Apologies were received from Councillor Hamish Badenoch (substituted by Councillor Daniel Holden) and Councillor Mike Brunt (substituted by Councillor John Dehaney). Apologies were also received from co-opted member Colin Powell.

There were no declarations of pecuniary interest.

The Chair reminded all present that the purpose of the call-in was to determine whether Cabinet’s decision on 15 January was flawed in relation to the council’s principles of decision making and, if so, to demonstrate where it fell short. The Chair therefore instructed the meeting should relate solely to Cabinet’s decision relating to the size of the waste containers and that any points relating to previous decisions taken by Cabinet, including on the decision to adopt wheeled bins as the method of delivery, would be ruled out of scope.

The Chair invited Councillor Michael Bull to speak as a signatory to the call-in request. Councillor Michael Bull said that he believed that Cabinet’s decision had been flawed in relation to the principles of proportionality, openness and consultation. He said that Cabinet's report had not considered how the use of different sized bins would impact on street cleanliness or what the safety implications would be for residents and operatives. Councillor Bull said there had been a lack of engagement with residents on this issue. He was concerned by the lack of publication of an updated equalities impact assessment with the Cabinet report. In conclusion, he urged the Commission to look closely at Cabinet’s decision.

In response to questions from members, Councillor Michael Bull made some additional points:

·         As there had been no formal consultation on bin size, he would welcome more information on what informal feedback had been provided

·         He urged Cabinet to take residents’ views in to account and to offer a range of sizes during consultation

·         He contended that smaller bins would be easier for residents and operatives to handle, particularly when leaning over to take out bags, also that smaller bins may encourage a higher level of reycling

·         He asked why the assisted collection scheme had not been mentioned in Cabinet’s report

The Chair asked Chris, Lee Director of Environment and Regeneration, to clarify the handling method that would be adopted. Chris Lee confirmed that the bins would be attached to the vehicle and tipped in automatically, there would be no need for operatives to remove refuse bags from the wheeled bins.

The Chair invited the registered speakers to address the Commission:

Hilary Morris, Battle Area Residents Association

Hilary Morris read out her written statement – this was laid round at the meeting and has been published on the website alongside these minutes.

In summary, Hilary Morris stated that the colour of the bins had not been addressed in the Cabinet report, that she understood that black was proposed and that residents would prefer to have brown or green. She suggested that 120litre or 80litre bins would be adequate to meet the needs of most households, with an option to request a larger size. She expressed concern at the waste of plastic that would be incurred by issuing households with too large a bin and suggested that the bins could be rolled out area by area so that unwanted bins from one area could be used in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.