Decision details

Date of Decision:

11^th November 2021

Decision Maker:

(Including Job Title)

Paul Woodcock

Strategic Director Regeneration and Environment

Specific Delegation:

(If any)

Non-specific

Brief Description of Decision:

1. That the fees for the Garden Waste Subscription Service for 2022/23 be set at £41 for one bin and £32 for an additional bin.
2. That a £4 reduction is given, per household, to customers who were signed up for the 2021/22 Garden Waste Service and renew their subscription for the 2022/23 service.
3. That the option to request a partial refund of £4 per household is given to residents who signed up from the 2021/22 Garden Waste Service but do not want to resubscribe for 2022/23.

Reasons for the Decision:

The charges for the garden waste service for 2022/23 need to be set by mid-November 2021 in order that the subscription service can go live on the Councils website in late November/early December.  This enables direct debit arrangements to be put in place for new customers and notices to be issued within the required period for those customers signed up to automatic renewal, in advance of the 2022/23 collection period.  The charges for 2022/23 are in line with assumptions within the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy for fees & charges.

Due to the impact of Covid-19 on staffing levels, the Garden Waste service was suspended for a period of 4 weeks from 26th July 2021 to 22^nd August 2021.  The reduction for re-subscribers is offered as a goodwill gesture in recognition of the disruption customers may have experienced.  Applying this as a discount on 2022/23 subscriptions can be facilitated using the same digital process as implemented for 2021/22 making it operationally possible to do this in an efficient and effective way whereby the cost reduction can be automatically applied for customers already signed up to pay by Direct Debit.

Details of alternative options considered and rejected:

It was not considered appropriate to set the charges outside of the assumptions within the Councils approved Medium Term Financial Strategy.

There are no operationally feasibly mechanisms to offering a goodwill discount or refund other than in the way proposed.

Conflicts of interest declared by any Executive Member consulted by the decision maker which relates to the decision:

No conflicts of interest

Dispensations Granted:

(If any)

None

Reports or parts of reports considered

None