Serco will begin the new contract for the Hertfordshire district on April 3, 2006, providing a range of services including refuse and recycling collections, landscaping and street cleaning.
 Partnership: (front, left to right) Welwyn and Hatfield council chairman Carl Storer and Serco Local Government MD Phil Walker with (back, left to right) Ernie Buckley of Serco, Cllr John Hawkins, Robin Davies of Serco, council officers Andrew Harper and Richard Masters. |
The contract will last a period of 10 to 14 years, with staff transferring to Serco, the council said.
It is expected that the contract will be worth around 70 million, but the council said the payment will depend on the level of residents' satisfaction with Serco's services.
Surveys
The company has pledged regular customer satisfaction surveys to ask residents their views on the services, and where improvements might be made.
Cllr Alan Franey, Welwyn Hatfield's executive member for environmental services, said: “For the first time, local people will have a real say in how local services are provided, with the results of customer satisfaction surveys determining how much Serco will be paid.
“Serco will play a major role with ourselves in keeping the council's promise to make Welwyn Hatfield cleaner and greener, as we have promised in our corporate plan,” Cllr Franey added.
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Welwyn Hatfield recycled and composted about 20% of its waste in 2004/05. The council currently collects paper, glass and green waste for recycling, using an alternate weekly collection system.
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