Belfast City Council Contract Services Committee Minutes 21 April 2005

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Contract Services Committee

Thursday, 21st April, 2005

MEETING OF CONTRACT SERVICES COMMITTEE

Members present: Councillor O’Neill (Chairman); the High Sheriff (Councillor D. Browne); and Councillors W. Browne, J. Clarke, Cush, McCarthy, Moore and Patterson.

In attendance: Mrs. H. Louden, Director of Contract Services; Mr. S. Skimin, Head of Cleansing Services; Mr. G. Wright, Head of Operational Services; Mr. S. Irwin, Policy Officer; and Mr. H. Downey, Committee Administrator.

Apologies

Apologies for inability to attend were reported from Councillors Nί Chuilίn and Toan.

Minutes

The minutes of the meeting of 10th March, which had been printed and circulated, were taken as read and signed as correct. It was reported that those minutes had been adopted by the Council at its meeting on 11th April.

Achievements of the Contract Services Department

The Director of Contract Services advised the Members, since this would be the last meeting of the Committee, that it would be appropriate to review the achievements of the Department.

She pointed out that the Contract Services Department had been established in 1993 as a result of the Government’s decision to introduce Compulsory Competitive Tendering in connection with the delivery of a number of services provided by Local Authorities in order to reduce costs to the ratepayers. The first meeting of the Contract Services Committee had been held on 17th June, 1993.

She reminded the Members that the Department had won the contract to provide street cleansing and waste collection and this had commenced in April 1994. Subsequently, the Department had been awarded the contracts for the provision of grounds maintenance, vehicle maintenance, building cleaning and catering services. She stated that the Compulsory Competitive Tendering process had enabled the Council to ascertain exactly how much it cost it to undertake many tasks, such as sweeping a kilometre of a street or cutting a square metre of grass. More importantly, compared to expenditure in the financial year 1992/1993, it had provided savings of £5.5 million per annum and had resulted in improved service standards.

The Director reported that, during the twelve years the Contract Services Department had been in existence, its staff had obtained a number of awards and qualifications and that the Grounds Maintenance, Finance and Business Support and Fleet Management Sections had received Investors in People Awards. In addition, the Department had won a number of prestigious awards for work which it had undertaken, such as a Green Apple Award and Fleet Operator of the Year.

She pointed out that the Contract Services Department had been responsible for the Brighter Belfast initiative, which had involved the Council working in partnership with other Government Agencies, the private sector and community organisations to improve the environment of the City. This had included the high profile anti-litter campaign “Don’t Drop it, Stop it!”, for which the Council had received a number of awards.

The Committee noted the information which had been provided by the Director of Contract Services and agreed with her comments that, during its twelve years in operation, the Department had made a significant difference to the City.

Year-End Performance Report 2004/2005

In accordance with Council policy, an End of Year Report for the period from 1st April, 2004 till 31st March, 2005 in connection with the performance relating to the Contract Services Department was submitted to the Committee for consideration.

Noted.

Brighter Belfast Initiative

Action Plan and Budget 2005/2006

The Director of Contract Services submitted for the Committee’s consideration a report in respect of the Brighter Belfast initiative. A copy of the report, with the exception of the appendix referred to therein, is set out hereunder:

“PURPOSE OF REPORT:

To seek Members approval for the actions and budget for the Brighter Belfast initiative for 2005/2006.

BACKGROUND:

Members will be aware that the Brighter Belfast initiative is one of the priority issues in the Corporate Plan. You will also be aware that a considerable amount of work has been undertaken in the past two year especially as an additional £2 million had been allocated to support work on this initiative.

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The Council has provided a further £1.5million to support the initiative for this year (2005/2006). This report outlines the actions (Appendix 1) to be undertaken this year and proposals on how the budget should be allocated.

ACTIONS FOR 2005/2006:

Much of the work this year will build on what has been done during the last two year but some new activities have been proposed. In summary these are establishing how unadopted entries can be brought up to standard, exploring community safety issues which relate to Brighter Belfast like alley gating and abandoned cars, effecting improvements in three entries in the city centre, upgrading King William Park, exploring joint working at community level with the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, part funding a television programme and book about wild Belfast, and designing and delivering a youth education programme. Further details of the actions are detailed below.

1. Deliver action plan for ‘best in class’ services to achieve a Brighter Belfast. Council has approved a comprehensive of best in class service standards for Cleansing Services. Base line data and systems to collect the data on an ongoing basis have been established. An action plan has been developed to deliver any service gaps in meeting these service standards.

