That all items be web-cast.

Apologies were received from Councillor Ash.

There were no Substitute Members.

Councillor Vizzard attended as a Visiting Member with an interest in Item 7, Tendering Strategy – Waste and Recycling Contract from 2013.

There were no disclosures.

It was resolved that information relating to the Financial/Business Affairs of Item 7, Tendering Strategy – Waste and Recycling Contract from 2013, should be taken in Private and the meeting should be moved into Part II to allow the Committee to discuss this information.

It was resolved that Item 9, Future Work Programme and Scrutiny Officer Update, should be taken before Item 7,Tendering Strategy – Waste and Recycling Contract from 2013, to allow for the discussion of the main item to move into Part II.

PART II

To move that the public be excluded for the items set out in

Part II of the Agenda because of the likely disclosure of

exempt information for the reasons specified having applied

the Public Interest Test.

Head of Schedule 12A/

Brief Description

EXEMPT KEY DECISION REPORTS

The Committee looked at the items on the forward plan.  They discussed the Parish Scheme and felt that it was important they had input into the decision.  The Scrutiny Officer informed Members that Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee would be looking at this at their meeting on 29 November 2011. It was felt that there would be a benefit in all areas being covered and a joint meeting should be investigated.

It was resolved that a meeting to include Members of the Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee should be arranged to look at the Parish Scheme.

The Committee agreed a number of small amendments to be made to the minutes as highlighted by the Chairman (Appendix A).

Resolved:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 13 September 2011   be agreed as a correct record of the meeting and duly   signed by the Chairman.

Resolved:  That the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business due to the likely disclosure of exempt information for the reason specified under schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972:-

Interviews with:

·  Steve Goulette, Assistant Director Environment and Regulatory Services; and

·  Councillor Marion Ring, Cabinet Member for the Environment

Public Minute of Review of the Tendering Strategy - Waste and Recycling Contract from 2013

The Chairman welcomed Steve Goulette, Assistant Director of Environment and Regulatory Services and Cabinet Member for the Environment Councillor Marion Ring to the meeting.  The Chairman thanked Paul Vanston, Kent Waste Partnerships Manager for attending at short notice.

Mr Goulette gave a presentation which showed the development of Waste Services in Maidstone with the involvement of the Kent Waste Partnership (KWP).  The Best Value Review carried out in house by the Policy and Performance team had identified key targets which formed an action plan that had been worked on in the past eighteen months.  The Committee were informed that customer satisfaction had been high for the collection of refuse but low for recycling. The changes implemented at the start of the year with the introduction of the weekly food waste collection had been very positive.  The Love Food Hate Waste campaign was also attributed as contributing to the 10% reduction in waste overall.  Maidstone was one of the top performers in the country in terms of recycling and was already meeting the Government’s 50% recycling target.

The Officer explained that the Report of the Director of Change, Planning and the Environment on the Waste and Recycling – Tendering Strategy that the Committee had been given to consider, would be going to Cabinet the following evening, and their recommendations would also be considered. The Committee were informed that the contract would be for 10 years in Partnership with Ashford and Swale.  There would be a staggered start but the contract would finish in October 2023 to allow for a new contract to mobilise before the Christmas period. Members were informed that the East Kent Tendering process had helped model Maidstone’s Tendering Strategy. The Committee had been provided with a document for the meeting to explain the competitive dialogue process: ‘A procedure in which any economic operator may request to participate and whereby the contracting authority conducts a dialogue with the candidates admired to that procedure, with the aim of developing one or more suitable alternatives capable of meeting its requirements and on the basis of which the candidates chosen are invited to tender.’

The Committee were informed about the details of the new scheme which would include glass going into the recycling bin where it would be reused as road aggregate however; residents could continue to use the bottle banks in the borough where glass would continue to be recycled rather than reused and including a paper insert within the recycling bin. One of the considerations in the new contract was the inclusion of street cleaning as a shared service with the other partners. Members were informed that Street cleaning was undertaken by Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) employees and was not an area where great savings could be achieved in partnership. Retaining MBC staff for street cleaning gave flexibility within the workforce. This was clearly demonstrated when dealing with the snow in 2010/11. Maidstone Borough  ...  view the full minutes text for item 76.

6.30 p.m. to 8.40 p.m.