Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations of interest at the meeting.

Proposed by Councillor Keutenius,

Seconded by Councillor Fuller; and

RESOLVED:

That Councillor Shoob be elected Chairman of the Task and Finish Group.

(Voting figures: 5 for, 0 against, 0 abstentions).

To agree and note the terms of reference for the Group.

The Chairman outlined the Terms of Reference of the Group.

A discussion took place around whether the meeting on 26 July would be webcast publicly. The Chief Executive advised that the agenda documents and minutes for the meeting would be fulsome. The Director of Place also stated that having the session in private would enable members to have an open discussion, with the potential to probe in depth issues which could be commercially sensitive.  

The Task and Finish Group Members asked for their disappointment to be noted, given the issues residents had been facing, and the vast impact of the current situation.  The Chief Executive advised that she would seek further advice on the issue from the council’s Monitoring Officer.

It was agreed that the Terms of Reference be amended, with the addition of the wording “including staffing and Echo IT system” after the words “route optimisation project” in point 1.

RESOLVED:

That, subject to the above additional wording, and subject to further consultation with the Monitoring Officer around holding the meeting on 26 July in public, the terms of reference be agreed.

To receive a presentation on the suggested format for the Task and Finish meeting on 26 July 2021, to include the following:

•      Potential Key Lines of Enquiry (KLOE) to address the scope of the Terms of Reference;

•      Potential questions that could form the KLOE;

•      The range and scope of supporting / background information to be prepared;

•      Management of the session - consideration of a lead member for each potential KLOE.

•       

The Director of Place gave a presentation which set out the proposed agenda for the meeting on 26 July, and the suggested key lines of enquiry.

The Task and Finish Group Members commented on various issues, and made points including the following:

·         Was there a ‘menu’ within the contract, setting out the different service options?

·         What was the contractual position on missed bins?

·         Members needed to have sight of details of the detail related to contract management and performance management as soon as possible,as preparation for the meeting.

·         It was important to hear the views of the staff close to the situation, such as the council’s customer services team, and the Veolia staff who are ‘on the ground’. It would also be useful to hear from the Town Sprucer, who had been using charity budgets to assist with the clean-up.

The Task and Finish Group then commented on the Key Lines of enquiry and made the following points:

·         What caused the service failures? It was important to understand reasons for the modelling, and underlying logic.

·         In terms of recovery, this also needed to address how service levels would then be maintained going forward.

·         There needed to be a question around how well the contract had been implemented on a local level, in terms of issues with those using assisted delivery, and leeway as to where people could place their bins for collection.

·         Staff welfare was important, were staff being given support where needed?

·         In terms of any final recommendations, these could also be directed to other portfolio holders, such as the Cabinet Member for Digital Transformation.

·         All background information should be circulated as soon as possible to the Task and Finish Group Members, including detail on performance prior to and after the changes. 

·         The latest performance figures would be reported at the meeting on 26 July, but was there another way of keeping members updated, such as a one drive or sharepoint area, which Members could access?

·         Could a survey to be sent to the ‘on the ground’ staff at Veolia and FHDC, where they could provide anonymous feedback? Councillor Fuller indicated he would be happy to create the questions.

·         Could trade union representatives from both Veolia and FHDC be invited to attend the session on 26 July to give the views of staff?

In terms of Lead Members for each of the KLOEs, the following was agreed:

·         KLOE 1 Rationale & Planning – Councillor Fuller

·         KLOE 2 Current Position – Councillor Wing

·         KLOE 3 Recovery – Councillor Keutenius

·         KLOE 4 Council Response – Councillor Gane

·         KLOE 5 Forward Look – Summary – Councillor Shoob

The Director of Place advised that he would be happy to respond to any further questions that members have, prior to the session on 26 July.

Actions –

MO to report back on whether the meeting on 26 July can be open to the public.

JW to update the Terms of Reference with the agreed amendment.

AR to update evidence base.

AR/EG to circulate evidence base  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.