To answer questions asked after notice in accordance with the provisions contained in paragraph 12.3 of the Council Procedure Rules of the Constitution on any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties or which affects the District:
(a) to the Chairman of the Council;
(b) to the Leader of the Council;
(c) to any Member of the Cabinet; or
(d) the Chairman of any Committee or Sub-Committee.
Council Procedure rule 12.4 provides that answers to questions under notice may take the form of:
(a) direct oral answer;
(b) where the desired information is in a publication of the Council or other published work, a reference to that publication; or
(c) where the reply cannot conveniently be given orally, a written answer circulated later to the questioner.
Answers to questions falling within (a) and (b) above will be made available to the member asking the question one hour before the meeting. Answers to questions falling within (c) above will be circulated to all councillors.
Question to Councillor W Breare-Hall, Portfolio Holder for Environment Portfolio Holder by Councillor B Surtees.
‘Whilst recognizing the efforts made by the Cabinet and the staff of the District Council, it does seem that there are still considerable disruptions and difficulties with both the waste and residual collections. Can Councillor W Breare-Hall provide a more detailed response than that contained in his report to Council on the following issues;
(a) The number of complaints received to date since the change to 4 day working was implemented in May 2015;
(b) The percentage of those complaints that are to do with missed collections; and
(c) The number of additional freighters above those specified in the contract or agreement with Biffa that are currently deployed in order to ensure a good service to residents.’
Minutes:
(a) Waste and Residual Collections
By Councillor B Surtees to Councillor W Breare-Hall, Portfolio Holder for Environment Portfolio Holder
"Whilst recognizing the efforts made by the cabinet and the staff of the District Council it does seem that there are still considerable disruptions and difficulties with both the waste and residual collections. Can councillor Breare-Hall provide a more detailed response than that contained in his report to Council on the following issues:
(a) The number of
complaints received to date since the change to 4 day working was
implemented in may 2015.
(b) The percentage of those complaints that are to do with missed collections
(c) The number of additional freighters above those specified in the contract or agreement with Biffa that are currently deployed in order to ensure a good service to residents."
Response by Councillor W Breare-Hall, Portfolio Holder for Environment.
“I am grateful to Cllr. Surtees for his recognition of the work done by the Council's staff in addressing the problems experienced earlier this year by our waste and recycling contractor, Biffa Municipal. He will have heard me praise their hard work, dedication and commitment on many occasions, but I am happy to have this opportunity to do so again. It is thanks to their efforts, and those of the Biffa workforce, that our residents no longer face the "considerable disruptions and difficulties" his question mischievously suggests they do.
In answer to his specific queries, between 11th May and 25th October this year we received 9,301 complaints. Approximately 96% of those related to missed collections, and Biffa are currently operating seven more freighters than they originally envisaged.
However, six months on from the move to a four day collection service, the figure Cllr. Surtees has requested for the total number of complaints received is, in the context of the current situation, potentially misleading and, arguably, meaningless. The bulk of those complaints were received in the weeks immediately following the switch over, and Biffa's performance has improved markedly since then.
The service our residents currently receive sees an average of just 34 bins a day being missed. That's out of 27,000 daily collections. Or, put another way, 0.1% of collections are now being missed.
Cllr. Surtees may also wish to note that the doorstep collections of batteries, textiles and small electrical equipment that were introduced in May have already resulted in over 10 tonnes of additional material being recycled, and that our new fleet of vehicles and single-pass glass and dry recycling collections are significantly reducing harmful carbon emissions. I hope Cllr. Surtees will agree with me that this is excellent news for both our residents and the environment.
Additional question by Councillor B Surtees
Councillor B Surtees advised that his interests were with regards to the overall recycling, environmental and financial issues for the Council and he hoped that Councillor W Breare-Hall did not find the question mischievous.
Response by Councillor W Breare-Hall
Councillor W Breare-Hall advised that the question was a little mischievous, as he and the vast majority of residents did not believe there was still a considerable disruption or difficulty with either the residual or recycling collections.