Agenda item

Gareth Edmundson (MD, Ubico), Karen Watson (Client Officer) and Councillor Coleman (Cabinet Member Clean and Green) (30 mins)

Gareth Edmundson, the MD for Ubico, welcomed the opportunity to present the Ubico Annual Performance Report (2018-19) to the committee.  He explained that he had now been in post for two years and 2018-19 had been another strong year for the organisation, especially in terms of consolidating their position.  He welcomed the realignment of the relationship between Ubico and CBC, as he now saw Karen Watson, the Client Manager and her team regularly at the depot, which demonstrated the strength of the council as a commissioner. 

Comprehensive performance information had been circulated with the agenda but key points included:

·         8 months of work had resulted in significant improvements to health and safety and Ubico having achieved the International Standard for Health and Safety (ISO45001).

·         A new Fleet Manager was appointed and improved management of fleet and assets would deliver future dividends. 

·         Opportunities for sharing and exchanging vehicles to smooth out any cost volatilities were currently being explored.

·         Ubico would soon be implementing new fleet management software which would underpin operations and were actively investigating how technology could improve the service, including in-cab software.

·         To ensure that the finance team was appropriately resourced for a company of Ubico’s size and turnover, they had recruited a full-time Financial Controller and technician.  This had allowed for improved financial data, monthly reporting, and would enable improved budget setting and forecasting for the future. 

·         The ability to demonstrate value for money was important to Ubico.  Ubico compared favourably to outsourced providers within the market; Ubico remained at 5.8% (corporate overheads), where outsourcing typically resulted in 9% and a profit margin of 3-4%.  Ubico delivered at cost which was why financial planning was so important.

·         Ubico would continue to pursue commercial opportunities and in the coming years intended to present a number of investment opportunities to shareholders in areas including: hire vehicles; commercial waste, and; fleet maintenance.

·         Operationally, Ubico consistently met stretch targets for food waste collections and as such were currently piloting some adjustments.  

·         The seasonal nature of garden waste meant that weight spiked at certain times of the year and an additional vehicle was used to reduce pressure on existing rounds.

·         Adoption of a new ‘People Strategy’ and ‘Code of Conduct’ aimed to align all Ubico staff, where many had been bought together from partner organisations.  Induction information was also currently being redesigned.

The Managing Director of Ubico gave the following responses to member questions:

·         The figures being reported for missed collections did not include those where collections had to be abandoned for health and safety reasons.

·         As mentioned, historically Ubico did not have sufficient finance team resource and as a consequence some financial risks were not built into the budget.  For example, the partnership sum did not reflect the age and condition of the fleet, and therefore the increasing maintenance costs.  The partnership sum needed to reflect the actual position otherwise Ubico would, in a sense, start the year in deficit. 

·         Authorities had adopted very different approaches to reducing residual waste, with some stringently refusing to collect residual waste bins if they contained any kind of recyclable materials, and CBC preferred to encourage residents instead.  Stroud had just won a recycling award and their approach involved giving residents a very small residual waste bin, leaving them no choice but to recycle as much as possible. 

·         Co2 reduction was a consideration for Ubico.  Telematics allowed review of how drivers were using vehicles and therefore identify improvements that would result in better fuel efficiency. 

·         Electric vehicles could work well in Cheltenham but because of the initial cost involved, electric vehicles would never make it through the procurement process.  This needed to be reviewed.  

·         Admittedly, some rounds were tight and crews just wanting to get on and do the job were rushing more than they needed to.  As a result there had been a slight increase in accidents, but Ubico were actively reinforcing that whilst they acknowledge crews just wanted to do a good job, they should not risk safety (and rush). 

·         The review of the household recycling centre currently being undertaken by CBC would have no impact on the work of Ubico at that site.

·         Javelin Park was a live issue but Ubico were engaging with partners and Gloucestershire County Council.  CBC had taken the decision not to deliver directly to the park and had instead chosen to take their waste to a transfer station.  There was a risk if this bulk transfer wasn’t able to get access to the site, but Ubico would be looking at what mitigations Grundons had in place if this issue were to arise.  This was a significant issue which he assured members, was being constantly monitored. 

·         In terms of what happened to batteries from electric vehicles, he would need to get a response and share this outside of the meeting, as he did not know the answer.

The Client Manager gave responses to some member questions:

·         She confirmed that a trial of different bins, including gull-proof bins was being undertaken.  Salisbury Avenue would be the first site to trial different ‘on the go’ recycling bins.

·         Various alternative options were being explored in terms of weed treatment to avoid the use of glyphosate, but it was important for members to understand that there would not be a single solution to this problem.

·         It was accepted that the council needed to make better use of social media with regard to waste and improving and expanding on the information on the website.

·         Street sweeper provision was currently under review, with one vehicle having recently been taken off line.

The Cabinet Member Clean and Green Environment was pleased to hear that members agreed with his view that the move to sustainable planting had been a success.  There were admittedly issues in some areas where the weather had impeded growth.  He was scheduled to meet with the Parks and Gardens team and would raise the query regarding London Road and feedback a response to the committee. 

In response to the question of why CBC had decided to use a transfer station rather than deliver waste directly to Javelin Park, the Cabinet Member explained that to do so would have meant that crews would have to cut-short collections once the vehicle had reached capacity and travel along the Golden Valley and M5 to deliver to Javelin Park.  This posed an unacceptable risk given the weight of a (at capacity) vehicle and the distance required, and as such CBC chose to use a transfer station.  He felt that this was absolutely the right decision.  He did note that this formed part of a three year agreement, at the end of which an alternative waste transfer station would be required and he suggested that this could form part of the longer term Swindon Road depot review.

A number of members commended the service that Ubico delivered and thanked the attendees for the information they had produced and for their attendance.