Agenda pack
North Lanarkshire Council · 9 November 2022
Back to Environment and Climate Change Committee — 9 November 2022 and its agenda
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Our Ref: Your Ref: Contact: Tel: Fax: E-Mail: Date: Andrew Rose 07951 409714 rosean@northlan.gov.uk 28 Oct 2022 Members of the Environment and Climate Change Committee Chief Executive’s Office Archie Aitken Head of Legal & Democratic Solutions Civic Centre, Windmillhill Street Motherwell ML1 1AB DX 571701, Motherwell 2 www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk Notice is given that a Meeting of the ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE COMMITTEE is to be held within the Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Motherwell on Wednesday, 9 November 2022 at 2:00 pm which you are requested to attend. The agenda of business is attached. Head of Legal and Democratic Solutions Members : Councillors: T Carragher, D Crichton, P Di Mascio, W Goldie, L Jarvie, J Leckie, G Lennon, J Linden, H Loughran, A Masterton, M McBride, M McCulloch, P McDade, F McKay, J McPhilemy, L Mitchell, L Nolan, P Patton, J Reddin, L Roarty, A Stubbs, A Thomas, C Williams, N Wilson, G Woods. Page 1 of 168
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Agenda (1) Declarations of Interest In Terms of the Ethical Standards In Public Life Etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 Operational (2) Button Battery Awareness Pledge (page 5 - 10) Submit report by the Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions seeking approval for the Council to become a signatory to the Button Battery Awareness pledge (copy herewith) (3) Clyde Climate Forest Regional Concordat (page 11 - 20) Submit report by the Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions outlining the vision for the programme, detailing the steps taken to date by the Council to contribute to the regional initiative and outlining the commitment to the longer-term vision requested of the Council (copy herewith) (4) Charges for Attestations for Exports Following EU Exit (page 21 - 26) Submit report by the Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions seeking approval for the introduction of charges for Support Attestations provided to Food Business Operators (FBOs) to facilitate the export of products of animal origin (POAO) to the European Union (EU) and movements to Northern Ireland under the Northern Ireland Protocol (copy herewith) (5) Electric Vehicle (EV) Infrastructure Proposed Tariffs (page 27 - 36) Submit report by the Head of Regulatory and Waste Solutions providing an update on the status of the Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Network, proposing the introduction of tariffs, and setting out potential future opportunities for a more commercial approach (copy herewith) (6) Illegal Signing and Attachments to Street Furniture (page 37 - 42) Submit report by the Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions seeking approval for an amended policy which seeks to introduce a more proactive and efficient procedure to address illegal signs, and to introduce a policy for attaching fixings including bunting, signs, hanging baskets etc. (copy herewith) (7) Litter Bin Strategy (page 43 - 94) Submit report by the Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions advising on the outcome of the litter bin consultation as required by the motion agreed at the council meeting on 7 October 2021 and seeking approval of the new strategy that would enable modernisation of the service and see a consistent approach to litter bin provision across North Lanarkshire, the introduction of new litter bins across the centre and south operational areas and the removal of the old assets on a phased programme (copy herewith) (8) Lighting Up Parks Appraisal (page 95 - 102) Submit report by the Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions summarising the existing lighting provision in parks including the recent programme of renewable lighting improvements (copy herewith) Page 3 of 168
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2 (9) Resilience Planning and Business Continuity Update (page 103 - 108) Submit report by the Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions providing an update on the Council’s arrangements relevant to Resilience Planning and Business Continuity and the proposed changes within the structure of the Service (copy herewith) Programme of Work (10) Rationalisation and Development of Waste and Fleet Service Assets - Programme of Work 2.1 (page 109 - 118) Submit report by the Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions providing an update on the proposals within the Waste and Fleet Service to maximise the use of the Council’s assets in line with the Councils Programme of Work Number 2.1. and also providing a summary of the proposals to move towards an electric/ low emission fleet for the Council (copy herewith) (11) PoW P025.1(2) update: Using Greenspace to Improve Health, Wellbeing, and Social Outcomes (page 119 - 126) Submit report by the Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions highlighting the work undertaken in the last 12 months to improve health and wellbeing activity in Greenspaces, a key outcome for this element of the programme of work (copy herewith) Monitoring (12) Amey Public Services LLP: Operational and Financial Performance Monitoring Report for 01 October 2021 to 30 September 2022 and Financial Performance to 31 July 2022 (page 127 - 138) Submit report by the Head of Waste and Regulatory Services outlining Amey Public Services (APS) Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) performance against its business objectives and Council priorities for the period October 2021 to September 2022 and its financial performance to 31 July 2022 (copy herewith) Contracts and Procurement (13) Contract Award for Supply and Delivery of Household Waste Bins (page 139 - 146) Submit report by the Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions seeking approval for the award of a contract for Supply and Delivery of Household Waste Bins (copy herewith) (14) Procurement of the Provision of the Recycling and Treatment of Kerbside Collected Glass, Metal & Plastics (page 147 - 160) Submit report by the Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions asking the Committee to acknowledge the variation / modification to the current contract for the Recycling & Treatment of Glass, Metal & Plastics and to approve the award of a new contract for the Recycling and Treatment of Kerbside Collected Glass, Metal & Plastics (copy herewith) (15) Contracts awarded below Committee approval threshold (page 161 - 168) Submit report by the Head of Asset and Procurement Solutions notifying of the contracts awarded between 1 July 2022 to 30 September 2022 with a value below the financial threshold requiring Committee approval (copy herewith) Page 4 of 168
