Agenda item

To consider the overview of progress and status of Phase 1 of the RCV replacement programme for 16 vehicles.

At the Chair’s invitation, Councillor Marshall, Cabinet Member for Waste Services, Leisure and Green Spaces, provided a briefing on the Council’s refuse collection vehicle (RCV) replacement programme.

Members noted that the Council owned 30 refuse collection vehicles and relied on 17 hired vehicles to maintain services. Many of the existing vehicles were beyond their expected operational life, leading to higher maintenance costs and an increased risk of breakdowns. A £4.2 million contract had been awarded for the purchase of 16 new vehicles, due for delivery in August 2027, representing the first phase of a wider fleet replacement programme.

It was reported that the programme aimed to improve service reliability, reduce reliance on hired vehicles, deliver long-term financial savings and establish a rolling replacement programme to prevent the fleet becoming outdated.

Andrew Bramidge, Executive Director of Regeneration and Environment, explained that figures included in the report for 2028 and beyond represented indicative planning assumptions rather than formal decisions, with any future investment remaining subject to the Council’s budget-setting process. It was further highlighted that the service was committed to developing a long-term rolling replacement programme to avoid an ageing fleet in the future.

The Chair invited members of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board (OSMB) to raise questions and queries.

Councillor Thorp welcomed the move towards a rolling replacement programme and sought assurance that future vehicle purchases would be phased regularly rather than requiring large-scale replacement exercises. Questions were also raised about carrying out vehicle diagnostics in-house and the impact of future housing growth on fleet requirements. The Executive Director of Regeneration and Environment confirmed plans to develop a long-term replacement programme, explore greater in-house diagnostic capacity and consider future fleet needs as the borough expands.

Councillor Baggaley queried the timescales for procurement and delivery of the new vehicles and sought clarification on future replacement phases. The Executive Director of Regeneration and Environment explained that vehicle procurement and manufacture typically required around two years and acknowledged that planning for future phases would need to continue at pace. Concerns were raised regarding the achievability of future replacement timescales, and a request was made for a detailed phasing plan.

The Chair, Councillor Steele sought assurance that future phases of the replacement programme would be delivered on time. In response, the Executive Director of Regeneration and Environment advised that work was underway to develop a long-term replacement programme and that lessons learned from the recent procurement exercise would help streamline future commissioning and procurement processes.

Councillor McKiernan asked whether the introduction of new vehicles would result in additional costs, including staff training or depot modifications. The Executive Director of Regeneration and Environment advised that some familiarisation and driver training would be required but did not anticipate significant additional costs.

Councillor Yasseen sought clarification on how the replacement programme aligned with the Council’s climate commitments, including the use of alternative fuels and electric vehicles. The Executive Director of Regeneration and Environment advised that electric refuse vehicles were currently significantly more expensive and had not yet demonstrated suitability for local operating conditions but reported positive results from trials of HVO biofuel and confirmed that its wider use was being explored.

The Vice-Chair, Councillor Bacon queried whether the replacement programme could have commenced earlier and asked whether earlier Cabinet decisions might have reduced costs.

The Cabinet Member for Waste Services, Leisure and Green Spaces, responded that procurement timescales would have remained largely unchanged due to the length of the procurement process, although an earlier decision may have been possible if funding had been available. It was also noted that future vehicle purchases would be subject to the same procurement requirements.

John Edwards, Chief Executive, added that a review of the Council’s commissioning and procurement processes was underway. This included staff training and improvements to commissioning cycles to ensure purchasing decisions progressed as efficiently as possible, while recognising that some stages of the procurement process could not be accelerated.

The Vice-Chair expressed the view that funding may have been available to support an earlier vehicle replacement programme and questioned whether the condition of the ageing fleet had contributed to previous missed collections and the suspension of the green bin service.

The Executive Director of Regeneration and Environment acknowledged that vehicle breakdowns had affected the operational delivery of the service and had been a contributing factor to service disruption during the previous year. It was also explained that employment-related changes had been implemented during the previous year and that service performance had since improved. Assurance was provided that contingency arrangements remained in place, including the use of hired vehicles where necessary, and that every effort would be made to maintain service delivery until the new vehicles were received in August 2027.

The Chair sought assurance that similar service issues would not reoccur before the arrival of the replacement vehicles and noted that staffing challenges had also affected the service during the previous year.

Councillor Thorp asked whether future procurement could be used to secure greater consistency in vehicle types across the fleet to simplify maintenance, parts management and repairs. In response, the Executive Director of Regeneration and Environment advised that, while there were operational benefits to fleet standardisation, procurement regulations prevented the Council from favouring a particular supplier. It was also noted that some older vehicles were retained for parts where appropriate.

Councillor Baggaley sought clarification on whether the current procurement covered future replacement phases beyond 2027. The Executive Director of Regeneration and Environment explained that the only approved commitment related to vehicles due for delivery in 2027, while proposals for a rolling replacement programme beyond that date remained under development and would be subject to future consideration.

Concerns were raised about the achievability of the indicative 2028 replacement timescales given procurement and manufacturing lead-in periods. In response, the Executive Director of Regeneration and Environment advised that lessons learned from the current procurement process, particularly in developing vehicle specifications, could help reduce future procurement timescales.

Councillor Baggaley requested that a detailed phased implementation plan be developed to provide greater clarity on future fleet replacement arrangements and procurement timelines.

The Chair then sought a show of hands from Members in support of the proposed recommendations. Upon being put to the vote, the recommendation was carried unanimously.

Resolved that: The Overview and Scrutiny Management Board:

1.    Noted the progress being made in the purchase of 16 Refuse Collection Vehicles, with delivery in August 2027.

2.    Noted the development of a long-term rolling programme for fleet replacement to avoid service delivery becoming overly reliant on hire vehicles.

Further actions that arose from discussions were:

·       Requests the service continue to closely monitor vehicle delivery timescales and develop clear contingency plans to minimise service disruption if there are delays to the arrival of the new fleet to ensure risks are identified and managed early.

·       That officers provide OSMB with a detailed phasing plan for the fleet replacement programme, including future procurement and commissioning timelines, to provide assurance that vehicle replacement requirements are being planned proactively, risks of delay are being managed, and service delivery impacts are minimised.