Interview with:

·  The Director of Change and Environmental Services, David Edwards; and

·  The Policy and Performance Manager, Georgia Hawkes.

Report to Follow.

The Chairman welcomed David Edwards, the Director of Change and Environmental Services, Steve Goulette, the Assistant Director of Environmental Services and Georgia Hawkes, the Policy and Performance Manager to the meeting.  Following a brief introduction from the witnesses outlining the contents of the Best Value Review of Waste and Recycling Services Scoping Report, the Committee suggested the following amendments and clarifications to the report:

·  Clarification of the recycling rate as the table at 1.7.5 showed Maidstone’s 2007/08 recycling rate at 24.54%, whereas the table at 1.17.2 showed it as 19%;

·  Whether the £917,000 difference in the costs of Maidstone’s service compared to the costs of the service in the borough offering best value for money for waste and recycling was a like for like comparison and to what authority this referred to;

·  With reference to 1.17.13, clarification that the weekend freighter service was not free as residents paid for the service through taxation; and

·  With reference to 1.12.11, the topic of CO² emissions be expanded to include emissions from vehicles and exploration of new fleet vehicles to reduce emissions.

Members discussed the report and considered that the following could be investigated as part of the Best Value Review:

·  Potential for exploration of disposal arrangements for items collected as part of the freighter service, including re-use;

·  Simplification of the bulky waste collection charges;

·  Consideration of the perceptions of residents receiving the new recycling service, including the amount of residual waste and possible collection arrangements; and

·  Potential for partnership working arrangements for waste and recycling collection as the collection contract was due for renewal in 2013.

Mr Edwards explained that the involvement of Overview and Scrutiny Committees in Best Value Reviews had traditionally only included consideration of the contents of the scoping document, the options report and implementation plan.  The Committee was invited to do this in addition to reviewing the collection arrangements as part of the Best Value Review.  The Committee agreed to this proposal.

A number of Councillors noted that they had had problems receiving e-mails and had therefore been unable to consider the scoping document prior to the meeting.  It was agreed that the Committee would make any further comments regarding the scoping report to the Overview and Scrutiny Officer by Friday 8 May 2009.

The Chairman thanked the witnesses for an informative presentation.

The Web Cast from this session is available at http://clients.westminster-digital.co.uk/maidstone/archive.aspx.

Resolved:  That

a)  The Committee review the collection arrangements for waste and recycling services as part of the Best Value Review in the municipal year 2009/10;

b)  The Committee submit further comments with regard to the scoping report to the Overview and Scrutiny Officer by Friday 8 May;

c)  The scoping report be amended to reflect the following amendments and clarifications:

  i.  Clarification of the recycling rate as the table at 1.7.5 showed Maidstone’s 2007/08 recycling rate at 24.54%, whereas the table at 1.17.2 showed it as 19%;

  ii.  Whether the £917,000 difference in the costs of Maidstone’s service compared to the costs of the service in the borough offering best value for money for waste and recycling was a like for like comparison and to what authority this referred to;

  iii.  With reference to 1.17.13, clarification that the weekend freighter service was not free as residents paid for the service through taxation; and

  iv.  With reference to 1.12.11, the topic of CO² emissions be expanded to include emissions from vehicles and exploration of new fleet vehicles to reduce emissions.