Agenda item

To provide an update on the 2017/18 Overview &Scrutiny Committee budget recommendations.

Clive Heaphy, Chief Finance Officer, introduced the report which set out an update on the 2017/18 Overview & Scrutiny Committee budget recommendations. The following arose during the discussion of the report:

a.    In response to a request for clarification on the timings for disability related expenditure, the Committee was advised that the analysis was being undertaken and that the findings should be available in the next 6-8 weeks.

b.    The Chair welcomed the fact that a number of the Committee’s recommendations had led to savings being deferred.

Cllr Ahmet, the Cabinet Member for Environment responded to the points raised in Mr Simon’s petition under agenda item 5. The following was noted:

a.    The changes to waste collection services had been in discussion since the Cabinet Member was appointed in April 2016 and a lot of consideration had been given to their implementation.

b.    16 London boroughs charged for green waste and a number of others provided no service at all as it was not statutory.

c.    An alternative offer had been introduced for residents with smaller gardens to use compostable bags for their green waste.

d.    The Cabinet Member advised that they were unable to accept concessions to the £75 rate for collection of garden waste. The Committee was also advised that there was a six month introduction period to allow for sufficient communication of the changes with residents.

The following arose in the wake of Cllr Ahmet’s response to Mr. Simon:

a.    In response to a question on whether consideration had been given to fortnightly collections of green waste, the Client & Commissioning Manager cautioned that that the food waste and green waste collections were linked and so it was not the case that fortnightly collections of green waste would halve the cost of the service. The Committee was advised that fortnightly collections were considered but were ultimately dismissed because they did not deliver the level of savings required.

b.    In response to a question around the viability of hessian sacks, the Client and Commissioning Manager advised that any savings would be significantly reduced by the cost of tagging the sacks. In addition, the introduction of biodegradable sacks had no limit to the amount of waste that could be collected and therefore gave residents more flexibility.

c.    The Client & Commissioning Manager advised that the biodegradable bags had a broadly neutral environmental impact and also helped reduce detritus levels caused by green waste.

d.    Cllr Brabazon raised concerns with the financial viability of the scheme and queried whether it would generate the levels of income that had been forecast. In response, the Cabinet Member advised that the service would be widely advertised and cautioned that ultimately if it failed to generate the required level of income then further savings would need to be made. The Chair commented that regular monitoring of the MTFS took place and that any concerns that arose would be well highlighted.

e.    The Chair asked the Environment & Scrutiny Panel to monitor the changes to waste collection going forward. Cllr Gallagher agreed that the panel would monitor the situation over a six month period and would report back to OSC in due course. (Action: Cllr Gallagher).

RESOLVED

That the Committee noted the progress that had been made on the recommendations detailed in Appendix 1 of the report.