The report, part of the Best Value Review being carried out into all council services in England, described Manchester's civic amenity service as 'fa;ir' with 'promising prospects for improvement'. However, with a one out of three grade, the report highlighted a number of areas where action was needed, one of which was the safety of staff.
Audit Commission inspectors wrote: “A major issue raised by officers, Councillors and contractors employees was site safety for site attendants and the level of harassment they suffer from some site users. The most recent incident occurred during the inspection on-site period. The attendant was threatened and a vehicle driven at her by a site user.”
Praised
However, inspectors praised the contractor of Manchester's 25 civic amenity sites, the Disposal Authority-owned Greater Manchester Waste, for tackling the problem. Closed-circuit television systems have been installed in sites prone to staff harassment, with staffing levels raised to boost security and provide more assistance for site users.
The city's 25 civic amenity sites serve 948,000 households on a budget of about 15 million a year. The Audit Commission praised the political leadership of the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority, its promising waste strategy and success in bidding for DEFRA funds.
However, inspectors pointed out that a number of the sites are “untidy, unwelcoming and containers for recyclable materials are frequently full”, compromising recycling rates. There were also criticisms of the lack of clear signposting of the CA sites from local roads and the “over-reliance” on paperwork rather than computer-based administration systems.
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