Agenda, decisions and minutes

(a)        This meeting is to be webcast;

(b)        Members are reminded of the need to activate their microphones before speaking; and

(c)        the Chairman will read the following announcement:

“I would like to remind everyone present that this meeting will be broadcast live to the Internet and will be capable of subsequent repeated viewing, with copies of the recording being made available for those that request it.

By being present at this meeting, it is likely that the recording cameras will capture your image and this will result in your image becoming part of the broadcast.

You should be aware that this may infringe your human and data protection rights. If you have any concerns then please speak to the Webcasting Officer.

Please could I also remind Members to activate their microphones before speaking.”

The Leader made a short address to remind all present that the meeting would be broadcast on the Internet, and that the Council had adopted a protocol for the webcasting of its meetings.

(Director of Governance) To declare interests in any item on this agenda.

To confirm the minutes of the last meeting of the Cabinet held on 7 April 2014 (previously circulated).

(1)        That the minutes of the meeting held on 7 April 2014 be taken as read and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

Resolved:

(1)        That the minutes of the meeting held on 7 April 2014 be taken as read and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

(Environment Portfolio Holder) To consider the attached report (C-092-2013/14).

(Environment Portfolio Holder) To note the following additional information for the Risk Management section when considering the report:

(6)        Once the Cabinet makes the appointment decision, and call in has elapsed, a standstill period known as the “Alcatel” period has to be implemented. This requires that no action is taken for a 10 calendar day period after the decision is actionable, to enable any of the bidders who have participated throughout the entire process, to mount a challenge to the decision, before a contract is signed. The Council is required to send a very detailed letter to each of the participating bidders setting out why they were unsuccessful, providing their assessments scores (where applicable) plus a narrative on the relative advantages of the successful bid over their own.  Should an unsuccessful bidder mount a challenge, this would cause a delay in the appointment and mobilisation period. The procurement process has been transparent throughout and all bidders have been aware of how the Council was undertaking the assessment process. Eight of the bidders have been through at least one phase of competitive dialogue, and the final four went through two full stages of competitive dialogue.

(1)        That Biffa Municipal Limited be appointed as the Council’s waste management service provider for the ten year period commencing 3 November 2014 and ending on 2 November 2024 for the initial sum, subject to annual indexation, of £5,082,794.56 per annum;

(2)        That, commencing at the start of March 2015, the basing of the new waste and recycling collection service upon a four day Tuesday to Friday service  be noted;

(3)        That the operation of the new waste management service from the Langston Road depot until the end of February 2015 and then from two depots located in Edmonton (dry recycling) and Waltham Cross (Residual, commingled food and garden and streets) from March 2015 be noted;

(4)        That the service enhancements and improvements resulting from the procurement exercise and the new service to be delivered as the “as is service”, with no requirement for a third wheeled bin, be noted;

(5)        That the services to be provided by the appointed contractor had been assessed in accordance with the requirements of EU Waste Framework Directive as enabled in UK law by The Waste England and Wales Regulations 2011 (as amended) be agreed;

(6)        That authority be delegated to the relevant Portfolio Holder and the Directors of Neighbourhoods and Governance to make limited minor adjustments to the contract and specification so as to enable the maximum efficiencies and economies to be achieved, including the determination of whether provisional sum items should remain within the contract, and to amend the contract and specification accordingly; and

(7)        That the overall saving over the present contract of £416,680 per annum be noted.

The Environment Portfolio Holder presented a report on the appointment of a new Waste Management service provider.

The Portfolio Holder stated that the contract with the Council’s current service provider Sita would end on 2 November 2014. The procurement exercise to appoint a new service provider commenced in March 2013, using a Competitive Dialogue process. Eight bidding contractors were selected following the initial pre-qualification stages and these were reduced, through the dialogue process, to a final four, as listed in the report. The Competitive Dialogue process had enabled detailed discussions throughout the procurement between the Council and the bidding contractors, and this had resulted in a specification and associated conditions of contract which fully met the Council’s aspirations for the future and were within the Council’s envelope of affordability. Biffa Municipal Limited had scored the highest number of points of the four contenders, being almost 400 points ahead of the next best bidder.

The Portfolio Holder added that, in addition to the overall annual saving of £416,680, the recommended provider and the new specification and contract also allowed for a raft of service improvements plus opportunities in the future for generating further savings, including:

·         an early exit from Langston Road depot, facilitating the proposed redevelopment for retail use and the associated revenue benefits for the Council;

·         a whole new refuse fleet from April 2015, reducing vehicle downtime and delivering reduced fuel usage and carbon emissions (reduction estimated at 120 tonnes of Carbon per annum);

·         four day operations (Tuesday to Friday), avoiding the associated Bank Holiday Monday disruptions;

·         a new ICT system providing real time information and opportunities for future alignment as the Council’s corporate Customer Relationship Management system, ability to send text messages to residents for appointments, real time recording of missed collections, contaminated bins and associated collection data;

·         improved street cleansing standards and the retention of local village/town sweepers, the removal of weeds and undergrowth;

·         creation of area improvement teams, a business improvement team and annual customer satisfaction survey;

·         creation of an Epping Forest Environment Investment fund;

·         a commercial waste/ recycling service with an element of profit sharing;

·         greater co-operation and synergies between the Street Cleaning and Grounds Maintenance services;

·         the collection of additional materials for recycling at the kerbside, such as tetrapaks, batteries and small electrical items; and

·         recycling sacks to be delivered annually to all residents.

