Agenda item

To consider an update on the new street cleansing contract which is due to commence in April 2020.

The Committee considered a report, set out at Agenda pages 35 to 47, which gave details of the award of the WBC Street Cleansing contract to Volker Highways with a start date of 1 April 2020.

The report stated that the current contract had been let in 2011 on a five year term with an option for extensions up to four years. In recent years a perception had grown that the contract did not deliver good value for money. A preferred route was to include the service within the Highways Maintenance contract. Consequently, street cleansing was included as an option within the OJEU Notice for the Highways Maintenance contract.

The new service would include the following features:

·           A new fleet of vehicles;

·           An extension to the Highways IT system (HIMS);

·           Maintenance of the current cleansing frequencies with negotiations on an output based approach;

·           Guaranteed standards on all adopted roads, footways, traffic islands and cycleways;

·           All litter bins emptied on time and flytipping removed within set timescales.

Appended to the report were the Project Initiation Document and Communications Plan.

In the ensuing discussion Members made the following points:

Would the new contract include the collection of dog waste? It was confirmed that the contract would include collection of waste from litter bins, including dog waste.

What impact would the new contract have on fly tipping? It was confirmed that the Localities team had taken over responsibility for tackling fly tipping. This would include continued development of the full range of sanctions including fixed penalties and prosecution in serious cases. The new contract also involved a more comprehensive performance management framework with five KPIs including the removal of fly tipping.

The report stated that the new contract would involve a new fleet of vehicles. Would these be low emission vehicles? It was confirmed that the new vehicles would be low emission, but not electric. 

The new contractor would be delivering the street cleaning and gully emptying services. Was there potential for improved coordination between the two services? It was confirmed that the new service would include street cleansing on a six-weekly basis and gully emptying on a biannual frequency. The potential for more joined up working would be considered in the run up to the commencement of the new arrangements.

What was the definition for Grade A standard for street cleaning? It was confirmed that Grade A meant free of litter and detritus. From the time of reporting, the contractor had 24 hours to bring the location up to Grade A.

What guarantees were there to ensure that the outgoing contractor maintained current standards? It was confirmed that the outgoing contractor would wish to keep to current standards in order to maintain its reputation and seek positive references for future work. Staff working for the current contractor would also be likely to transfer to the new contractor under the TUPE process.

RESOLVED That:

1)     progress in re-letting the Street Cleansing Contract as part of the Highways Maintenance Contract be noted;

2)     a further update report be submitted to the Committee in October 2020.