The Chair welcomed the new Executive Directors to the meeting.

No apologies were received.

There were no declarations of interest.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 20 March 2023 are agreed as an accurate record.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

A. Agreed the proposed enhancements to the waste and recycling service specification in order that the specification can be finalised for submission to the Greater London Assembly as required by the Greater London Authority Act 1999.

B. Noted the estimated costs associated with each of the proposed enhancements and agree that final costs for the agreed enhancements be allowed for in the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy from 2025/26.

C. Noted the rationale and intended benefits of each of the proposed enhancements. D. Noted that the final version of the specification for submission to the Greater London Authority will be signed off by the Executive Director for Environment, Civic Pride and Climate in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Local Environment, Green Spaces and Climate.

E. Noted the possible impacts on the collection service that will need to be accommodated due to government plans for the potential standardisation of recycling and waste collections across England, the application of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging and the adoption of a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) nationally.

F. Noted that proposed enhancements to the specification for the street cleansing service will be reported to Cabinet for decision at a later date

The Cabinet Member for Local Environment, Greenspaces and Climate Change presented the report, thanking officers for their work. In response to questions from Cabinet Members, the Cabinet Member noted that the consultation had received over 2500 responses and the new specification included a number of proposed enhancements in response to this.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

A. Agreed the proposed enhancements to the waste and recycling service specification in order that the specification can be finalised for submission to the Greater London Assembly as required by the Greater London Authority Act 1999.

B. Noted the estimated costs associated with each of the proposed enhancements and agree that final costs for the agreed enhancements be allowed for in the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy from 2025/26.

C. Noted the rationale and intended benefits of each of the proposed enhancements. D. Noted that the final version of the specification for submission to the Greater London Authority will be signed off by the Executive Director for Environment, Civic Pride and Climate in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Local Environment, Green Spaces and Climate.

E. Noted the possible impacts on the collection service that will need to be accommodated due to government plans for the potential standardisation of recycling and waste collections across England, the application of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging and the adoption of a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) nationally.

F. Noted that proposed enhancements to the specification for the street cleansing service will be reported to Cabinet for decision at a later date

RESOLVED:

1. That Cabinet awarded a new contract to Bidder C for the provision of security and support services covering Merton’s Civic centre, Libraries, Vestry Hall and Canon’s Old House together with mobile and ad hoc security services to other corporate buildings and Leisure services events for a period of three years (3) with a potential extension of up to 12 months. The contract value is set out in Exempt Appendix.

2. That Cabinet delegated the decision to award an extension of the awarded contract to the Executive Director of Innovation & Change in consultation with the Cabinet Member, for any period up to 12 months (1 year) in accordance with CSO 27

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Services presented the report, advising that the new contract had been procured for three years with the potential for a further year extension and brought the security contracts into a single contract. The Cabinet Member advised that all staff would be paid the London Living Wage.

RESOLVED:

1. That Cabinet awarded a new contract to Bidder C for the provision of security and support services covering Merton’s Civic centre, Libraries, Vestry Hall and Canon’s Old House together with mobile and ad hoc security services to other corporate buildings and Leisure services events for a period of three years (3) with a potential extension of up to 12 months. The contract value is set out in Exempt Appendix.

2. That Cabinet delegated the decision to award an extension of the awarded contract to the Executive Director of Innovation & Change in consultation with the Cabinet Member, for any period up to 12 months (1 year) in accordance with CSO 27

To RESOLVE that the public are excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following report(s) on the grounds that it is (they are) exempt from disclosure for the reasons stated in the report(s).

The meeting proceeded entirely in public and therefore this item was not required.