Agenda item

(To receive a report by Steve Bird, City of Lincoln Council, which provides Partners with an opportunity to consider a number of options for a new governance model for the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership)

The Partnership received a report which provided guidance and a recommendation for a new governance model for the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership (LWP) based on the considered opinions of the LWP Officer Working Group (LWPOWG).

It was reported that the LWPOWG met on 7 October 2016 to consider the issues and reach a consensus view on a governance model that it felt would provide a way forward, even if it could not meet the requirements of all the respective authorities at this time.

Six options were identified for further consideration.  The option which was eventually agreed to be recommended to the LWP was Option 4 which had no decision making powers, but was formalised as a joint consultative body for all strategic waste decisions before WDA/WCA's considerations.  It would have a formal role in reviewing progress against the Waste Strategy and provide advocacy on behalf of Lincolnshire.  The partnership would establish a clear strategy for the county's waste and assess progress against the many strands of the Strategy.  The LWP would also have a formal role where all partners agreed to refer strategic waste decisions for review, before any decisions were made on implementation.  The Partnership would work collaboratively to share and support partners actions.

The Partnership was provided with the opportunity to discuss the options as outlined in the report and determine whether Partners could support Option 4, and some of the points raised during discussion included the following:

·         Officers commented that Option 4 was welcomed, as it was believed that the LWP was originally set up for this purpose, and it had drifted from this over a number of years.  There was a need to get back to this before other options could be considered.

·         It was suggested that the name of the Partnership should remain as the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership, as there had been positive engagement with the public, and changing the name could cause confusion.

·         The frustration of some authorities was that the Partnership was seen as little more than a 'talking shop'.  At the last meeting it became apparent that there was not a proper connection between members of this Committee and the Leaders and Chief Executives.  There was a need for clear lines of communication.

·         It was commented that references to 'trusting partners' had no place in a public document, all partners were publicly accountable bodies, and should use a sound evidence base when making decisions.  There could only be trust if there were open discussions.

·         It was commented that the Districts would probably suggest that the only certain relationship with residents would be around waste, as residents knew that the Districts emptied the bins, unless residents had had any specific contact with the Council with other services.  This provided councillors with a connection with their residents, and consequently it was important that a good service was provided.  Any option that suggested that control of this was given away would not be supported.

·         One member commented that the key tension which existed was between the County as the disposal authority and other partners as the collection authorities.  It was acknowledged that the County Council had numerous other budgetary pressures, with waste disposal being just one of them.  It was noted that lower tier authorities often found that when asked, their residents could only easily associate their council with one service, emptying their bins.   This meant that local politicians tended to be protective of their local waste services, and extremely defensive when anything threatened to undermine these, or reduce control over them.  It was commented that there was a need for the County Council to acknowledge and respect the importance of waste collection services to its lower tier partners otherwise it was felt that tensions within the partnership would continue and its capacity to make progress on other issues would be reduced.

·         Boston Borough Council commented that the options had been discussed with the Leader.  It was felt that Option 4, working towards Option 3 was something the Borough could live with, but could not support anything further up than that.  There was a need to build up confidence in the Partnership.

·         It was commented that Option 4 was a compromise, and the Partnership should be working towards Option 3.  There was a need for the Partnership to work together, but Partners did not need to give up control of what they did as Authorities.  There was a need to work towards a common approach on collective issues such as recycling and contamination.  Authorities could work independently but collectively towards what it was felt they should be trying to achieve. 

·         It was felt that Option 4 was something that was achievable, and the Terms of Reference going forward would be essential in preventing the Partnership from slipping back into old ways.

·         The Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy that Authorities would be signing up to would be very important, and would set out what the Partnership was working towards.

RESOLVED

1.    That the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership determine a governance model based on Option 4, as outlined in the report.

2.    That the name 'Lincolnshire Waste Partnership' be retained

3.    That the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership request the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership Officer Working Group to develop a new Partnership Agreement/Terms of Reference based on the chosen option, including notes in cluster working and inclusion of neighbouring authorities.

4.    That the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership ask the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership Officer Working Group to develop and propose a new Standard Agenda for Lincolnshire Waste Partnership.