Agenda item

Grounds Maintenance Service Review

To finalise the Committee’s report following the review of the Grounds Maintenance service.

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report, set out at Agenda pages 13 to 46, which included the final draft of the Committee’s report on the Grounds Maintenance service.

 

The report reminded Members of the discussions held at the meetings on 1 August, 19 September and 17 October 2018. The evidence submitted to the Committee had been used to produce the draft report and the set of draft recommendations to the Council’s Executive.

 

The Committee discussed any final amendments to the report and received comments from the following Officers:

 

·           Sarah Hollamby, Acting Director of Locality and Customer Services;

·           Peter Baveystock, Service Manager, Cleaner, Greener and Reactive Highway Services;

·           Mark Redfearn, Lead – Localities Service.

 

The Scrutiny review of the Grounds Maintenance service had been carried out following a large number of complaints about grass cutting in the period from March to May 2018. From the evidence submitted, it was apparent that the Council’s contractor (ISS Facility Services) had not deployed sufficient resources (staff and equipment) to complete the initial round of grass cutting in a reasonable time. Consequently, in some parts of the Borough, the grass grew very long as the contractor attempted to catch up on the cutting schedule. The situation was worsened by the unseasonably wet and cold weather in March/April.

 

In carrying out the Scrutiny review the Committee focussed on three key issues:

 

·           Were there problems with the structure of the Council’s Grounds Maintenance Contract?

·           Were there problems with the way the Council’s contractor was delivering the service?

·           Were there problems with the way the Council monitored and managed the contract?

 

The Scrutiny report made a number of recommendations relating to the future delivery of the Grounds Maintenance service (the contractor having changed from ISS to Tivoli Group in June 2018). The recommendations focussed on measures which ensured that the service was fully resourced in terms of staff, supervisors and equipment in time for the 2019 grass cutting season. The Committee also made recommendations relating to improved communication about the service and the development of local networks involving residents, community groups and Town and Parish Councils.

 

The draft recommendations to the Executive were as follows:

 

1        That the Executive Member and Director of Locality and Customer Services meet with senior management from Tivoli Group to discuss the operation of the grounds maintenance service and to emphasise the Council’s expectations for service delivery in 2019.

 

2       That the Executive Member and Director of Locality and Customer Services liaise with their counterparts at RBWM to identify areas of common interest and concern and make joint representations to Tivoli Group as necessary.

 

3       That the Director of Locality and Customer Services review the level of WBC’s client monitoring/management resource available for the beginning of the next grass cutting season – March/April 2019.

 

4       That the Director of Locality and Customer Services review the contractual options available to the Council in the event of continuing underperformance by the grounds maintenance contractor.

 

5       That the Director of Locality and Customer Services explore options for co-location of the grounds maintenance client and contractor teams and review the weighting of KPIs to emphasise the performance of the key public-facing elements of the service.

 

6       That the implementation of the Localities Service be used to develop a framework for improved engagement and performance management of community services (including grounds maintenance) with local residents, community groups, Town and Parish Councils and ward Members.

 

7       That WBC Officers work with the contractor to seek input from appropriate specialist groups, including RSPB and the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) in order to inform management plans for biodiversity sites (woodland, copse and thicket) across the Borough.

 

8       That, as part of the Council’s 21st Century Council programme, new technology be used to deliver more comprehensive, up to date information on grounds maintenance schedules, routes, performance and customer feedback via the Council’s website.

 

9       That the Council continue discussions with Town and Parish Councils about the potential for further asset transfers and options for mutual support in relation to the grounds maintenance service, with regular updates to the Borough Parish Liaison Forum.

 

10     That the Director of Locality and Customer Services submit a report to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee, at its meeting in February 2019, setting out the arrangements in place to ensure an effective grass cutting service in 2019.

 

11     That the Director of Locality and Customer Services submit a further report to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee, at its meeting in October 2019, setting out details of performance issues and lessons learnt during the 2019 grass cutting season.

 

12     That the Executive instruct Officers to provide updated guidance on the Council’s approach to public consultation, in line with the commitments set out in the Council’s Constitution and the relevant legal principles.

 

In relation to the next steps, the Chairman confirmed that the Scrutiny report would be submitted to the Executive at its meeting on 30 January 2019. The report would be accompanied by a covering report from the Executive Member and Director of Locality and Customer Services setting out which recommendations were accepted and which, if any, were not accepted (with supporting reasons). The Chairman would be invited to attend the Executive meeting to present the report on behalf of the Committee.

 

The Chairman invited Sarah Hollamby to address the Committee. Sarah stated that the report’s recommendations were reasonable and generally acceptable. Sarah outlined the work that was currently under way to ensure that the contractor has sufficient resources in place to deliver an effective grass cutting service in 2019. Additional client monitoring resources would also be put in place to ensure that the contractor was achieving the required standards across the Borough.

 

During the ensuing discussion of the Scrutiny report Members and Officers raised the following points:

 

·           It was clear that the contractor (ISS followed by Tivoli) did not achieve the required contractual standards in 2018 and this also appeared to be the situation at other Councils who used the same contractor.

 

·           It was noted that the WBC contract was outcomes-based. However, it was felt that the contract contained too little prescription which meant that the Council was, in effect, putting too much trust in the contractor.

 

·           The evidence from 2017 indicated that the contractor could deliver an effective service. It was contingent on WBC to ensure that the contractor had sufficient staff and machinery for the start of the grass cutting season in 2019.

 

·           It was important to have clear evidence of non-performance by the contractor in case it was necessary to terminate the contract at some point in the future. Officers confirmed that the contract did contain key performance and management indicators. The KPI weightings would be reviewed in order to emphasise the importance of the grass cutting element of the contract.

 

·           There had been some useful communication activity in 2018 which helped residents and community groups to understand the issues affecting the service. This should be built upon in 2019. There were tools on the market which could help to facilitate more effective communication.

 

The Chairman stated that the draft report would be reviewed to reflect the Committee’s discussions and the comments from Officers. A final version would then be circulated to the Committee for approval prior to submission to the Executive in January 2019.

 

RESOLVED That:

 

1)     Sarah Hollamby, Peter Baveystock, and Mark Redfearn be thanked for attending the meeting to discuss the Scrutiny report;

 

2)     further consideration be given to the points raised at the meeting prior to final agreement of the report;

 

3)     the report be submitted to the Executive at its meeting on 30 January 2019;

 

4)     in line with the Scrutiny report’s recommendations, the Committee receive further progress reports on the Grounds Maintenance service at its meetings in February and October 2019.

Supporting documents: