Agenda and minutes

At the commencement of the meeting, it was noted that neither of the Reading Borough Council members was present.  Therefore, in accordance with the Board’s constitution, there was not a quorum.

At 5.10pm, the Board was advised by the clerk that, in the absence of a quorum, those present could consider items 5 and 6 on the agenda on an informal basis as both items were largely for information.  Should either Reading member arrive, the Board could convene formally to consider the business on the agenda.  Having considered this option, those present agreed to proceed accordingly with Oliver Burt presenting items 5 and 6.  He answered a number of questions from members.  The main points made were:

Item 5: Project Update

·                     The customer satisfaction surveys for both Household Waste Recycling Centres were outstandingly good and proved that a more negative response in the Bracknell Forest Place Survey was, almost certainly, because the survey had been conducted whilst the Longshot Lane site had been closed for the improvement works.

·                     The new WRG chief executive, Paul Taylor, would be invited to the next meeting of the Board.

·                     The estimated underspend had been checked thoroughly taking account of a second quarter’s data and was now £393k.

·                     WRG had been unsuccessful in its bid to win a contract from Oxford City Council but the potential to seek other contracts was likely to be pursued again in the future.

·                     Officers had received an approach from the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead about promoting the use of Longshot Lane to residents of the Royal Borough which was being considered.

Item 6: Joint Municipal Waste Strategy

·                     The report set out the good progress made against the 10 objectives set in the Strategy.

At 5.40pm, Councillor Gittings arrived and tendered his apologies for lateness due to a misunderstanding and those of Councillor Edwards who was ill.  With his arrival, there was a quorum and it was agreed to proceed with the rest of the agenda on a formal basis, albeit that the next item to be discussed would be item 8 as Councillor Weekes needed to leave at 6pm.

Members are required to declare any personal or prejudicial interests and the nature of that interest, in respect of any matter to be considered at this meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

RESOLVED that pursuant to Regulation 21 of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Access to Information) Regulations 2000 and having regard to the public interest, members of the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the consideration of item 8 which involved the likely disclosure of exempt information under the following category of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972:

(3)        Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person.

To note the updated project risk register.

The Board noted the exempt information detailed in the Risk Register with those items which had changed highlighted.

The Project Director briefed the Board on the two issues which were of most significance.  The Board noted that an incident at Lakeside had resulted in the discovery of a fault which was being rectified but which had led to a delay in the commissioning of the plant pending replacement of some equipment.  The Project Director was however confident that the commissioning process would resume shortly as the company was keen to make progress and complete the commissioning as quickly as possible.  He added that the longstop arrangement had been extended until 1 July 2010.

The Board was also briefed on works which would be carried out at Smallmead to upgrade its fire protection system which it was hoped would not require the closure of the facility.

In response to questions, the Project Director explained the relationship of the contractor and its parent companies and also undertook to update the information relating to Risk 21.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the Joint Waste Disposal Board held on 22 September 2009

The minutes of the meeting of the Joint Waste Disposal Board held on 22 September 2009 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Chairman also signed the minutes of the meeting held on 23 July 2009 which had required amendments to the list of those present when presented to the previous meeting.

Arising on the minutes, the Board noted that:

·                     The clerk had been asked to reschedule the next meeting as it clashed with a meeting of Wokingham’s Conservative Group.

·                     Henceforth, meetings would be held at the offices of each of the three authorities at least once per annum although this would not preclude also holding meetings at Smallmead or Longshot Lane.

·                     That agreement had still not been reached with West Berkshire Council regarding the use of Smallmead by its residents with its offer being around half of the value put on this usage by the Project Director.  As a result, the officers were exploring appropriate options and it was suggested that the matter should also be raised at the Berkshire Leaders’ Group.

To notify the Board of any items authorised by the Chairman on the grounds of urgency.

There were no urgent items of business although the Chairman reiterated the need to change the date of the next meeting.

To inform the Board of progress since its last meeting on 22 September 2009.

The Board had nothing to add to the topics covered in the earlier informal discussion on the latest project update which covered the following:

·                     Household Waste Recycling Centres

·                     Waste Recycling Group Ltd

·                     Finance and Performance

·                     Risk Register

·                     Lakeside

·                     Shared Services

·                     Vehicle Livery

However, in response to questions, the Board noted that:

·                     The officers were taking action to ensure that all three councils achieved their recycling targets, although this would require waste to be transported from Smallmead to Lakeside.  The issue would continue to be pursued with DEFRA.

·                     The officers were to circulate details of the budget.

To note the progress made by the councils regarding the Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy.

The Board had nothing to add to the earlier informal discussion other than to confirm the suggested action in the  report detailing progress made towards the objectives contained within the Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy which had been adopted by each of the re3 councils in 2008. 

RESOLVED

1          That the progress made by the councils towards the Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy Objectives to date be noted.

2          That further updates be provided at subsequent Joint Waste Disposal Board meetings in accordance with the agreed work programme.