Agenda item

Report of the Corporate Director of Environment and Resident Experience. To be presented by the Cabinet Member for Resident Services and Tackling Inequality.

DECLARATIONs OF INTEREST MADE FOR THIS ITEM:

None

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1. Approved the commencement of a procurement exercise for an enhanced environmental enforcement contract for the offences listed in Appendix 1, in accordance with CSO 2.01.b).
   
   
2. Approved that the Council tender for enforcement of those offences listed in Appendix 1 as requiring Council approval.
   
   
3. Noted that the outcome of the procurement would be cost-neutral to the Council and that the Council would retain a proportion of the value of collected FPNs.
   
   

Reasons for Decision

The contract to deliver environmental enforcement with Kingdom Services Group Limited, as extended in February 2026, was due to expire in 2027. If the Council wished to continue undertaking environmental enforcement across the borough, a new contract would need to be implemented.

Whilst the contract was cost-neutral to the Council, it was anticipated that the value of the contract would exceed £500,000. In accordance with Contract Standing Order 2.01.b), Cabinet was required to approve the commencement of a procurement exercise for contracts valued at £500,000 or more.

Under the outcome of "A cleaner, low waste Haringey" within the "Responding to the climate emergency" theme of the Corporate Delivery Plan 2024-2026, the Council had previously committed to delivering enhanced environmental enforcement, including targeted deployment (Monday to Sunday) of proactive litter and waste enforcement patrols in town centres and hotspot locations across the borough.

The new Corporate Delivery Plan being developed by the administration also included a commitment to tackling fly-tipping in the borough, which was one of the Council's top ten priorities.

Engagement with residents in 2026, involving responses from approximately 9,000 residents, businesses and community groups, revealed that 96% strongly agreed or agreed with fining those responsible for fly-tipping, while 95% strongly agreed or agreed with fining people for dog fouling or littering.

Whilst the Council had an internal waste enforcement team, its capacity was limited and it focused on preventative measures, complex cases and prosecuting offenders. The capacity provided by an outsourced service enabled Council officers to focus on this work while allowing flexibility to respond to hotspot areas across the borough through additional staff provided under the contract.

There was an MTFS income target associated with environmental enforcement of £50,000 for 2027/28. Without this contract, that target could not be achieved.

Alternative Options Considered

The Council could have done nothing and allowed the contract with Kingdom to expire without replacement. This would have meant that the Council did not have sufficient resources to take enforcement action against those who deliberately committed offences such as littering and fly-tipping.

Without education and a deterrent, there could have been an increase in littering and fly-tipping across the borough, impacting street cleansing services and creating additional costs in terms of both collection and disposal.

Therefore, this option was not recommended.

The Council could have insourced the service and undertaken all environmental enforcement activity itself. This would have required the Council either to commit additional resources to deliver the service or to continue with the current team, which would have meant insufficient capacity to take enforcement action against those who deliberately committed offences such as littering and fly-tipping.

The service had been delivered exclusively by Haringey officers between 2018 and 2024 and demonstrated that it was unable to reach its full potential due to the sustained volume of demand.

Financial pressures facing the Council also meant that this option was unaffordable, with an estimated annual cost pressure of approximately £1.4m.

Without the support that an outsourced service could provide, including specialist software and back-office support, the Council's ability to tackle and reduce environmental crime would have been significantly reduced.

Therefore, this option was not recommended.