Issue - meetings

A separate part 2 report contains information which is exempt from Access to Information Requirements by virtue of Schedule 12A Local Government Act 1972, paragraph 3, “Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information”).

The Report is to recommend the withdrawal of administration and project management functions (the “WDA Partnership Functions” or “Functions”) carried out by the Joint Waste Service (“JWS”) and return those Functions (as set out in paragraph 4 below) previously carried out by Surrey County Council to Surrey County Council (“SCC”).  The Functions and related staff were transferred to JWS under an Inter Authority Agreement in 2018 and are performed by staff in the Joint Waste Services (“JWS”) team hosted by Surrey Heath Borough Council (“SHBC”). The recommendation is to bring the Functions (and related staff) back into SCC.

The Surrey Environment Partnership (“SEP”) is a forum for SCC (as the Waste Disposal Authority) and the Surrey District and Boroughs (as Waste Collection Authorities) to work together. The withdrawal of the Functions from JWS will in no way affect the operation of SEP.

This piece of work helps Surrey County Council meet its high performing council priority objective and No One Left Behind because it seeks to respond to on-going and forecasted changes in waste policy and legislation which will have a disproportionate impact on SCC’s revenue budget.

(The decisions on this item can be called-in by the Communities, Environment and Highways Select Committee)

N.B. There is a Part 2 report at Item 15.

RESOLVED:

1.    That Cabinet agrees the principle of SCC bringing back the Functions and associated funding to SCC and to delegate authority to the Executive Director for Environment, Property & Growth in consultation with the Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Director of Resources and the Director of Law and Governance to take such actions and decisions as are necessary to facilitate the manner and mechanisms through which this decision can be most suitably implemented.

Reasons for Decisions:

• Surrey County Council (‘SCC’) transferred several of its activities (“Functions”), to encourage better recycling, to the JWS team in 2018 through an Inter Authority Agreement. As part of the process, six full time employees of SCC staff were TUPE transferred to SHBC to undertake the Functions for JWS.
• JWS is the partnership organisation which manages a joint waste collection contract with Amey on behalf of Surrey Heath, Elmbridge, Mole Valley and Woking Councils. Surrey Heath Borough Council (“SHBC”) hosts JWS and provides line management and back-office functions (e.g. HR).
• The Functions transferred include activities to encourage better recycling by Surrey residents: communications and website hosting; data gathering and interpretation; project administration and governance; processing of some payments; and encouragement of food waste collections. 
• The wider Surrey Environment Partnership (“SEP”) forum includes all eleven District and Boroughs (‘D&Bs’) as the Waste Collection Authorities (“WCA”) for Surrey, and the group comes together with SCC at a number of meetings over the year. These meetings are part of the Functions and will be organised by SCC going forward if this recommendation is approved.
• The current arrangement is no longer felt suitable to meet the strategic needs of SCC in reducing its exposure to policy changes. Policy measures will have a disproportionate impact on SCC as the Waste Disposal Authority (“WDA”) as set out in paragraph 10 below. To mitigate these, SCC needs to: engage with the public (communications, recycling behaviour); have access to data; and to have financial control on project expenditure.
• SCC clearly supports the concept of partnership with the D&Bs and would like to see a closer and more effective relationship with all 11 Councils. However, SCC feels that as long as the Functions and SEP administration remains subsumed within JWS (and hosted by Surrey Heath BC) then the wider strategic needs of the SCC will not be met.
• The recommendation to SCC members is to relocate the Functions back into SCC, noting that this could involve the transfer of affected staff under TUPE transfers and some reorganisation of the service. Officers believe this would allow JWS to focus on its needs, and for SCC to mitigate its exposure to potentially very costly waste policy changes.

(The decisions on this item can be called-in by the Communities, Environment and Highways Select Committee)