2. Partnership Working

a. Complete environmental improvements along arterial routes as identified – Mid Donegall Road, Lower Antrim Road and Lower Falls Road, York Road, Newtownards Road, Shankill Road, Upper Springfield Road, Albertbridge Road, Lower Ormeau Road and Crumlin Road.

b. Implement improved horticultural features at key locations, including upgrading floral displays in the City’s squares. Locations have been identified and discussions have been ongoing with Road Service to move this project forward. Work is due to commence late spring on improved planting in these areas. This will build on the work already completed for 16 key sites during 2004/2005. 16 more sites are to be improved during 2005/2006.

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c. An Urban Regeneration Assistant has been recruited to project manage and identify delivery requirements along arterial routes.

d. Continue to work with Groundwork to deliver improvements to 4 areas across the City using the Greencare III programme. Proposals on the areas have been recommended to this Committee meeting.

e. Continue to work with BCCM to improve the City Centre. We have been working very closely with them to ensure the City is ready for business each day and remains in a good state of cleanliness throughout the day. Revised cleansing operations in this area should improve cleanliness standards.

f. Deliver additional Community Clean Ups across the City. Cleansing Services are involved in many clean ups across the City. A total of 60 clean ups are proposed for 2005/2006.

g. Implement the People in Places programme of work with Communities. A detailed programme of work has been agreed with Tidy NI with implementation already underway.

h. Develop partnerships to improve/change legislation which inhibits the delivery of a Clean and Attractive City. A comparative report detailing best in class legislation will be developed.

i. Neighbourhood Officers are now in post. This is a joint project with NIHE. The effectiveness of this joint working will be evaluated at the end of this financial year with a view to extending the programme to other areas of the city.

3. Service Improvements and Monitoring

a. Enhance at least 4 unadopted entries across the City.

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b. Upgrade Jubilee Gardens. This is one of the few City centre green spaces and is in need on substantial regeneration especially as the nearby area of Custom House Square has seen substantial regeneration recently...

c Implement City Centre Initiatives

i. Presenting the City initiatives e.g. additional Christmas Trees, Halloween Dressing, Banners, entertainment, etc

ii. Additional flower towers and winter plantings

iii. Complete the upgrade of the three entries identified for 2004/2005 and upgrade three more during 2005/2006.

d. Belfast in Bloom Community Initiatives. This involves the funding of hanging baskets for communities across the City. This will help to improve the attractiveness of the City and will assist communities to apply successfully for the second Council Environmental Award Scheme which will be launched in June.

e. Place an additional 6 pieces of public art at key locations within the City.

f. Hold a .number of events in the City during the year to include a country to town event in Blackstaff Square and participation in the Garden Show in June.

g. Undertake a number of activities to develop the evening economy. This will include marketing campaigns, opening night initiatives and an audit of the restaurants and shops opening later in the evening.

h. The removal of paramilitary murals and their replacement with less political designs.

4. Changing Public Behaviour

a. Evaluate success of the second phase of the Anti Litter Campaign.

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b. Develop and implement second phase of Anti Litter Campaign. The results on the evaluation reported to Committee in January 2005 will feed into the development and implementation of the second phase of the campaign.

c. Develop an anti litter campaign to address issues such as fly posting, smoking related materials and chewing gum.

d. Delivery of the youth education programme developed in 2004/2005 to 50 schools and youth facilities.

e. Continue with additional enforcement activities. This will focus on additional littering enforcement and additional street trading enforcement.

f. Implement and hold second award ceremony for Environmental Awards Scheme. This award scheme which will be launched in June. . It is anticipated that judging will take place in the autumn with an awards ceremony held in November.

g. Enter community initiatives for the Pride of Place Awards and to host the award ceremony in Belfast in October 2005.

h. Lead and develop the BELLA project with the Eurocities Environment Forum. This will allow the Council to showcase the work it is going, to learn from others and share best practice. It will provide an opportunity to access European funding to undertake research into littering behaviour and to influence legislation being developed within Europe. It is proposed that this work is funded from the under spend in the budget for 2004/2005 £25,000.

i. Undertake at least two bio-diversity programmes during the year. These are likely to be community based initiatives by the Ulster Wildlife Trust at Lagan Meadowns and a Woodland Creation at Carr’s Glen Cavehill Country Park.

j. The extension of the dog warden scheme to increase enforcement in this area and a programme of activity to raise awareness about dog fouling.

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5. Funding Opportunities

a. Source additional funding opportunities

b. Source additional funding opportunities which others can access to benefit the environment

Additional funding opportunities are constantly being examined and application made, either by ourselves or others to access these monies. We will continue to bring opportunities to the attention of communities and assist them to make applications where this is needed.

