Both councils are this week set to discuss a joint report prepared by their environmental officers before deciding whether to go ahead with the merger, which was first mooted in July 2014 (see letsrecycle.com story).
The report recommends that the two authorities agree to the creation of single, shared waste service, which would also be wholly owned and run by the councils.
Staffing implications
There are currently approximately 100 staff at South Cambridgeshire council and 75 staff at Cambridge city council who are in the scope of the merger proposals, but the report estimates that merging these into a single team could bring savings of £170,000 per year.
The service would have a single management structure and workforce located at South Cambridgeshire’s Waterbeach depot, to where Cambridge city council’s waste drivers and crews would be relocated in 2015. It is has not yet been decided where policy staff will be located.
The councils are currently in discussion with trade unions over staffing implications. The report states that “wherever possible, posts will be reduced vie the careful management of vacancies due to normal staff turn-over and retirements”, adding that “all efforts will be made to reduce compulsory redundancies”.
In addition, provisions have been made in the current year’s budgets to fund the creation of a programme manager role for one year, at a cost of £70,000 per annum, according to the report.
Collections
The move could also involve a “redesign” of the waste collection service, with an opportunity to reduce the number of rounds by at least one with a saving of approximately £150,000. Both councils already undertake cross-boundary work to optimise collections for residents.
Cllr Mick Martin, South Cambridgeshire district council’s cabinet member for environmental services, said: “Reductions to the funding we receive from government, twinned with a growing population, means we have to continue to find ways to do more for less.
“The growth on the border of our area with Cambridge City means working closer together makes perfect sense; by being smarter with the way we set up our rounds we will deliver better value-for-money for council taxpayers. Our recent changes show how we try our best to minimise the effect on residents and staff, and by continuing to work with the unions we are looking to do this again.”
‘Important’
Cllr Peter Roberts, executive councillor for environment, waste and public health at Cambridge City council, said: “A good quality waste collection and recycling service for the city is so important and by joining forces with South Cambridgeshire District Council we can maintain and improve our service whilst achieving significant savings that are necessary given that we have less money overall.”
South Cambridgeshire district council’s cabinet will make a decision on the report’s recommendation tomorrow (October 16), before Cambridge city council’s environment scrutiny committee considers the report on Friday (October 17).
However, the councils note that the business case for the shared service cannot be finalised until South Cambridgeshire has tested the market for the future value of separated paper during 2015.
The council’s current contract for the processing and sale of separately collected paper is due to end in October next year, which could result in a change of income received for the material.
MRF
Meanwhile, both councils have also agreed to use the recently procured Recycling Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Waste Partnership materials recycling facility contract, the costs and income from which will not be fully known until both local authorities have entered the contract in November 2014 and October 2015 respectively.
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