to provide an overview of the contract, it was agreed that the questions to be asked and the people surveyed was of fundamental importance to ensure an appropriate two way dialogue was in place. As such, it was agreed that the satisfaction survey should be considered at the next meeting.