6. Others

a. Develop a communications plan for 2005/06. Once the actions and budget has been agreed by Council a communications plan for the year ahead will be developed with the Head of Corporate Communications. It is important that everyone knows of the good work being carried out under this initiative.

b. Undertake various surveys to gauge the public’s opinion about Belfast including issues relevant to the Brighter Belfast initiative. It is important that the work of this initiative is making a difference to peoples’ perceptions of the City. One way of gauging this is to undertake surveys.

BUDGET FOR 2005/2006

Members will be aware that a further £1.5 million has been made available for the Brighter Belfast initiative. It is important this was made available to support the work that needs done as it would not be possible to undertake the range of initiatives that are proposed without it. Having this funding available assists in encouraging others to make additional resources available to assist with the work and to lever funding from other sources. At this time we are aware of an additional £4.112m of funding which has been levered to assist with the delivery of initiatives. It is anticipated that this will increase during the year. It is clear that substantial leverage can be achieved from a modest investment from the Council.

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The proposed budget for 2005/2006 is detailed below:-

BRIGHTER BELFAST Draft Budget 2005 to 2006 Project Total Non Council £ 0 Development 100,000 1 Evening economy 100,000 Cleansing 343,000 2 People & Places Officer & programme 35,000 3 Environmental Awards Scheme 35,000 4 Youth Programme (specifc topics ie gum related litter) 18,000 5 Anti-Smoking litter campaign - city centre 20,000 6 Additional Enforcement Activities (Officers) 35,000 7 Anti-litter campaign 200,000 Parks 244,500 11 Completion of 2004-05 projects 22,000 12 Jubilee Gardens 55,000 13 Roads Service Impact Sites 52,500 14 Belfast Squares 23,000 15 Special features at key locations 20,000 16 Floral trail guide 2,000 17 Country to town event in Blackstaff Square 15,000 18 the Garden Show June 2005 35,000 19 Belfast in Bloom 20,000 Arterial Routes 500,000 4,100,000 21 Albertbridge, 100,000 22 Lower Ormeau 100,000 23 Upper Shankill 100,000 } 4100000 24 Crumlin, 100,000 25 Upper Springfield 100,000 Health & Environmental Services 80,000 26 Dog wardens and Dog campaign 40,000 27 Street trading 40,000 Other Council 235,000 28 Pride of Place Awards Conference 25,000 29 Urban Regeneration Assistant 30,000 30 City Centre 90,000 31 Unadopted entries 90,000 Other Community based 7,000

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BRIGHTER BELFAST Draft Budget 2005 to 2006 Project Total Non Council £ 35 Ulster WildLife: Lagan Meadows 4,500 12,500 17,000 36 Bio-diversity:Woodland Creation at Carr’s Glen Cavehill Country Park 2,500 Miscellaneous 4,000 37 Members Activities and site visits 3,000 38 Contingency 1,000 TOTAL Council £ 1,513,500 1,513,500 4,112,500 TOTAL INCLUDING NON-COUNCIL £ 5,626,000

RECOMMENDATION:

Members are asked to approve the action plan and budget for the current year for the Brighter Belfast initiative.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS:

Having a Brighter Belfast impacts positively on the environment of the City, therefore the work involved in this initiative will improve the quality of the environment for citizens, businesses and visitors.

DECISION REQUIRED:

Members are asked to approve the action plan and budget for the current year.i.e 2005/2006.”

After discussion, the Committee granted the approvals sought.

Future Committee Reporting Arrangements

The Committee considered a report concerning the future reporting arrangements in respect of the Brighter Belfast initiative. A copy of the report, with the exception of the appendices referred to therein, is set out hereunder.

During discussion, the Director of Contract Services informed the Members that the Health and Environmental Services Committee, at its meeting on 18th April, had agreed that it should assume responsibility for the delivery of the Brighter Belfast initiative till 31st March, 2006, at which time it would be subject to review. That Committee had agreed also the proposals in relation to the membership of the Brighter Belfast All-Party Working Group and to the hosting of special meetings on a quarterly basis in order to provide the Members with updates on the initiative.

After further discussion, the Committee noted the decisions which had been taken by the Health and Environmental Services Committee in respect of the Brighter Belfast initiative.

