Garden bin charge is a success

AN EXTERNAL evaluation of the borough’s garden waste charge scheme has labelled it a success and good value compared to other areas in the county.

The one-year review found just two areas where the system should be tightened to improve efficiency.

Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council’s auditors Price Waterhouse Cooper conducted the study.

Overall they found the new levied service was performing well. In a report to the authority’s audit committee, considered at the most recent meeting, PWC say: “On the whole, the council has responded well to the challenge of implementing a new service and established a number of processes and controls around this.

“While the current basis of fees does appear low compared with other council’s the significant take-up and strong revenue performance demonstrate a successful first year of the service.”

Suggestions surrounding tweaks to the service charge which might benefit householders - setting a mid-year fee, offering discounts for those on benefits and providing different sized bins - were considered but deemed too com- plicated and uneconomic to introduce as the fee was already so low.

The two areas where the council deemed change necessary, in line with PWC, were monitoring and reporting with the implementation of key performance indicators and the launch of preprinted stickers to identify bins.

The report says currently, the green waste service is forecasting a net income of £540,294, in excess of the budget by £260,144, and mainly attributable to the significant take-up.

The council had forecast an expected 40% sign-up but the actual figure was more like 62% - so 53% higher than anticipated.