Agenda and draft minutes

Agreed.

There were no urgent items to consider.

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillor Lamb, Councillor Sansome, Matthew Gladstone, Kellie Hopkins, Nigel Naisbitt and Paul Hutchinson.

Following the apologies for absence, it was agreed that the Terms Of Reference for both the BDR Board and the South Yorkshire Waste Board would be reviewed to clarify who needed to attend meetings. An email would also be sent from the BDR team to all Members and Officers involved in the BDR meetings to emphasis the importance of attending meetings.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Minutes were approved as a correct record of the meeting.

There were no matters arising.

·        Governance

·        Contract Delivery

·        Legal

·        Financial

·        Communications

·        Resources

·        Site Visits Cllr / New AD’s

The Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham Joint Waste Manager submitted a report which highlighted and updated the following issues relating to the Joint Waste Private Finance Initiative (PFI) for the period April 2021 – July 2021:

·              Governance

·              Contract Delivery

·              Legal

·              Financial

·              Communications

·              Resources

·              Site Visits for Cllr’s/ New AD’s

Beth Baxter confirmed that she now worked as the interim Waste Manager two days a week and BDR Contract Manager three days a week. Paul Hutchinson had taken on the role of BDR Contract Manager on the two days Beth was not in the role.

It was reported that the number of complaints regarding flies was down on previous years and that the complaints received by the Environment Agency had not been substantiated due to their distance from the site.

The partnership was currently projected savings of £17,000 against it’s approved budget. An additional £59,000 was however required for an unplanned piece of work. Further discussion on this matter was held under Minute 114

Site tours for BDR personnel were to be re-instated with numbers limited to six per tour. The dates available were:

Wednesday 22 September, 16.00-18.00

Thursday 7^th October, 17.00-19.00

Wednesday 27^th October, 15.00-17.00

Anyone wishing to attend should email Beth or Rhonda. The Chair encouraged all those who could attend to do so in order to aid their work on the Board.

Other work across the individual Council’s included work on DMR/Paper and Card disposal contract; facilitating movement on the delaps work at BTS; assistance with Environmental Strategies and Climate Change work.

During discussions Members raised concerns regarding the shortage of HGV drivers and the impact this could have on waste collection and disposal. All Council’s were looking at ways to recruit new drivers and retain existing drivers but this was proving difficult as the private sector was able to offer financial incentives that the public sector cannot. However Officers stressed that money was not the only factor for drivers. Many enjoyed working closer to home and having sociable hours which was something that the public sector can offer. It was suggested that Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham Council’s should meet to discuss pay and working conditions for drivers so as not to be in direct competition. It was confirmed that conversations were taking place at an officer level regarding the shortage.

Resolved: That the information provided be noted.

·       Covid planning – Winter situation planning             

·       Christmas collection scheduling

Beth Baxter explained that the impact that COVID would have over the winter was still unknown but the plans that were put in place for Winter 2020 had proved successful so these could be implemented again if need be. The Chair had concerns that environmental emergencies such as flooding or heavy snowfall could cause major disruptions if resources were already thinly stretched due to COVID and the HGV driver shortage. Officers at the meeting confirmed that work at the South Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum had already shifted from being focussed on COVID to being focussed on winter pressures so they were confident that all of the required plans would be in place.

Beth also confirmed that planning was underway for Christmas 2021. It was agreed that all Council’s would share the Christmas collection plans with the BDR team as soon as possible to allow them to make all of the necessary arrangements.

Resolved: That the information provided be noted.

Beth Baxter introduced the Risk Register and highlighted the key changes:

-               New risks – Lack of resources having exited the European Union; Changes in Local Authority Policy and Lack of resources.

-               Decreasing risks – Pandemic: the impacts of the pandemic have been lower than anticipated due to the measures taken; Lack of recycling markets: the contractor has several markers for the recyclates; and UK having exited the European Union: this relates to the financial impacts of exiting the EU.

-               Removed risks – the contractor will not comply with the terms and conditions and the performance will be less than the Councils are paying for  and ensure the balance of risk between Contractor and BDR is maintained. These have been removed at they have been combined with other existing risks.

It was confirmed that the reporting of close calls/near miss incidents helped improve health and safety on site as it leads to a reduction in actual incidents.

Resolved: That the risk register be noted.

·       HWRC Review progress

HWRC Review Progress

Beth Baxter confirmed that £59,000 was required in addition to the agreed budget for the Household Waste Recycling Centres Review. The Review would look at the provision and facilities at each centre as well as comparing different models for the service. A benchmarking activity was underway. The review was expected to be completed in December 2021 and would be reported back to each Council.

Following questions it was confirmed that the steering committee would be checking and challenging the review process throughout the next couple of months and the final report would be presented to BDR board in due time.

The review would look at the service model from the perspective of the BDR partnership but also from the perspective of each individual Council. It will therefore be for each individual Council to ascertain a way forward. It was confirmed that discussions between Cabinet Members and Officers from the different Council’s could take place outside of the BDR forum to try and reach a consensus on a way forward.

Resolved: That the report be noted and the spend of £59,000 for the HWRC review be agreed.

Thanks to Waste Management Workers

The Board wished to place on record their thanks to all involved in waste collection/waste management for their phenomenal hard work throughout the pandemic.

Resolved: That the thanks be noted.

Community Liaison Group

It was confirmed that an email would be set to the BDR Board Members encouraging them to remind relevant ward Councillors from their Local Authorities to attend the Community Liaison Group following complaints of non-attendance.

Resolved: That the report be noted.

Monday 20 December 2021 at 9.30am at Rotherham Town Hall Council Chamber.

The next meeting will take place on 20 December 2021 at 9.30am at Rotherham Town Hall.