Women in Non-Traditional Sectors – Future Committee Reporting Arrangements

The Director of Contract Services reminded the Members that the Committee was responsible for the delivery within the Council of the Women in Non-Traditional Sectors (WINS) Project, which sought to encourage a greater proportion of women to apply for positions in traditionally male-dominated occupations. She explained, since the Committee would cease to exist after the forthcoming Local Government Elections, that the Policy and Resources (Personnel) Sub-Committee which dealt with employment-related issues, be requested to assume responsibility for the progression of the WINS Project. She reported that the Head of Human Resources had indicated his support for this proposal and stated that a report seeking the approval of the Members would be submitted to a future meeting of the Policy and Resources (Personnel) Sub-Committee.

The Committee approved the course of action which had been outlined.

Strategic Engagement with Groundwork Northern Ireland

The Director of Contract Services submitted a report in relation to the Council’s strategic engagement with Groundwork Northern Ireland. A copy of the report, with the exception of the appendix referred to therein, is set out hereunder:

“PURPOSE OF REPORT

To seek Committee agreement on the proposed as to be included in the Greencare III programme and to agree the funding for the project.

BACKGROUND

Members will be aware that it approved a Strategic Engagement with Groundwork at its meeting on 10th February 2005. A copy of the Committee Report is attached at Appendix 4.

You will also recall that the following recommendations were approved:-

1. That the Council engages with Groundwork NI in a Greencare III programme to commence from 1st April 2005 and run for three years.

2. That the areas of the City which will be included within this programme are tabled at a future meeting of the Committee.

3. That the Committee agree in principle to core fund the Greencare III initiative and agree the amount once the number of areas has been agreed at a future Committee meeting.

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4. That a BCC Working Group is established comprising of relevant officers and chaired by the Director of Contract Services.

5. That a Steering Group is established comprising BCC and Groundwork officers to oversee the work of the project.

6. That a Partnership Agreement is put in place to define the working arrangements between the two organisations.

7. That the Contract Services Committee takes overall responsibility for this initiative although it will cross the work of other Committees and Departments and that the committee with responsibility for Brighter Belfast should assume responsibility for the Council’s work with Groundwork.

This report seeks to expand on the second recommendation and to agree the funding for the programme of work.

CURRENT POSITION

An internal Groundwork Working Group has been formed and has now met on a number of occasions to considered how best to select the areas for the Greencare III programme of work. Discussions have also taken place with Groundwork NI.

There was agreement that any work undertaken within the Greencare III programme should be used as a pilot exercise to evaluate the benefits within a community when a number of Council key priorities work together and with other agencies to delivery a co-ordinated and cohesive plan to improve the general environment for that community. This will permit a critical mass of complimentary schemes to be developed and delivered which will assist the delivery of schemes the Council is currently involved with. The overall objective is to provide substantial enhancements to each area selected and to maximise the benefit for each community involved.

Each project will be assessed against baseline data collected prior to the commencement of the work. The benefit of joining up Council initiatives will also be assessed as will the benefits of working together with other bodies.

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It is recommended that the Lower Falls, Lower Newtownards Road, Lower Antrim Road and Taughmonagh are the pilot areas as they are representative of communities where work is already being undertaken or is proposed. These areas will allow such initiatives as Community Safety, Good Relations, Bighter Belfast, etc to be enhanced.

Members will recall that they agreed in principle to core fund the Greencare III programme to provide for project management, development of plans, consultation and working with communities, and general administration. It is proposed that a budget of £50,000 be provided for each of the three years of the project and that this money should be provided for from the general council key priority budget given that a number of the Council’s key priorities will be enhanced by the Greencare III initiative.

Whilst there will be a need to access additional funding to deliver projects on the ground it is recognised that some seed corn money will be needed to get the project started as there can be a considerable lead time in accessing additional funding. I am currently looking at the Brighter Belfast budget for 2004/2005 to identified any under spends which could be allocated to assist with the delivery of the Greencare III initiative. As the final year end figures will not be available until mid week I would propose to table at Committee the degree of under spend which may be available and what amount could be veered to this initiative with Members approval.

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS

A summary of the recommendations/decisions required are:-

1. That the areas for Greencare III should be Lower Falls, Lower Newtownards Road, Lower Antrim Road and Taughmonagh.

2. That a budget of £50,000 be provided for each of the three years of the project and that this money should be provided for from the general council key priority budget given that a number of the Council’s key priorities will be enhanced by the Greencare III project.

3. That an element of the under spend in the Brighter Belfast budget for 2004/2005 be made available to assist with the delivery of projects for the Greencare III initiative and that other additional funding is sought by Groundwork NI. The amount to be agreed by Committee on the presentation of up to date figures at the meeting.

