Agenda and minutes

Members are asked to declare any interests in the items under consideration and in doing so state:

(1) the type of interest concerned either a

(a)    personal interest

(b)   prejudicial interest

(c)    disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI)

and

(2) the nature of the interest concerned

If any member requires advice on declarations of interests, they are advised to contact the Head of Democratic Governance in advance of the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest on this occasion.

The Advisory Board agreed that under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the restricted set of minutes within Item 3 ‘Minutes of the last meeting held on 19 January 2021’, the whole of Item 5 ‘Blackpool Airport Operations Limited’ and the whole of item 6 ‘Blackpool Transport Services Limited’ on the grounds that they would involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

To agree the minutes of the last meeting held on 19 January 2021 as a true and correct record.

(This item contains commercially sensitive information which is exempt from publication by virtue of Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972).

The Advisory Board considered the minutes of the last meeting held on 19 January 2021, noting that there was a public and restricted version.

The Advisory Board agreed the minutes of the meeting be signed by the Chairman as a true and correct record.

To update the Shareholder’s Advisory Board on the current status of the Company and to provide a summary of performance.

Mr John Hawkin, Managing Director, Blackpool Waste Services Limited (BWS) provided an overview of the recent work of the Company and highlighted that full service provision continued during the national lockdown with only minor disruptions caused by staff testing positive for Covid 19 or needing to self-isolate. It was noted that there had been an increase nationally in the tonnage of waste collected in kerbside collections which had placed additional demand on services. Despite the increased demand, good performance had continued with the number of ‘missed bins’ reducing year on year.

The Board was informed that levels of absenteeism had been recorded as under 5% and that there were good management arrangements in place. Mr Hawkin reported that the Company was focussing on the added benefits that could be provided to the town such as reporting instances of fly tipping discovered by staff on collection rounds. He added that a number of audits had been carried out including those on health and safety, risk management and financial controls and systems with the identified recommendations building on good practice already in place.

In regards to financial performance, Mr Hawkin advised that the Company was on track to achieve a small surplus at year end which would be held as a contingency fund. The Blackpool Waste Services Board had recently adopted the Foundation Living Wage and reissued contracts to all staff to ensure consistent employment practices.

A focus of the Company was future service development and working in partnership with the Council to improve access to recycling. Mr Hawkin spoke in depth regarding the installation of ‘Eurobins’ at identified sites to provide closer access to recycling for those households that did not currently have access to household bins; and the collection of household batteries which would be collected from the end of March 2021. In response to a question, the Board was advised that targeted communications would be utilised to alert residents to the new arrangements in place and encourage recycling.

The Board queried how the Company was measuring public opinion of service provision and Mr Hawkin advised that a resident household survey had been undertaken and that two Waste Minimisation Officers were in place to improve engagement.

In response to a further question, Mr Hawkin reported that the number of missed assisted bin collections was very low, however, there was room for improvement. He explained that the majority of cases were due to human error and exacerbated by the crews needing to work flexibly and on routes that were not their usual route during the pandemic. It was recognised that the percentage of missed bins was low, but that the impact on a resident of a missed bin was high. He added that 100% of missed bins were collected by 4pm the following day.

The Advisory Board agreed to note the update.

(Mr John Hawkin, Managing Director, Blackpool Waste Services Limited and Councillor Adrian Hutton, Chair, Blackpool Waste Services Limited left the meeting following conclusion of this item).

To update the Shareholder’s Advisory Board on the current status of the Company and to provide a summary of performance.

(This item contains commercially sensitive information which is exempt from publication by virtue of Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972).

(The press and public were excluded prior to the consideration of this item as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act).

(Mr Stephen Smith, Airport Manager, Blackpool Airport Operations Limited joined the meeting for this item).

Mr Stephen Smith, Managing Director, Blackpool Airport Operations Limited (BAOL) provided an overview of the Company’s current status and financial position.

The Advisory Board agreed to note the update.

(Mr Stephen Smith, Managing Director, Blackpool Airport Operations Limited and Mr Mark Towers, Director of Governance and Partnerships left the meeting following conclusion of this item).

To update the Shareholder Advisory Board’s on the current status of the Company and to provide a summary of performance.

(This item contains commercially sensitive information which is exempt from publication by virtue of Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972).

(The press and public were excluded prior to the consideration of this item as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act).

(Ms Jane Cole, Managing Director, Blackpool Transport Services Limited (BTS), Mr James Carney, Finance Director, BTS, Councillor Paul Galley, Chair, BTS and Mrs Lorraine Hurst, Head of Democratic Governance joined the meeting for this item).

Ms Jane Cole, Managing Director, Blackpool Transport Services Limited (BTS) provided an overview of the Company’s current status and financial position.

The Advisory Board agreed to note the update.