Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed all attendees to the meeting and introductions were made.

The Head of Paid Service provided a verbal update regarding the Air Quality consultation that had recently closed advising that around 5000 responses had been received and that officers were working to bring an update report to a Cabinet meeting in September 19, date to be confirmed.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Clarke and Phipps.

To note any declarations of interest from the Councillors.  They are asked to indicate the relevant agenda item, the nature of the interest and in particular whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest.

Any declarations of interest made at the meeting which is not on the register of interests should be notified to the Monitoring Officer for inclusion.

Councillor Gollop declared that he attended meetings of the Council’s Shareholder Group as an observer.

Up to 30 minutes is allowed for this item

Any member of the public or Councillor may participate in Public Forum.  The detailed arrangements for so doing are set out in the Public Information Sheet at the back of this agenda.  Public Forum items should be emailed to democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk and please note that the following deadlines will apply in relation to this meeting:-

Questions - Written questions must be received 3 clear working days prior to the meeting.  For this meeting, this means that your question(s) must be received in this office at the latest by 5 pm on Thursday 8th August 19.

Petitions and Statements - Petitions and statements must be received on the working day prior to the meeting.  For this meeting this means that your submission must be received in this office at the latest by 12.00 noon onTuesday 13th August 19.

The following public forum was received and a copy placed in the minute book, alongside the written answers to questions;

Answers to supplementary questions were provided as follows;

·         £355k was being returned to the council by the Bristol Waste Company (BWC) (see page 11 of the accompanying papers) as part of the payment mechanism, which has been introduced as the basis of the contract for services with the company. 

·         Financial reviews of the operation of the payment mechanism would be conducted regularly to identify trends, and the results could be shared with the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board.

Members received a presentation from representatives of Bristol Waste Company (BWC) setting out the Bristol Waste Annual Performance report for 18/19, a copy of which is appended to these minutes at Appendix A.  The Board went on to comment on the information provided and ask for additional details in a number of areas.  The discussion was as follows;

·         BWC was permitted to operate commercial waste contracts at up to 20% of the company’s annual turnover.  A number of steps were being taken to secure new commercial waste customers.  It was important to ensure that all commercial waste  contracts generated sufficient profit.

·         Staff at BWC were being supported with learning and development, as set out in the learning catalogue.  This included help with literacy and numeracy where appropriate.

·         Safety was a concern for waste collection operatives as some drivers drove in an irresponsible way, for example overtaking on narrow streets.  The installation of cameras on all waste collection vehicles would be completed by the end of August 19 and a public awareness campaign in conjunction with Avon and Somerset Constabulary and the Bristol Post was planned.

·         Consideration had been given to minimising waste collections during rush hours but were focussing attention on making the kerb side sort process more efficient, by making it easier for customers to sort their waste more efficiently, which would take less time and vehicles could move on more swiftly.

·         BWC could not currently combine household and commercial waste collections as the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs required the collation of separate data.

·         The recent innovative marketing campaigns such as ‘Slim my Waste’ were welcomed.

·         BWC recognised that some recyclate was a valuable asset and sold it on where possible, raising £2.2m in 18/19. In order to maximise profits, the timing of the sale of some material, such as aluminium, was managed to optimise income. Recent staff movements in the community engagement function were discussed.

·         Most plastics, with the exception of black plastic, were collected by BWC.  A campaign is due to start in the autumn  to remind residents about the correct receptacles to use for different types of waste.

·         The Hartcliffe Recycling Centre is on target for construction by summer 2020.

·         The Clean Streets programme aimed to bring together key stakeholders to reduce waste at source and was one of the main priorities for BWC.

·         Schemes to incentivise residents to recycle more waste – such as reductions in Council Tax – should be explored.

·         Bristol had the highest recycling rates of the Core Cities and the second highest for amounts of waste produced, but more was being done to further improve.

·         BWC was looking to work closely with the Council on collaboration with respect to back office services,  such as IT and HR, in order to improve cost effectiveness.

Bristol Waste were thanked for the update.

RESOLVED; That Bristol Waste Company’s Performance report for 18/19 be noted.

Members received an introductory presentation from representatives of Bristol Energy Company (BEC) which is appended to these minutes at Appendix B.  The Board considered the information, seeking clarification where appropriate.  The salient points were as follows;

• BEC was participating in a trial of the Councils’ Social Value portal, which used a range of factors, including staff salaries, carbon savings and charitable donations when assessing a company’s social value performance.  Only Bristol based staff salaries had been included in the assessment.  The social value methodology could be shared with Members if required.  Members asked BEC to elaborate on the company’s Social Value performance in future reports, to include benefits to employees and statistics around reductions in fuel poverty and investments in green energy infrastructure etc.
• BEC had an apprenticeship scheme and also offered employment to people with a broad range of backgrounds. 
• Concerns were raised about the size of some salaries at BEC in view of the company’s losses.  It was agreed that the company’s business plan for 19/20, which was exempt from publication, could be shared with the committee members if requested.
• The customer base of BEC had increased by 38%, and now included 22000 of Bristol’s households.
• BEC had developed a refreshed marketing strategy for the company which would soon be rolled out.
• The Council were of the view that the future for BEC was aligned with the cities ambitions for decarbonisation, set out in the City Leap - a series of energy and infrastructure investment opportunities for a cleaner, greener Bristol.
• Additional consideration of the future of BEC would take place when the OSMB reviewed the Companies’ business plans in December 19.

Bristol Energy Company were thanked for attending the meeting.

RESOLVED; that the update be noted.

There was a 5 minute comfort break. Councillors Massey and Hiscott left the meeting.

The Chair introduced the item, commenting that transparency around the Council’s Companies and willingness for cooperative working had improved significantly in recent times, which should be welcomed.

Members queried the situation regarding Goram Homes (the Council’s Housing Company) and were advised that it was formed on 1^st October 18 and the first business plan would be provided to OSMB in December 19.

Appendix A – Bristol Waste Company Annual Performance Report 18/19 presentation

Appendix B  – Bristol Energy Company Annual Performance Report 18/19 presentation