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EQUALITY IMPLICATIONS

There are no equality implications associated with this report.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

There are no environmental implications associated with this report although the work undertaken within the Greencare programme will enhance the environment and contribute to the Brighter Belfast initiative.

DECISIONS REQUIRED

Members are requested to approve the recommendations as outlined above.”

The Director of Contract Services highlighted various aspects of the report and pointed out that approximately £130,000 from within the Brighter Belfast initiative’s budget had remained unspent during the financial year 2004/2005. Accordingly, she recommended that £100,000 of this underspend be made available to those areas of the City which had been recommended for inclusion within the Greencare III programme.

After discussion, the Committee adopted the recommendations contained within the report and agreed that £100,000 of the underspend from within the Brighter Belfast initiative’s budget be allocated for use within the four areas identified in the Greencare III programme.

Scoping Paper on Fly Posting

The Director of Contract Services submitted a report in relation to the control of fly posting. A copy of the report, with the exception of the Scoping Paper referred to therein, is set out hereunder.

Several Members expressed concern at the increased level of fly posting, particularly in relation to entertainment taking place in pubs and clubs and stated that more effective legislation was required to eradicate the problem. In response, the Director of Contract Services and the Head of Cleansing Services indicated that they were involved in discussions with both Council Departments and external agencies in order to achieve an effective, integrated approach aimed at limiting fly posting and to draft an Action Plan in this regard which might include possible changes to existing legislation.

After further discussion, the Committee adopted the recommendations contained within the report.

Good Attendance Scheme

(Mr. C. Quigley, Director of Legal Services, attended in connection with this item.)

The Committee was reminded that, at its meeting on 10th April, 2003, it had agreed that a pilot Good Attendance Scheme, to operate during the period 1st April, 2003 till 31st March, 2004, be established for a number of units within the Contract Services Department. The Committee was reminded further that the Council, at its meeting on 6th May, 2003, had agreed that the Scheme be extended to incorporate a number of other units within the Department.

The Director of Contract Services informed the Members that the pilot Scheme had replaced the Profit Share Schemes which had operated within the Contract Services Department during the period of Compulsory Competitive Tendering. The Scheme had sought to encourage individual accountability for good attendance through a reward payment based solely upon individual attendance levels. She reported that, whilst one of the two targets had not been achieved during the period of the operation of the Good Attendance Scheme, the total number of staff in the Department with no days’ sickness absence had increased.

The Director of Legal Services informed the Members that the Local Government Auditor was of the view that it was unlawful to make payments under the Scheme and had indicated that, should the practice continue, legal action would be initiated by him against the Council. The Director explained that he had obtained from Senior Counsel a legal opinion which indicated that the Scheme could be maintained only if a robust business case for its use were to be presented. However, in light of the demise of the Client/Contract split, it would be unlikely that such a case could any longer be made by the Council.

He explained that Trades Unions representatives, together with the employees who had been involved in the pilot Scheme, had been advised of the views of the Local Government Auditor and the likelihood that the Scheme would not be extended further. He pointed out that it would seem reasonable to assume that any decision not to proceed with the Scheme would not be detrimental to industrial relations. The Director of Legal Services made the point that the pilot had applied only to staff employed within the Contract Services Department and to a small number of employees who had moved from the Cleansing Services Section to the Health and Environmental Services Department as a result of the removal of the Client/Contract split. He indicated that, since the Contract Services Department would cease to exist beyond the Local Government Elections, its staff would be employed in other Council Departments and that this could give rise to difficulties in the management of the Scheme and the justification of payment to some staff and not others. In addition, there was the issue of Single Status to be addressed by the Council in relation to equality of pay and conditions for all staff. Accordingly, he recommended that the Good Attendance Scheme be discontinued.

During discussion, several Members expressed concern that the withdrawal of the Scheme could lead to increased sickness levels in those units in which it had been piloted.

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In response, the Director of Legal Services informed the Committee that a review of attendance, including the control of sickness absence, was being addressed across the Council by the Policy and Resources (Personnel) Sub-Committee.

After further discussion, the Committee agreed to discontinue the Good Attendance Scheme and agreed further that its concerns in relation to any possible increases in sickness levels arising from its decision be communicated to the Policy and Resources (Personnel) Sub-Committee.

Meeting between Government Ministers, the Department of the Environment and the Northern Ireland Local Government Association

The Committee noted the contents of a report which had been submitted by the Director of Contract Services providing details in respect of a meeting which had been held on 8th March involving the Minister of State, Mr. J. Spellar, M.P., the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Mrs. A. Smith, M.P., and representatives of the Department of the Environment and the Northern Ireland Local Government Association.

