Renfrewshire Council: the Audit of Best Value and ... - Audit Scotland
Renfrewshire Council: the Audit of Best Value and ... - Audit Scotland
Renfrewshire Council: the Audit of Best Value and ... - Audit Scotland
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Environmental services<br />
Environmental services has a strong performance <strong>and</strong> customer focus. Performance is amongst<br />
<strong>the</strong> best Scottish authorities for <strong>the</strong> cost <strong>of</strong> refuse collection <strong>and</strong> several o<strong>the</strong>r indicators are above<br />
<strong>the</strong> Scottish average. Recycling performance has improved significantly under <strong>the</strong> council’s Waste<br />
Management Plan. Improvements could be made by considering alternative forms <strong>and</strong> means <strong>of</strong><br />
service delivery ra<strong>the</strong>r than solely focusing on improving <strong>the</strong> existing in-house service which has<br />
not been market tested since 1997.<br />
157. The environmental services department has a budget <strong>of</strong> around £42 million <strong>and</strong> employs 1,292 staff. It<br />
has a very wide portfolio <strong>of</strong> services including <strong>the</strong> commercial operations <strong>of</strong> waste management,<br />
refuse collection, grounds maintenance, street cleansing, catering, <strong>and</strong> building cleaning. It also<br />
undertakes statutory enforcement functions concerning trading st<strong>and</strong>ards <strong>and</strong> public health<br />
inspections. SPIs for 2004/05 show:<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Refuse collection costs per household are amongst <strong>the</strong> lowest in Scotl<strong>and</strong> at £36.92 compared<br />
with <strong>the</strong> average <strong>of</strong> £49.20. Costs have been kept low through improved route planning <strong>and</strong><br />
rationalising commercial waste services.<br />
Refuse disposal costs at £52.36 are also cheaper than <strong>the</strong> Scottish average <strong>of</strong> £55.08, but higher<br />
than <strong>the</strong> average cost <strong>of</strong> £49.22 for similar urban councils.<br />
Refuse complaints at 15.2 per 1,000 households are significantly lower than <strong>the</strong> Scottish average<br />
<strong>of</strong> 35.9. The council’s special uplift facility also appears to perform well, with 93 per cent <strong>of</strong><br />
special uplifts being completed in five days. The Scottish average is 83 per cent. <strong>Renfrewshire</strong><br />
made over 24,000 special uplifts during 2004/05.<br />
The council’s street cleanliness rating <strong>of</strong> 67 is below <strong>the</strong> Scottish average <strong>of</strong> 70 <strong>and</strong> in <strong>the</strong> bottom<br />
quartile. The council is addressing this poorer performance level through identifying litter control<br />
areas to target improved town centre <strong>and</strong> roadway sweeping.<br />
158. Environmental services uses an integrated service model for its trading operations with joint<br />
management <strong>and</strong> working arrangements between services such as street cleaning <strong>and</strong> grounds<br />
maintenance, <strong>and</strong> also cleaning <strong>and</strong> catering. This has helped to reduce overheads <strong>and</strong> improve<br />
service delivery.<br />
159. The service has a particularly strong performance driven culture. This is evidenced by <strong>the</strong> level <strong>of</strong><br />
detail in its integrated business plan for commercial operations which includes financial forecasts,<br />
budget savings, workforce pr<strong>of</strong>iling <strong>and</strong> forecasts, performance review, marketplace assessments,<br />
customer consultation <strong>and</strong> risk assessment. There is a strong emphasis on quality assurance through<br />
charter mark, ISO 9001 quality management registration, <strong>and</strong> ISO 9004 benchmarking, for which<br />
environmental services is <strong>the</strong> only UK organisation to have received a Gold Award. The assessors<br />
noted business planning <strong>and</strong> consultation as particular strengths.<br />
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