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Environment and Climate Change Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref: AM/PB Date 09/11/22 Button Battery Awareness Pledge From Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions E-mail mcphersona@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07939 280467 Executive Summary Over the course of the last 18 months, 2 young children within the UK have died after swallowing a button or coin battery. Many more children have suffered life changing injuries. This report seeks to gain Committee approval for North Lanarkshire Council, as an organisation committed to public protection, to become a signatory to the Button Battery Awareness pledge https://harperleefoundation.org.uk/pledge/. Recommendations It is recommended that Committee: • Supports North Lanarkshire Council becoming a signatory of the Button Battery Awareness pledge. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve the health and wellbeing of our communities Ambition statement (14) Ensure the highest standards of public protection AGENDA ITEM 2 Page 5 of 168
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Background 1.1 In the past 18 months, 2 young children have died after swallowing a button or coin battery; many more have suffered life changing injuries. The small, round batteries, that are similar in size to a 5p or 10p piece, can be found in a range of common household items including remote controls, car keys, kitchen scales, reading lights, thermometers, toys, greetings cards and torches. When swallowed the battery reacts with bodily fluids, such as mucus or saliva to create a substance like caustic soda. Children injured often have significant damage to the lining of their oesophagus (food pipe) and in some cases it may have burned through the oesophagus completely to form a hole, or through the blood vessels in the chest area, including the aorta (the main blood vessel leading from the heart). 1.2 Following the death of Harper-Lee Fanthorpe in May 2021, the Harper-Lee Foundation was formed to raise awareness of the risk of accident, death or injury caused by the ingestion of button and coin batteries: Home - The Harper-Lee Foundation (harperleefoundation.org.uk) . Harper-Lee died after swallowing a button battery, believed to have come from a remote control. The Button Battery Awareness pledge was created to raise awareness of the risks associated with button and coin battery ingestion throughout local communities. 1.3 In December 2021, Motherwell toddler, Hughie McMahon, tragically died after swallowing a button battery from a toy. His parents reported being unaware of the dangers of button batteries. 2. Report 2.1 North Lanarkshire Trading Standards was represented on the Office of Product Safety and Standards’ Ministerial Working Group to drive up safety around button and coin batteries. The group has identified public awareness as a key area to reduce incidence of button and coin battery ingestion and supports the Harper-Lee Foundation pledge. One of our Trading Standards officers, Michelle McKenna, was the ‘Consumer & Public Interest Network’ representative on the BSI Standards Committee Steering Group on PAS 7055:2021 ‘Button and coin batteries – Safety requirements’. https://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/blog/making-button-batteries-safer-for-consumers/ 2.2 This Steering Group made significant changes to the content of the PAS, including a clause to include an indelible warning on products that contain button/coin batteries (prior to this the group had only considered warnings on the batteries and battery packaging) and changing the wording of the clause on the provision of information before purchase, to inform consumers that a product contains a button/coin battery when they purchase online. 2.3 On 10th June 2022, a number of MPs signed up to the pledge during its launch at Westminster and Stoke on Trent Council became the first local authority to sign up to the pledge in July 2022. 2.4 Given the risks highlighted above it is proposed that North Lanarkshire Council joins local authorities such as Stoke on Trent and becomes a signatory to the button battery awareness pledge and commences an awareness campaign within the Council area. Page 6 of 168
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3. Measures of success 3.1 Publicity of the initiative to raise awareness within our communities to the dangers posed by button and coin batteries with the intention of reducing the incidents of harm to children by button batteries. 4. Supporting documentation Not applicable. Andrew McPherson Head of Regulatory Services & Waste Solutions Page 7 of 168
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality-and-fairer- scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Financial Solutions? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People and Organisational Development? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic Solutions? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 8 of 168
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Where the impact identifies a requirement for technology, has an assessment been carried out (or scheduled) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The Council’s Communications Team are aware of the initiative and will coordinate the awareness campaign if approved by Committee. 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? Page 9 of 168
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Environment and Climate Change Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref AM/VA Date 09/11/22 Clyde Climate Forest Regional Concordat From Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions E-mail mcphersona@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07939 280467 Executive Summary The report provides background on the Clyde Climate Forest programme. It outlines the vision for the programme, details the steps taken to date by the council to contribute to the regional initiative and outlines the commitment to the longer-term vision requested of the council. Recommendations It is recommended that the Environment and Climate Change committee: 1) Endorses the council’s initial engagement with Clyde Climate Forest. 2) Agrees to become a signatory to the Clyde Climate Forest Regional Concordat. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve the health and wellbeing of our communities Ambition statement (17) Ensure we keep our environment clean, safe, and attractive AGENDA ITEM 3 Page 11 of 168