National Local Government Chronicle Environmental Award

The Director of Contract Services reminded the Committee that the Council’s Brighter Belfast initiative had been shortlisted for the Environmental Award category in the National Local Government Chronicle Awards. She reported that the Council had, at the awards ceremony which had taken place on 14th March, attained second place and been highly commended for the work which it had undertaken in relation to the initiative.

Noted.

Motor Fleet Risk Management

The Director of Contract Services submitted a report in respect of a number of initiatives which had been undertaken in the area of motor fleet risk management. A copy of the report, with the exception of the appendices referred to therein, is set out hereunder:

“PURPOSE OF REPORT

To provide an update for Members on the results of initiatives undertaken, by the Finance and Business Support Section, in the area of fleet insurance and in particular in the promotion of safer driving by employees whilst operating Council vehicles and also to advise Members with regard to initiatives and targets for the 2005/2006 Financial Year.

BACKGROUND

Members will be reminded of the report which was submitted to Committee in May 2004 which detailed the initiatives and results of the first year of this initiative. (Appendix 9).

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Year 1 (2003/2004) of the initiative concentrated on the building of solid foundations, which could be sustained in subsequent years, with the aim of:-

• promoting and implementing safer driving initiatives, including specific driver training programmes;

• Road Traffic Accident investigation and reporting to develop learning and improved safety through influencing driver behaviour;

• improving information and statistics available for management and insurance purposes relating to accidents and 3rd party claims.

This approach produced immediate results and produced savings of £214,797 against the base year 2002/2003.

2004 / 2005 ANNUAL RESULTS

A number of interconnected initiatives were introduced to improve and maintain progress in 2004/2005 and are detailed in Appendix 10.

These initiatives have been undertaken with the assistance and support of staff across the Council including Drivers, Supervisors, Managers, the Trade Unions, the Health and Safety Unit and in particular with the Legal Services Department and the Insurance Unit.

The benefits of this approach have already been realised and have produced the following results. The table below details actual savings year on year.

2003/2004 2004/2005 2005/2006 Reduction/ Savings %age reduction Number of Road Traffic Accidents 88 65 - 23 26.14% Third Party Claims £73,534 £102,765 - +£29,231 +39.75% Own Damage £6,978 £5,242 - £1,736 24.88% Insurance Premium £426,489 £341,601 £235,200 £106,401 31.14% Savings 2003/2004 £214,797 - Total Savings £293,703

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INITIATIVE RESULTS

If the situation had remained un-checked, and if the initiative hadn’t been supported by Committee, costs per annum would have remained at around £610K per annum which would have totalled £1.2M over the 2 year period. Actual costs, for the same period, have reduced to £765K, giving savings in the region of £455K. The number of road accidents, over the two years has reduced by 60%.

OTHER OUTPUTS

• Drivers Handbook

• Accurate management and insurance information

• Live Bordereau – information readily available

• Driver Training Programmes in place

• 80 Cleansing Drivers have successfully completed the Advanced / Defensive Driving Course

• 16 Grounds Maintenance Drivers have attended Advanced / Defensive Trailer Driving Safety Course

As well as the tangible and measurable outcomes there have also been a number of other benefits that whilst significant have not been measured:-

• reduction in lost working time

• less disruption to service delivery

• reduction in Road Traffic Accident management /administration costs

• reduction in Vehicle Off Road rates

THE FUTURE

Council agreed at the start of November 2004 that the roles and responsibilities of the post of Fleet Operations Assistant, who has been responsible for these results, would remain unchanged, that the post would sit within the Health and Environmental Services Directorate, reporting directly to the Business Support Manager, and that the role would retain the essential Corporate focus.

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INITIATIVES 2005/2006

As a result of consultation with Insurance Brokers, Insurance Companies, Management , Drivers, etc and as a result of information gathered over the last 12 months, the Finance and Business Support Section have identified the following initiatives and targets for the 2005/2006 Financial Year.

Corporate implementation of Fleet Operation Assistants Role

Implementation of Daily Standard Vehicle Checks

Recruitment and Development of In-house Driver Trainers

Corporate roll out of Drivers Database and Protocol

Continued implantation of formal Occupational Road Risk Code of Practice

Targets and Performance Indicators 2005/2006

• reduce number of Road Traffic Accidents by 10%

• reduce Accident Frequency by 5%

• reduce claims costs by 10%

• reduce the number of reversing accidents by a further 20%

• implement formally ‘Management of Occupational Road Risk’ Principles

• maintain the reductions in Insurance Premiums

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

There are no environmental implications contained in this report.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Members are recommended to note the contents of this report.”

