There were no apologies for absence.

There were no disclosures of interest. 

To submit for signature the minutes of the meeting held on 16 July 2013.

(All minutes are available on the Council's website.)

The minutes of the meeting held on 16 July 2013 were submitted and signed.

The update on actions is attached for the Panel's comments and for sign-off of completed actions.

An updated version of the action list was added to the agenda on 13 November 2013.

The Panel received an update on different actions which had arisen at previous meetings.

Councillor Joynes referred to the marketing of services to women's groups particularly with reference to the Harriers (SLM 5).  She suggested that information be sent to the Women's Centre and Community Centres as part of the marketing.

ACTION-Commissioning Manager

It was noted that there was an error in the action for SLM 4.

Following a question from Councillor Greenslade in reference to SLM 4, the Head of Corporate Strategy and Client Services responded that some actions were still outstanding but these were being addressed.

RESOLVED – that the actions update be noted and the completed actions be signed off.

Report of the Partnerships and Performance Section Head

This report provides the Panel with the relevant performance indicators for Quarter 2 (2013/2014).

The Panel received a report of the Partnerships and Performance Section Head providing the quarterly performance indicators for quarter 2 2013/14. 

The Partnerships and Performance Section Head introduced the report.  She advised that the report may have a slightly different format in the future.  This was because the Panel were receiving a number of different indicators due to the inclusion of the services provided by Veolia.  These indicators often had targets which could be shown as well as an indication of the quarterly and yearly trends.  The new format would ensure that the report remained meaningful.

The Chair referred to ES6 (improved street environmental cleanliness – levels of litter) and asked for further information about the cumulative result.  The Partnerships and Performance Section Head explained how the result was determined.

In response to a further question from the Chair, the Partnerships and Performance Section Head explained that levels of graffiti were currently reduced.

The Chair commented that in her view it was particularly important to consider residents' feedback in order to gain a holistic view of whether a service was working well, as figures alone did not always provide a full picture.

RESOLVED –

1.      that the performance of the identified outsourced service indicators at the end of quarter 2 (July – September) 2013/14 be noted.

2.      that the proposed future format for this report be noted.

The Head of Corporate Strategy and Client Services and the Environmental Services Client Manager (Waste & Recycling) will give a presentation to the Panel providing an overview of the contract, the monitoring arrangements and future developments.

The Panel received a presentation of the Environmental Services Client Manager (Waste and Recycling).  The presentation provided the Panel with a background to the contract, an overview of the services provided, an explanation of how the contract was managed by the Council's environment client team and details of the performance mechanisms that were in place.

The Environmental Services Client Manager (Waste and Recycling) referred to the new co-mingled recycling service.  He reported that in the first few weeks of operation the total amount of recyclables collected had increased from a weekly average of 65 tonnes to over 250 tonnes.  The amount collected had now settled to approximately 20 tonnes per day.  A further update on the levels of participation of this service would be provided at a later date.

Following a question from the Chair, the Environmental Services Client Manager (Waste and Recycling) responded that there were four additional vehicles as part of the service.  The service had one fewer round for compostable waste.  He added, following a question from Councillor Hastrick, that the vehicles were interchangeable and could be used for the different rounds.

The Environmental Services Client Manager outlined how the street cleansing, parks and open spaces teams operated through a 'village' approach.  The Head of Corporate Strategy and Client Services explained that in the past parks had been split into 'North' and ‘South' and the street cleansing teams had been split into a number of clusters.  The new approach was more integrated and this encouraged a sense of pride in the areas.

In response to a question from Councillor Joynes about leaves, the Environmental Services Client Manager (Waste and Recycling) explained that a leaf fall collection programme was in operation which would continue until the end of the year.  The Portfolio Holder added that leaf fall was an unpredictable situation affected by climatic conditions. 

The Chair asked whether there had been an increase in contamination levels of the recyclables.  The Environmental Services Client Manager (Waste and Recycling) confirmed that it was likely that contamination levels had increased since the new service was introduced.  There would be an increasing focus on quality going forward.  The Chair added that this was an important issue for marketing.

Councillor Joynes reported that she had been at a residents' meeting which was attended by representatives from Veolia.  She had been very impressed by their presentation.  The Environmental Services Client Manager (Waste and Recycling) noted that the Outreach Officers could be available for future residents' meetings.

The Partnerships and Performance Section Head asked whether data was available on the areas which were the source of the contamination.  The Environmental Services Client Manager (Waste and Recycling) said that in most cases it may be possible to identify areas from which any contamination was found. This would be carried out by monitoring, crew feedback and contractor reports.  Flats often suffered with contamination due to the shared use of the bins . Consistent monitoring and remedial actions would alleviate some of the issues faced.  He explained  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

Following the presentation on the Veolia contract, the Panel are asked to consider any conclusions and recommendations they would like to make.

The Chair summarised that the Panel wished to see exception reporting of performance as well as complaints and compliments to give a qualitative view of the services.  The Head of Corporate Strategy and Client Services advised that one important indicator was the maintenance and increase in the number of green flags for the parks which would be reported annually.

The Partnerships and Performance Section Head suggested that these be incorporated into the Performance report.

The Panel asked if the Environmental Services Client Manager (Waste and Recycling) could attend the next meeting to give an update on the services.

The Head of Corporate Strategy and Client Services suggested that the client team look at their monthly performance report and see which indicators it would be useful for the Panel to see.

ACTION – Environmental Services Client Manager (Waste and Recycling) and the Partnerships and Performance Section Head to consider how the performance of the contract could be reported to the Panel in future.

RESOLVED –

that the actions be noted