The Portfolio Holder assured the Cabinet that the new service would be based upon the existing one, in that there would be no requirement for a third wheeled bin.  The service would therefore be:

·         a weekly collection of food and garden waste via the existing (green lidded) wheeled bin;

·         an alternate weekly collection of recyclables via the blue box and clear sacks; and

·         an alternate weekly collection of residual waste via the existing (black lidded) wheeled bin.

The Portfolio Holder informed the Cabinet that the changeover to the new four-day service would not commence until March 2015 at the earliest, and it would be the highest priority of the Council and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 172.

It was noted that there was no other urgent business for consideration by the Cabinet.

Exclusion

To consider whether, under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press should be excluded from the meeting for the items of business set out below on grounds that they will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the following paragraph(s) of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act (as amended) or are confidential under Section 100(A)(2):

The Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006, which came into effect on 1 March 2006, requires the Council to consider whether maintaining the exemption listed above outweighs the potential public interest in disclosing the information. Any member who considers that this test should be applied to any currently exempted matter on this agenda should contact the proper officer at least 24 hours prior to the meeting.

Confidential Items Commencement

Paragraph 9 of the Council Procedure Rules contained in the Constitution require:

(1)        All business of the Council requiring to be transacted in the presence of the press and public to be completed by 10.00 p.m. at the latest.

(2)        At the time appointed under (1) above, the Chairman shall permit the completion of debate on any item still under consideration, and at his or her discretion, any other remaining business whereupon the Council shall proceed to exclude the public and press.

(3)        Any public business remaining to be dealt with shall be deferred until after the completion of the private part of the meeting, including items submitted for report rather than decision.

Background Papers

Paragraph 8 of the Access to Information Procedure Rules of the Constitution define background papers as being documents relating to the subject matter of the report which in the Proper Officer's opinion:

(a)        disclose any facts or matters on which the report or an important part of the report is based;  and

(b)        have been relied on to a material extent in preparing the report and does not include published works or those which disclose exempt or confidential information (as defined in Rule 10) and in respect of executive reports, the advice of any political advisor.

Inspection of background papers may be arranged by contacting the officer responsible for the item.

(1)        That the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the items of business set out below on the grounds they would involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972:

Resolved:

(1)        That the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the items of business set out below on the grounds they would involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972:

(Finance & Technology Portfolio Holder) To consider the attached report (C-091-2014/15).

(1)        That a reduction be made to the rent payable by Hughmark Continental Ltd for the last quarter of 2013/14 in the sum of £35,459;

(2)        That a fresh review of the situation be undertaken after the summer trading period has finished in September 2014 and that the rent reduction agreed above did not set a precedent for future rent reductions by the Council;

(3)        That further discussions be entered into with Hughmark Continental Ltd regarding the “Maid in Essex” initiative and other plans to improve the viability of the Market; and

(4)        That further reports be submitted to the Asset Management & Economic Development Cabinet Committee during 2014/15 to consider alternative sources of income from North Weald Airfield for the Council.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance & Technology presented a report regarding the licence fee for North Weald Market.

The Portfolio Holder reminded the Cabinet that a licence to operate a market at North Weald Airfield was granted to Hughmark Continental Ltd in September 2010 for the period until 2017. In view of the difficult trading conditions, the Cabinet decided to reduce the licence fee and infrastructure charge, with the charge for the car boot sale remaining, for a period of one year from 1 January 2012.

The Portfolio Holder reported that trading conditions had not improved during 2012 and the Cabinet agreed to a further reduction in fees on January 2013. Under this agreement, the infrastructure charge and car boot sale fee were suspended and a fixed fee per market was payable instead. The agreement also included an income share arrangement such that if the weekly income exceeded a certain level in any one week then the Council would receive 50% of the excess. There had been no benefit from the income share as the trigger level had not been reached in any particular week.

The Portfolio Holder stated that the Cabinet decision in January 2013 was for the amended fee to be in place for one year with effect from 1 January. This was extended by a further year by the Cabinet in February 2014, and as part of this decision it was agreed that there would be a review after the end of the financial year. If the rental payable was adjusted to reflect the reduction in income from the market between 2013 and 2014 then a refund of approximately £30,000 would be due to the market operator.

The Director of Hughmark Continental Limited provided the Cabinet with an update of current trading conditions since 9 April; this being the date of the previous correspondence that had been included in the report. Conditions were currently very difficult for out-of-town markets generally, and the market at North Weald Airfield was becoming increasingly localised due to the continual increase in fuel costs. Consequently, an effort was being made to attract more local stallholders, such as small businesses, charities, and sports clubs through the “Maid in Essex” initiative. The recent good weather had seen an increase in the number of stalls at the market, which had returned to the levels previously experienced in 2013. The company was doing all it could to improve the trading situation at the Market, through initiatives such as “Maid in Essex”.

The Director of Hughmark Continental answered a number of questions from the Members present. Some of the traders that used to use the Market went out of business, whilst others had forsaken physical stalls for internet sites such as e-Bay. It was highlighted that the Market was very weather dependant and if the Market had more stalls then the public would attend. A discount could be offered to any traders attracted to the market through the “Maid in Essex” initiative if the Council so desired. The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 175.