The Committee noted the contents of the report.

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Quarterly Return of Sickness Absence

The Director of Contract Services submitted a report, copies of which had previously been circulated, in relation to the quarterly return of sickness absence for each of the units of the Department for the period from January till March, 2005. She referred to the figures contained within the report, which indicated that the average number of days’ absence per person for the quarter had been 3.89 days, compared to 4.55 days for the previous quarter and 3.71 days for the corresponding period in 2004. She reported that the average absence for the year to date was 16.53 days per employee, which was in excess of the Council’s target for that period by 5.87 days.

The Director informed the Committee that 187 sickness absence controlled interviews had taken place, 137 persons had been referred to the Occupational Health Service, seven final cautions had been issued and five members of staff had been served with final notices. She made the point that the control of sickness absence would continue to be monitored in accordance with the Council’s procedures and appropriate action taken thereon.

Noted.

Quarterly Return of Complaints

The Committee considered a report, copies of which had previously been circulated, in respect of the number of corporate complaints which had been received by the Council in respect of the Department during the period from January till March, 2005. The Director of Contract Services advised the Members that, in accordance with the Council’s Corporate Complaints Procedure, any complaints received during the period had been reviewed and appropriate action had been identified to ensure that avoidable problems did not recur. She advised the Members also that, for the purposes of comparison with the previous year, the corporate complaints figures had been adjusted to reflect changes in reporting lines which had arisen from the review of the Client/Contract split in Cleansing Services.

The Committee noted the information which had been provided.

Quarterly Return of Accidents

The Committee noted the contents of a report, copies of which had previously been circulated, detailing the quarterly return of accidents for the Contract Services Department, together with comparative figures for all of the Council’s Departments for the period from January till March, 2005.

Tenders for the Supply and Delivery of Fleet Items

The Head of Operational Services informed the Committee that, in response to public advertisement, two tenders had each been received for the supply and delivery of the undernoted items for use within the Grounds Maintenance Section:

(i) heavy duty ride-on mower with “zero turn” capability and a minimum grass-cutting width of 1.5 metres; and

(ii) heavy duty ride-on mower with “zero turn” capability and a minimum grass-cutting width of 1.4 metres.

He reported that the tenders had been evaluated in accordance with pre-agreed criteria and recommended that the lowest tenders, those submitted by Cyril Johnston and Company Limited, Ballynahinch Road, Carryduff, in the sums of £15,728 and £16,712, respectively, for the supply and delivery of both items, be accepted. He pointed out that provision for the purchase of the equipment had been made within the Capital Programme.

The Committee adopted the recommendation, subject to the completion of the appropriate forms of contract.

Street Cleanliness Index – Quarterly Report

The Committee considered the undernoted report in relation to the standards of cleanliness throughout the City:

“PURPOSE OF REPORT

To inform Committee of the last quarter trends in the Street Cleanliness Index and the enforcement and education activities.

BACKGROUND

The figures presented in this report cover the fourth quarter of the financial year i.e. the period from January 2005 to March 2005. Monitoring figures were measured by Cleansing Services Quality Officers. Enforcement, and Education and Awareness information was supplied by the Customer Support Service, and the Community Awareness Section within Cleansing Services, who were responsible for these functions over the period concerned.

The monthly monitoring programme consists of a random 5% sample of streets throughout the city being inspected and graded. From the grading, a Street Cleanliness Index is calculated and plotted for the various areas of the city, and the city as a whole.

The index range is from 1 to 100; with a Cleanliness Index of 67 being regarded as an acceptable standard by Tidy Northern Ireland. The results show the trends on a month to month basis. To alleviate the influence of spurious results on the overall index, the results are averaged over the last 4 surveys. Spurious results may occur for reasons such as adverse weather conditions, seasonal problems etc.

Results

The overall city wide cleanliness index for this quarter is 70, which is up one point from the previous quarter’s cleanliness index of 69.

The index for the same period in the previous year was 63, which would represent an increase of 7 in comparison to the same period last year.

The breakdown by individual area is as follows:

North

The North Cleanliness Indices for January to March were 71, 70 and 70 respectively. This represents an increase for January, February and March by comparison to those figures for the same period in the previous financial year viz. 66, 67 and 67 respectively.

South

The South Cleanliness Indices for January to March were 75, 82 and 73 respectively. This represents an increase for January, February and March by comparison to those figures for the same period in the previous financial year viz. 69, 70 and 70 respectively.

