Issue - meetings

That:

1)        the report of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee into the Grounds Maintenance Contract as set out in Attachment 1 to the report be noted;

2)        the Officers’ respective responses to each recommendation, as set out in the Background section of the report, be supported.

The Executive considered a report setting out the Officer response to the Grounds Maintenance Scrutiny Review which was carried out by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee in 2018.

Councillor Philip Houldsworth, the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee, introduced the report and drew Members’ attention to the three main issues that the review had focussed on, as outlined in the report, following the large number of complaints that had been received from the public and Members about grass cutting.

During the review account was taken of the complaints that had been submitted, evidence received from residents, towns and parishes, community groups and the experiences of other councils who employed the same contractor.

Councillor Houldsworth highlighted the 12 recommendations that had come out of the review all of which had been accepted by Officers.  As part of the review the Committee had requested that the Executive Member and the Director of Locality and Customer Services meet the senior management team from Tivoli early in 2019 to emphasise the Council’s expectation for service delivery in 2019 and then submit a report to the February meeting of the Committee setting out the arrangements in place to ensure an effective grass cutting service in 2019.

The Executive Member for Environment, Libraries and Leisure advised that he also agreed with the recommendations, that a meeting with Tivoli was planned for next week and the intention was that the Deputy Executive Member and the Director would be attending the February Overview and Scrutiny meeting.  Councillor Halsall also suggested having an item on grass cutting at the March meeting of the Committee as well.

RESOLVED that:

1)        the report of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee into the Grounds Maintenance Contract as set out in Attachment 1 to the report be noted;

2)        the Officers’ respective responses to each recommendation, as set out in the Background section of the report, be supported.