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Council to buy company for
bin collection service
MOVES to establish a new company to
operate Liverpool's waste collection and recycling services are set to take a
major step forward.
In July 2015 the cabinet agreed to establish a Local Authority Trading Company (Latco)
to deliver the service, as a way of cutting costs by an estimated £1m a year and
achieve a 55% recycling rate by 2020.
Now the cabinet is being recommended that the Council acquire the shares of the
joint venture company Enterprise Liverpool Ltd (ELL) and its existing fleet as
being the quickest and most economical way of establishing a Latco.
The Latco would also include the contracts for the grounds maintenance service.
Enterprise Liverpool Limited (ELL)is a joint venture between the City Council
and Amey plc, of which the Council currently holds a 20% share. Its contract for
refuse collection was awarded in 2008 for 7 years and ends in November 2015.
The existing workforce, with the support of the Unions, put forward the proposal
for a Latco arguing that it will allow the Council more flexibility in the
service to improve performance and reduce costs.
The report allows the acquisition of the 80% of the shares from Amey creating a
legal framework for the LATCO and purchase from Amey of the existing vehicles
used to deliver the service: 6 trade waste vehicles and 36 bin wagons. The
report also authorises the lease of the company's base of operations to allow
the service to continue without disruption.
Councillor Steve Munby, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said:- "Our
overriding aim is to ensure that the City's residents have a top quality
service, a high performing refuse and recycling collection service.
We now have the opportunity to introduce a service that the workforce and
Council believe in, one that works together. The new proposed service
arrangements will support us in reaching our aspirations and our recycling
target.
These legal agreements allow us to move to the new company in a quick and
efficient way. We are confident that the changes we have agreed with the
workforce will deliver savings of £1 million a year in running costs and help us
reach our recycling target of 55% by 2020.
The icing on the cake is that we will bring the Grounds Maintenance contract
into the LATCO three years before the contract would have finished. This is
costing us £3 million a year at present and I believe there is scope for
considerable savings."
The new contract, which covers 216,000 properties, comes into operation on 7
November 2015.
The recommendation and was considered by the cabinet on 30 October 2015. |
