Serco ‘may feel time is coming to an end,’ warns councillor
PRIVATE FIRM HAS ‘NOT MET STANDARDS REQUIRED’ BY DALES COUNCIL
A DISTRICT councillor has warned that private firm Serco “may feel their time is coming to an end” after pushing forward plans which could see a bin collection contract seized off the company.
At a Derbyshire Dales District Council meeting last week, the authority decided to spend £30,000 to investigate bringing bin collections back “in-house”.
Ash Watts, director of community and environmental services at the council, said Serco had “not met the standards we require of the contract”.
Mr Watts said the authority was in “encouraging” talks with another council in regards to potentially making a deal to share bin collection services.
If the council was to retake bin collection services for the first time since 1989, it would become responsible for all of the associated workforce and the task of recruitment to fill current gaps filled by Serco with agency staff.
Mr Watts said that just like other employers in the Dales it does sometimes struggle to recruit, but said the council was a good employer and “tries to be competitive” but admitted “challenges will still be there”.
Cllr Steve Flitter, Liberal Democrat, said: “I do hope that Serco will look at this tonight and it might increase productivity because they may feel that their time is coming to an end.”
Serco has been running the bin collection services in the Dales since 2012, taking on the latest contract in the summer of 2020.
Council officers claim Serco has “alluded to a loss of approximately £700,000 per annum on the existing contract” and is expecting the firm to ask the authority for more money.
The council, and as a result taxpayers, have already given Serco around half a million pounds extra throughout the pandemic, in addition to the £3.1 million annual contract fee.
This was to cover HGV driver pay rises, an addition- al rented bin lorry and funds to cover the monies lost through the first lockdown.
Council officers say continuing with Serco is “likely” the “path of least resistance” with no solution representing a “golden bullet”, but says councillors should be aware and consider their options.
This comes after an investigation, commissioned by the council, revealed in February that Serco consistently failed in its management of the multi-million-pound Derbyshire Dales bin collection contract.
The public services giant had 69 times breached its refuse contract and there had been a “incomplete delivery of the contract requirements by Serco,” the inquiry found.
The inquiry was started after more than 700 residents signed a petition as a result of hundreds of thousands of missed bin collections throughout the previous 18 months. Serco was approached for comment, but chose not to provide a statement.
I do hope that Serco will look at this tonight and it might increase productivity.
Cllr Steve Flitter