Rother District Council Agenda Item: 7.1

Report to - Improvement & Resources Overview & Scrutiny Committee

Date - 27 May 2008

Report of the - Director of Services

Subject - Street Cleanliness BVPI 199a – Litter

Recommendation: It be RESOLVED to note the actions taken to improve standards on the street sweeping service and the improved results obtained in the March 2008 BVPI 199a survey.

Head of Service: Madeleine Gorman

Introduction

1.  During 2007 the performance of street and beach cleaning has been lower than previously recorded. The measure used for this service is BVPI 199a. Three surveys are completed each year to inform the measure. The surveys sample a high number of locations across the district in accordance with the sampling criteria that is set nationally. The outcome is reported as a percentage of areas with litter and detritus present, thus a score of 10% indicates 10% of the areas sampled are considered unsatisfactory. It is noted that this is a “snapshot” of standards at the time of the sample thus sampling is carried out typically over a three week period three times each year.

2.  In the period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008 the recorded sample scores rose from, typically 6-7% to 17 and 20% in the two surveys for July and November 2007 respectively. The result for March 2008 was 4% and had been received during preparation of this report.

3.  The rise followed the start of the new waste collection and recycling and street and beach cleaning contract last April. The introduction of new service arrangements for waste and recycling collections had a detrimental effect of performance on the street cleaning element of the contract. This report examines the reasons for the apparent decline in standards, the actions taken to recover the situation and what future aspirations and expectations might be realistic with regard to BVPI 199a and performance of the street and beach cleaning services.

BVPI 199a ~ Description and Methodology

4.  Until the introduction of BVPI 199a there was no robust, reliable indicator covering environmental cleanliness. The survey methods are based on methodology of the Local Environmental Quality Survey of England (LEQSE) developed by Encams (Environmental Campaigns, formerly the Tidy Britain Group) for monitoring a range of local environmental quality issues, but BVPI 199 forms just part of the whole LEQSE. From 2005 the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister extended BVPI 199a to cover graffiti, flyposting and flytipping as well as litter and detritus.

5.  The measurement process is undertaken by every Council, using its own resources, three times a year: April-July; August-November and December-March. In Rother District Council three Contract Compliance Officers (CCOs) undertake the surveys and preparations. Inspections are usually confined to a two to three week period towards the end of each third of the year. This is the preferred method as it gives a more accurate result of the quality of the environment at any “one” time. On each survey 300 transects (a defined area 50m long on a highway and up to 50mx50m on unsurfaced areas) are inspected and graded in accordance with the grades used in the statutory Code of Practice for Litter and Refuse, viz:

·  A – Litter free

·  B – Light

·  C – Significant

·  D – Heavy

Intermediate grades B+, B/C and C- were introduced to assist inspectors in assessing cleanliness more accurately. Each transect is surveyed for litter, detritus, visible graffiti and visible flyposting. The results are recorded on a pro-forma and are then downloaded to a spreadsheet on a Defra web-site that assesses the gradings, corrects for the intermediates and calculates the combined percentage of inspections that fall below Grade B for litter and refuse. It also performs similar calculations for graffiti and flyposting.

6.  The selection process for the 300 transects from five target Wards for each survey is undertaken by the CCOs and involves reference to all Wards in the District, their Index of Deprivation and makes use of ten of the twelve Land Use Classes identified in the 2001/02 Local Environmental Quality Survey of England (LEQSE). The Land Use Classes include Primary Retail and Commercial Areas, High density Housing Areas, Low Density Social and Private Housing Areas, Main Roads, etc. A rolling programme ensures that all Wards are surveyed in accordance with the Index of Deprivation and over a period of time when all Wards are surveyed the process repeats. Not all Land Use Classes will feature in every Ward and adjustments are made during the selection of transects to account for this. These procedures are all in line with the guidance issued by Defra.

7.  The government initially set the target for Local Authorities to achieve 30%, or less, as the combined measure for litter and detritus. Subsequently, this was reduced to 25% and further reductions will be made over time in an effort to drive up environmental quality. Over the last three years Rother’s annual average has been 0.5%, 5.5% and 5%. At the time of preparing this report the average of the first two surveys during 2007/08 was 18.5% (although the results of the March survey bring the annual average to 14%). Clearly, this is a significant increase and can be considered a marked drop in standards.

Reasons for Falling Measures

8.  The general disruption experienced at the commencement of the waste collection and recycling contract meant that in the urgency to settle that element of the contract, the street sweeping service became a lower priority. The staff and vehicles resources for street cleaning were seen as available to resolve more urgent issues on waste and recycling activities. While there is support for this argument other factors have also contributed to performance.

9.  From about December 2006 there had been a slight reduction in the standards being achieved by the previous contractor. It is supposed that this was partly due to a feeling of demoralisation and lack of motivation by a workforce facing what it perceived to be an uncertain future under a TUPE transfer. However it was also due to the arrangements for withdrawal by the contractor which involved removal and substitution of plant and equipment over a period of time in the run-up to handover. Although there were no significant service shortfalls experienced, it is probably fair to comment that the incoming contractor took over the District at a point where certain works were due, or outstanding.

