Agenda and minutes

It was reported that Councillor Gill Williams had replaced Councillor Sophie Olszewki on the panel.

An apology was submitted on behalf of Councillor Gill Williams.

Held on 18 April 2013, to be signed as a correct record.

Resolved:     That the minutes of the meeting held on 18 April 2013 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Following the visit of the panel to the Material Recovery Facility at Shotton and to the In-vessel Composting Facility in Wrexham on 8 May 2013, the panel viewed a DVD which gave an overview of the processes.

A written copy of the information provided by the Biofore Company UPM was circulated at the meeting.

It was noted that the panel would undertake a further site visit to the recycling collection service undertaken by Stafford Borough Council on Wednesday, 19 June 2013.

The Chair noted the need to achieve, if possible, an increase in recycling rates whilst keeping costs down.  The need to keep paper separate was noted.  Councillor Miss Reddish considered there might be a way to combine the different methods of recycling to achieve the optimum solution.

Councillor Loades asked for some modelling to be undertaken on the basis of collection and recycling rates over the last two-to-three years illustrating the costs and risks of the various models under consideration.

Councillor Reddish added that an aide memoir of the different systems operated by the local authorities studied/visited would be a useful tool for members as the panel moved forward.

The panel also discussed the importance of consultation with local residents and the need to ensure that they were fully consulted on the options under consideration.

Resolved:    

(1)               That the information and knowledge gleaned from the visits be taken forward by the panel in formulating its recommendations;

(2)               That information be submitted to a future meeting of the panel in relation to modelling based on collection and recycling rates over the last two-to-three years illustrating the costs and risks of the various models under consideration; and

(3)               That a summary of the different systems operated by the local authorities studied/visited be made available to the panel at the appropriate point in its deliberations.

There were no declarations of interest.

Simon Sowerby (Business Improvement Manager) gave a briefing to the panel on the legislation and other rules in relation to service procurement.  He explained the need to ensure that every contract entered into by or on behalf of the council complied with all relevant statutory provisions in addition to the EU Procurement Regulations, the council’s standing orders and any supplementary contract guidelines.

He went on to set out the requirements of the EU Procurement Regulations, and competition and financial requirements in relation to low, intermediate and high value procurement.  He concluded the presentation by describing the benefits of the shared service approach.

Resolved:     That the content of presentation and discussions be taken forward as part of the panel’s considerations.

There were no items of urgent business.