Inspection success for Watford comes at high cost

But, the council department was criticised for achieving the “good”, two-star service at a high cost.

” The council is now striving to maintain these high standards whilst reducing costs. “
– Nigel Smith, Audit Commission
The council – which achieved a jump in recycling rates from 24% to 37% in 2005/06, beating government-set targets of 30% – ran up a 285,000 budget overspend during the last financial year.

Inspectors put Watford among the top 10 councils in England for its environmental service spending.

Improvement
Nevertheless, reporting back last week, Audit Commission inspectors and the council itself said firm plans were in place to cut costs, and described prospects for improvement as “promising”.

Nigel Smith, Audit Commission senior manager, said: “The council has made major changes in this service. Support for the environment runs from the very top of the council to front line staff.”

Mr Smith added: “The council is now striving to maintain these high standards whilst reducing costs.”

Benchmark
The Commission has recommended setting up some kind of performance-based pay system for waste and recycling staff and suggested Watford benchmark its costs with other local authorities.

” The inspectors recognised that we understand what we need to do to improve and are confident we know how to get there. “
– Cllr Derek Scudder, Watford BC
Commenting on the report, Watford's portfolio holder for the environment, Cllr Derek Scudder, said: “The result of the recent environment services' inspection was the most positive the council has ever had.

“Not only did the inspectors find the service to be 'good' – they gave us an endorsement for our future plans. These include looking at how we can build on the high quality of the service we provide whilst reducing overall costs. The inspectors recognised that we understand what we need to do to improve and are confident we know how to get there,” Cllr Scudder added.

Recycling
The Commission's inspection was carried out during five days in June, covering refuse collection, recycling and street cleaning.

Much praise was lavished on Watford's multi-material kerbside collection scheme and efforts to engage with residents on the doorstep. These moves have seen a 14.5% decrease in the amount of household waste going to landfill.

The inspectors said in their report: “Door stepping campaigns and other face-to-face contacts with residents across the borough have resulted in a service which has sufficient flexibility to take account of most local needs. Smaller waste bins, no limits on numbers of recycling boxes, the continuing use of bags at a limited number of locations are examples of this.”

Minimisation
Further progress could be made by Watford in its waste minimisation activities, inspectors said, warning that current reduction initiatives were “not having a significant impact”.

In particular, the report said the borough's re-usable nappy campaign, offering 40 cash to parents buying washable nappies rather than their disposable equivalent, had had a “disappointing” take-up. Just 65 parents had claimed the cash bonus over two years of the scheme.

The provision of larger bins for non-recyclable waste to “a high percentage of larger households” had also caused “more waste to go to landfill than may be necessary”, inspectors added.