10.  A completely new cleaning schedule devised by the incoming contractor (Verdant Group PLC) then meant that some areas remained unattended for a significant period of time. This did not happen where high frequency sweeping takes place (eg town centres) but in areas attended less often the deterioration in standards became evident. Some of these were dealt with on a response basis to bring them to the standards required but the ability of the contractor to respond in all cases was limited by the efforts to resolve waste/recycling issues. This situation was reflected in higher BVPI scores particularly on detritus in some of the more rural areas.

11.  It was also clear that some of the scheduling and practices introduced by Verdant required amendment to gain the best effect. While this was on-going it became clear that there were some areas of operation that were not functioning properly and should have been addressed rather more quickly than they were. Significant issues were the demotivated workforce, the time taken to implement changes, a general lack of supervision on street cleaning due to Verdant Supervisors being engaged for most of their time on waste and recycling) and the changed management regime. Although a degree of disruption was expected we considered that there were shortcomings in service that largely contributed to the less good BVPI results.

12.  Amenities Officers are confident that the results reported through 2007/08 are accurate and representative. However, during the course of our negotiations with Verdant to restore street sweeping standards, Verdant suggested that our interpretation of the BVPI 199a process was harsh and we had been unnecessarily punitive when considering corrective action. In the interests of a good working relationship with Verdant, and to establish our position for any future actions, we volunteered to have an independent assessor inspect our procedures and a sample of inspections on the survey in March 2008.

Independent Assessment by Encams

13.  Environmental Campaigns (Encams) is an environmental charity that campaigns directly to the public. It is best known for the Keep Britain Tidy campaign, which has been running for over fifty years. This charity also provides advice and commissions work on behalf of the government in relation to work and policies to improve environmental standards.

14.  In 2001 Encams was commissioned by the government to undertake the Local Environmental Quality Surveys of England to provide Defra with reliable information on the state of the local environment. In April 2006 the Minister for Local Environmental Quality asked Encams to increase the size of the survey to provide every English council with its own individual report between 2007 and 2008.

15.  Rother was surveyed by Encams during 2007 and the following results obtained: -

Overall Quality Standard 06/07 National

Good 32% 26%

Satisfactory 17% 21%

Unsatisfactory 44% 47%

Poor 6% 5%

It should be noted that these are the results for all measures including several aspects of highway infrastructure and street furniture that come under the control of the Highway Authority. Rother District Council was advised by the Encams Inspector that the results attributable to our cleansing functions were quite good and attention to detail in some parts would see us being considered as very good. Although not identified separately in the survey, it was confirmed verbally that the overall rating on our cleansing functions would be circa 17%.

16.  It is noted that Encams scoring put us below our own BVPI assessments but Encams advised that this is a consistent picture across the country. Part of the reason it had been commissioned to undertake the extended LEQSE was to validate the results reported by local authorities on BVPI 199a so that the government would get a complete picture on environmental quality. One of the areas we had been scored down on was for detritus, particularly in the rural areas. This arises from the dilemma of mechanical sweeping of main and rural roads without kerbs. If sweeping is done too close to and into the verges this exposes the haunches of the road and leads to deterioration of the road due to water ingress. The Inspector confirmed that this was a common issue raised by many rural authorities, and while there may be some adjustment in scoring considered in the future, this will reflect on all rural authorities consistently so should not be considered as a significant underperformance at this time. It is acknowledged that our own CCOs would be using an experienced eye when surveying these roads and would probably have adopted a more pragmatic view when grading them.

Validation of Survey Work 2008

17.  In response to concerns and to establish a common understanding with Verdant of the standards required a validation exercise was undertaken on 27 March 2008 (as mentioned in para. 9 above). We consulted with Encams and we were able to employ its Regional Director to assist us with the validation. This was carried out during the course of the March survey so we were able to demonstrate consistency between our own survey work and the validation, or not, should this be the case.

18.  The exercise was part office based and part site based. The office based work was to check on the Rother District Council processes used for selection of transects and to ensure that all planning and recording of surveys was undertaken in accordance with the Defra guidelines. The site based work took the form of grading exercises, discussion of results and confirmation of gradings. Verdant was invited to attend this part of the exercise and was represented by the local Contract Manager and the Operations Manager. They also took part in the grading exercises.

19.  At this time we have received a draft copy of the results of the validation which can be summarised as follows:

·  Preparation of surveys was adequate

·  Inspectors (CCOs) had received adequate training and exercised good local knowledge in using the LEQSE survey processes

·  Some minor amendments were suggested to improve record keeping

·  Good practice had been demonstrated in the use of the BVPI to direct activity and interventions

·  The survey methodology was used with confidence on site confirming training

·  There was a slight tendency by one inspector to underscore but he was able to justify this

·  We were commended on our use of the survey to address operational issues.

·  There were recommendation made to improve levels of consistency on surveys

20.  In conclusion, our preparation for surveys is adequate and in line with the BVPI 199a guidance manual. The grading was accurate and consistent, with the suggested amendments, should be regarded as reflecting the cleanliness of the District.

21.  As well as confirming the position on our survey work, the Regional Director for Encams had also taken the opportunity to make informal inspections, as he travelled through the District, to get a feel for prevailing standards. In his opinion, and from what he saw, he thought the District to be very clean with generally high standards of cleanliness evident. We discussed the sort of scores we might expect from his observations and he thought that an overall rating in the low-mid teens could be consistently achieved with some attention to detail.