Agenda, decisions and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor John Webster.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve the minutes of the last meeting of 27 September 2011

The minutes of the meeting held on 27 September had been circulated with the agenda.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 27 September be agreed and signed as an accurate record.

There were no public questions or petitions.

Report of the Cabinet Member Sustainability

The Leader of the Council explained that this was a special meeting of Cabinet which had originally been scheduled for the purposes of a countywide discussion on a joint committee on waste but this had since been postponed.

The Cabinet Member Sustainability reported that Cotswold District Council had met earlier in the day and approved the creation of the Local Authority Company. This followed on from the work both councils had been doing in examining options for joint working in waste services as members of the Gloucestershire waste partnership. Both Councils subsequently worked towards the creation of a Local Authority Company to deliver improved outcomes for waste, recycling and street cleansing and value for money for the public.

He reported that the initial net annual service saving to Cheltenham from the establishment of the company was estimated to be £125 000 in a full financial year from August, mainly due to savings in management costs, with the savings rising to £225 000 in 2014.

The Cabinet Member Sustainability said that when the Company goes live customers would see no actual change to their existing service. It was hoped that the transition would be seamless. There would however be immediate advantages of economies of scale. The Cabinet Member highlighted that recycling rates would continue to improve and the aim was to achieve 60 %.

The Cabinet Member Sustainability further explained that the Council was continuing to pursue joint collaborative working and continued to depot share with Tewkesbury Borough Council and it was hoped that Tewkesbury and other councils would join the company in the future.

The Cabinet Member Sustainability highlighted what services were proposed to be “in scope” and at this point paid tribute to the work undertaken by the cross council working group and to officers supporting that group.

The Cabinet Member wished to put on record his thanks to the great number of officers who had been involved in the project to date including the drafting of the articles, shareholder agreement and the service level agreements.

The company would be called Ubico and would have its head office at Swindon Road with a further depot in the Cotswolds. The Cabinet member stressed that the Local authority company would be operational only and would not make policy. There would be a member representative on the company with speaking rights but not voting rights. The branding of the company had yet to be determined but would be examined by a cross authority member led group. CBC staff would transfer to the company under TUPE arrangements in April 2012 and terms and conditions and pension rights would be preserved. He highlighted that senior officers of the Local Authority Company would still be called to account before Overview and Scrutiny.

The Cabinet Member Sustainability stated that setting up the Local Authority Company was a major step in collaborative working. It placed the Council and Cotswold District Council and others who may join in the future in a strong position if and when a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.