Agenda and minutes

Apologies for lateness were received from Councillor S Butt.  It was noted that whilst also present Councillor Shah would not able to participate in any formal decisions taken during the meeting as she was in remote online attendance.

Members are invited to declare at this stage of the meeting, the nature and existence of any relevant disclosable pecuniary or personal interests in the items on this agenda and to specify the item(s) to which they relate.

There were no declarations of interest shared

To hear any deputations received from members of the public in accordance with Standing Order 67.

None.

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting held on 8 November 2022 as a correct record.

Having noted the request by Councillor Mitchell to include additional clarification in the minutes with regard to Item 6 – Brent Council’s Grants Programme in relation to the discussion around Carbon Offset Funding the Committee AGREED to defer formal approval of the minutes from the previous meeting held on 8 November 2022 in order for these additional comments to be finalised and shared with the Committee

Members noted the minutes would therefore be presented to the next meeting for final approval and confirmation

To consider any matters arising from the minutes of the previous meeting.

Other than the comments referred to in agenda item 4 – Minutes of the previous meeting, no other Matters Arising were raised at the meeting.

To provide an update on the procurement programme and the proposed service changes to be included in the Integrated Street Cleansing, Waste Collections and Winter Maintenance Services Contract.

Councillor Krupa Sheth, Cabinet Member for Environment, Infrastructure & Climate Action introduced the report that had been circulated to member’s ahead of the meeting which updated the Committee on the procurement programme and the proposed service changes to be included in the Integrated Street Cleansing, Waste Collections and Winter Maintenance Services Contract.  The Committee was being asked to comment on the report and proposed service changes in advance of its final consideration by Cabinet in January 2023. 

Context was provided that the Resources & Public Realm Scrutiny Committee last received a report on the wider Redefining Local Services (RLS) programme in July 2021 which had outlined the procurement strategy and timetable for the Integrated Contract. The Committee were advised that the current Street Cleaning, Waste Collections and Winter Maintenance Services that formed the contract would come to an end on 31 March 2023.  Therefore in line with the RLS delivery model that was confirmed by Cabinet in February 2022 (specialist contracts delivery model with low level insourcing) the item had returned to the Committee with updates that included a more detailed plan of the preferred service moving forward.

The Committee was advised that as part of the recommissioning of the Integrated Contract, in Summer 2022 officers had sought feedback from the local community via public consultations with regard to the  Preferred Service which included a shift from weekly, co-mingled (single stream) dry recycling collections to alternate weekly, twin stream dry recycling collections (whereby containers would be collected one week and mixed paper and card would be collected the next) for street level households. Changes were also proposed to street cleansing which would see a shift from frequency based cleaning to an intelligence led approach. In Autumn 2022 the Council’s Preferred Service of alternate weekly twin stream recycling was trialled in pilot areas across the borough to examine how potential changes to the current system would work in practice. The outcome of these actions had informed the ongoing live procurement of contracted service providers.

The Committee recognised the challenges in continuing to deliver an effective service within the community balanced against budgetary challenges and Brent’s commitment to achieve carbon net zero by 2030.

In welcoming the opportunity to review the report prior to its consideration by Cabinet, the Committee had a number of questions for officers on the approach outlined, with the following key points discussed.  The Chair also advised that she had received a late request to speak prior to the meeting from Councillor Lorber, which she would allow if time permitted:

·                The Committee required clarity as to how the Council’s Preferred Service would support Brent’s climate commitment to achieve carbon net zero by 2030 and what were the differences between the current contract and the suggested ‘Preferred Service’ that would support this aim. In response the Committee were advised that the new service hoped to see positive impacts on climate and environment by increased levels of recycling, decreased levels of waste going to disposal and the use of newly  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Notice of items to be raised under this heading must be given in writing to the Head of Executive and Member Services or his representative before the meeting in accordance with Standing Order 60.

None.