A report into the performance of the company responsible for bin collections in Northampton has revealed “significant failures” in the standard of service provided over the past year.
Northampton Borough Council made public the findings of an independent report reviewing the performance of Enterprise Management Services (EMS), which took over management of environmental services in Northampton and Daventry in June 2011.
Key issues identified include the number of missed bin collections, a lack of training of staff and a failure to maintain grass verges and open spaces to an acceptable standard.
Councillor David Mackintosh, leader of Northampton Borough Council, said he accepted there had been some “failings” in the way the council had managed the contract.
He said: “We have acted immediately to put better controls in place and now I am expecting Enterprise to do what needs to be done to provide the quality of service that we expect for people in Northampton.
“We will be monitoring the contract very closely in future and I will be expecting Enterprise to tackle the issues identified and their causes immediately.”
Cllr Mackintosh revealed Enterprise was fined £44,000 for their “poor performance” in the first quarter of the year.
If performance does not continue to improve, Enterprise could face a deduction of more than £175,000.
Cllr Mackintosh said: “The penalties should show Enterprise that we mean business.
“All we want is for people to see an improvement in services. We now know what we need to do to improve on our side; we will be expecting Enterprise to do the same.”
The report, which was carried out by Beasley Associates Ltd, concluded that the biggest issue had been the failure to hit monthly targets for “missed bins”.
Data analysed found there was an “absence of data provided” for the first eight months of the contract but the number of missed bins had been below target from February 2012 to July 2012.
The report states: “The number of missed bins is the most significant failure of the contract to date.
“Two of the contributing factors given by Enterprise for this ongoing problem is the reliance on agency staff and the way the rounds are currently structured.
The number of operatives presently required to deliver the service is significantly higher than the staffing levels Enterprise anticipated needing.”
Enterprise has been criticised for creating a situation where a “constantly changing workforce” meant that crews did not get to know their rounds sufficiently.
The high volume of agency staff delivering the rounds meant they “weren’t trained properly” with an induction training session that was “primarily verbally based.”
The report also revealed issues with the borough councils management of the contract arising from the need to “fire fight” as a result of the poor performance of Enterprise.
Cllr Mackintosh said the borough council has put an “action plan” in place to improve the performance of the contract which included ensuring Enterprise provided accurate management documentation, improving performance measurement systems and ensuring council staff managing the contract are properly trained.
The report did acknowledge a number of Enterprise’s “achievements” including the fact the company is still on schedule to achieve the predicted savings in the first two years.
The contractor has also helped to expand the food waste collections service and the range and frequency of recycling collections.
Members of the public can view the report on the borough council website www.northampton.gov.uk
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