East

The East Cleanliness Indices for January to March were 76, 71 and 75 respectively. This represents an increase for January, February and March by comparison to those figures for the same period in the previous financial year viz. 67, 69 and 69 respectively.

West

The West Cleanliness Indices for January to March were 68, 68 and 67 respectively. This represents an increase for January and March by comparison to the figure for the same period in the previous financial year viz. 59 and 50.

The figure for February represents a small decrease by comparison to the figure for the same period last year viz. 69.

For the month of February, Dog Fouling and Detritus showed increases compared to the same period last year, while Confectionary and Glass related litter showed decreases compared to the same period last year. This had the overall affect of a small decrease (1%) when compared to the same period last year but still remains at a good level of cleanliness.

Central

The Cleanliness Indices for the Central Area for January to March were 69, 66 and 67 respectively.

This represents an increase for January, February and March by comparison to those figures for the same period in the previous financial year viz. 64, 65 and 65 respectively.

It should also be noted that the Tidy N.I figure for this period was 69. In general given the frequent foot fall within the City Centre small litter items can bring the figure down whilst the streets may look generally clean.

Complaints / Enquiries

There were 1482 enquiries regarding street cleansing during the quarter (by comparison to 1668 last quarter).

There were 101 Corporate Complaints (93 Stage One, 7 Stage Two and 1 Stage Three) during the quarter – 14 (14%) of which related to street cleansing.

Enforcement

There were 286 Fixed Penalty Notices issued under the Litter (NI) Order 1994, and 19 summonses issued. In addition 62 Article 20 Notices were issued requesting information.

Community & Education Projects

During the last quarter the Community Awareness Team organised 11 cleanups involving 248 volunteers.

The team have engaged 25 schools during the quarter involving 1983 pupils.

In addition the team have attended a further 3 events targeting the anti litter message at community groups or the general public; and 36 external community meetings were attended by the team during this quarter.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

Effective Street Cleansing operations combined with enforcement and awareness activities have a direct effect on the environmental well being of the city.

RECOMMENDATION AND DECISION REQUIRED

The Committee is requested to note the contents of the report.”

After discussion, the Committee adopted the recommendation.

Land Clearance and Miscellaneous Cleansing Functions

The Head of Cleansing Services informed the Committee that the clearance of waste material from land had been undertaken previously by private contractors. However, a review of operational procedures had indicated that this function might be better carried out by a dedicated team of Council staff, which would provide better value for money. He pointed out that a number of other functions such as graffiti, chewing gum and fly poster removal which were carried out currently were not within the core supervisory structure of the Street Cleansing Operations and explained that a review of how the land clearance team was supervised and how it interacted with other operations, was required. Accordingly, the Committee, at its meeting on 10th February, had granted authority to request the Council’s Business Improvement Section to undertake a review of the land clearance operations and its supervision.

The Head of Cleansing Services reported that the Business Improvement Section had now completed its review and had recommended that:

(i) an additional post of Operations Supervisor be created with the remit to supervise the following functions: chewing gum, graffiti and fly poster removal, bonfire clearance, general land clearance, the provision and maintenance of litter bins and street washing;

(ii) an additional Precinct Sweeper Driver post for the street washing vehicle be established for nightshift working; and

(iii) one Priority Waste Driver Operative post and two Priority Waste Operative posts be established as a land clearance team rather than using external contractors.

He explained that the above-mentioned changes would result in the implementation of the following revised organisational structure:

• Figure

The Committee adopted the recommendations of the Business Improvement Section.

Waste Collection Service

The Head of Cleansing Services reminded the Committee that, at its meeting on 10th February, it had granted authority to request the Council’s Business Improvement Section to undertake a review of the supervisory capacity of waste collection operations within Cleansing Services.

He reported that the review had now been completed and that the Business Improvement Section had recommended that:

(i) the supervisory level for the waste collection service be increased to ensure the effective and efficient delivery of the service in the future; and

(ii) the permanent establishment level for Operations Supervisors in the waste collection service be increased from three to five posts.

He pointed out that the recommendations would result in the implementation of the following revised organisational structure within the Cleansing Services Section:

• Figure

The Committee adopted the recommendations of the Business Improvement Section.

Last Meeting

The Chairman (Councillor O’Neill) pointed out that this was the last meeting of the Contract Services Committee. Accordingly, he thanked the Members of the Committee and the officers of the Department for the contribution which they had made in effecting many improvements within the City’s environment.

The Director of Contract Services thanked the Chairman for his kind remarks and stated that the support and encouragement which the staff had received from the Members who had served on the Contract Services Committee during its existence had been much appreciated.

Chairman