Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations of interest.

To declare if any issues to be covered in the Agenda are under party whip.

There were no declarations of party whipping.

To receive any questions from members of the public provided that a question does not relate to:

·         Matters which are the subject of current or pending legal proceedings, or

·         Matters relating to employees or former employees of the Council or comments in respect of individual Council Officers

If you would like to ask a question at this meeting, please contact democratic.services@gloucester.gov.uk as soon as possible and by Friday 26^th of February 2021 at the latest.

There were no public questions.

To receive any petitions and deputations provided that no such petition or deputation is in relation to:

·         Matters relating to individual Council Officers, or

·         Matters relating to current or pending legal proceedings

If you would like to present a petition or deputation please contact democratic.services@gloucester.gov.uk as soon as possible and by Friday 26^th of February 2021 at the latest.

There were no petitions and deputations.

To receive the report of the Cabinet Member for Environment which makes recommendations for the delivery of Waste, Street Scene and Grounds Maintenance services beyond the current contract end date of 31 March 2022.

6.1       The Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Environment, Councillor Cook, introduced the report and highlighted key elements. He outlined that the waste contract was one of the biggest decisions the Council would have to make as it impacted on the delivery of waste and recycling services to over 56,000 properties in the city, determined how streets would be kept clean, and how green open spaces, parks and playgrounds were maintained. Councillor Cook extended the Council’s thanks to the staff and management of Amey for work they had done to improve the relationship between the company and the City Council in recent years and particularly for the way they had sustained  key public services  during the COVID-19 pandemic. Councillor Cook then outlined that process that had been followed to produce the report. He expressed his thanks for the positive, constructive, and professional way in which Ubico and Urbaser had conducted themselves throughout the appraisal process. He stated that the process had been comprehensive, rigorous and fair and that if the recommendations in the report were accepted by Cabinet, Gloucester City Council would become both a part owner and customer of Ubico which brought with it a number of benefits.

6.2     The Transformation and Commercialisation Manager outlined in further detail the appraisal process which had been carried out. Len Attrill explained that the specification that both companies had been invited to price reflected the current service and that both had been asked to give a price for service enhancements that reflected current industry standard practice for streetcare. Overall, from a technical point of view it was considered that both were proposals were satisfactory.

6.3      The Chair reiterated that this was a significant contract and added that this was therefore an important area of scrutiny. Councillor Stephens thanked Officers and Len Attrill for their work on the options appraisal. He stated that he agreed with the recommendations as the best way forward for the residents of Gloucester, based on both the independent assessment carried out by KPMG and WYG, and the presentations delivered by both companies. Lastly, Councillor Stephens outlined that he welcomed the Ubico option which he believed was a true public sector partnership allowing for flexibility in the future if required. Councillor Lewis stated that he also agreed with the recommendations. In response to his query about how recyclates would be managed, Councillor Cook and the Waste, Recycling & Streetscene Manager explained that work had already been carried out with Amey in finding and setting floor prices for all of the City Council‘s recyclates, and thus it was not an area of concern. Regarding the recycling fleet, the Waste Recycling & Streetscene Manager said that it was not being replaced as it was only 4 years old, however the refuse fleet would be replaced.

6.4     In answer to Councillor Wilson’ query about the ongoing price certainty in the table in paragraph 5.3, the Corporate Director advised that Urbaser scored more highly because Urbaser‘s proposal  included a cap on any  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Monday 7^th of June 2021.

Monday 7^th of June 2021.