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1. Background 1.1 The Clyde Climate Forest (CCF) was launched by Glasgow city region in June 2021 with a headline target of “18 million trees over the next decade”. The aim of the Clyde Climate Forest is to enable and co-ordinate an approach that will deliver a major increase in tree planting across the Glasgow city region by 2032 as a response to the Climate Emergency. 1.2 Trees, woodlands, and forests provide a range of nature-based solutions to the twin and linked challenges of a changing climate and ecological collapse and the Clyde Climate Forest focuses on: • Urban trees – provide urban cooling in heatwaves, and surface water management for cloudbursts, whilst also providing some carbon storage and wildlife habitat; • Native woodlands – provide essential ecosystem services and habitat for associated species and, when part of a wider network, allow those species to migrate as the climate changes • Plantation forests – effective carbon sinks, can provide upstream natural flood management, provide construction timber to substitute for high emission steel and concrete and provide wildlife habitats. 1.3 Specific objectives for the Clyde Climate Forest are based on three ‘C’s: • Canopy: to increase average urban tree canopy cover to 20%; • Connectivity: to increase the average woodland habitat network area by 20% (142 Ha); • Carbon: to increase forest and woodland land cover in the Region to 20%. 1.4 This means that over the next decade the Clyde Climate Forest will facilitate and coordinate: • tree planting in urban neighbourhoods where there are few trees, and which are susceptible to the impacts of a changing climate; • new native woodlands in target locations which join up existing woodland habitats; • a doubling of the current rate of forest and woodland planting in the Region. 2. Report 2.1 A previous report to the Environment and Place committee in August 2022 noted the council’s intention to contribute towards the aims of the Clyde Climate Forest. To confirm this intention, it is proposed that the Council signs the concordat attached at Appendix 1 as this provides the opportunity to formalise the commitment and to publicise it more widely within our communities. 2.2 The same report highlighted the major loss of trees anticipated as Ash Dieback disease accelerates and the additional resources that will be required to deal with this disease and to both recover these losses and increase tree cover. Further reports will be brough to committee outlining resource requirements following completion of the Ash Die Back plan early next year. 2.3 The Clyde Climate Forest team have committed in the concordat to working with councils to seek additional resources and funding. Page 12 of 168
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Council engagement to date 2.4 The council’s Community Greenspace team sit on the CCF Canopy Cover Working Group. The aim of this working group is to undertake new urban tree planting which will be focused on towns and neighbourhoods with low levels of canopy cover, particularly in areas of deprivation and at risk from the impacts of climate change. 2.5 Following an assessment on urban tree canopy cover carried out by CCF, North Lanarkshire was found to have an average urban tree canopy cover of 16.5%. CCF have identified 4 Target Neighbourhoods across the Glasgow city region area where urban tree planting will be carried out this financial year (based around early opportunities that were identified for greenspace planting). One of those Target Neighbourhoods is Hattonrigg, Bellshill where urban tree canopy cover was identified to be 10.2%. Working in partnership with CCF and Trees for Cities, a number of local sites have been identified for planting of standard size trees and whips and as part of the project Trees for Cities will be undertaking consultation with the local community. Approximately 40 standard sized trees will be planted across the grounds of Noble Primary School and local amenity areas. Going forwards 16 other target neighbourhoods have been identified across the region including North Motherwell (7.9%) and Wishaw (10.6%) and these areas will be targeted for planting as part of the wider project, with early engagement to identify planting sites taking place ahead of planned future planting. 2.6 In further contribution to the aims of CCF, to date P7 pupils involved in the Outdoor Education Programme at Strathclyde Country Park have planted over 4500 native trees as part of the Climate Emergency Woods programme, a further site with 2300 trees has been planted at Low Wood (Cumbernauld) and two further sites in Calderbank and Palacerigg Country Park will be planted in the new planting season from October 3. Measures of success 3.1 Council signs the Clyde Climate Forest Regional Concordat and successfully prioritises the agreed aims and objectives 4. Supporting documentation Appendix 1 - Clyde Climate Forest Regional Concordat Andrew McPherson Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions Page 13 of 168
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality-and-fairer- scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Financial Solutions? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The concordat does not commit us to immediate costs, but tree management resources will be required to both recover tree cover from ash die back and increase canopy cover as described, and further reports will be brought to committee to outline these. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People and Organisational Development? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic Solutions? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Page 14 of 168
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Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for technology, has an assessment been carried out (or scheduled) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Partnership with the Clyde Climate Forest gives opportunities to increase woodland cover in partnership 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Promote Clyde Climate Forest to our communities 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? Page 15 of 168
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Appendix 1 – Clyde Climate Forest Regional Concordat Page 16 of 168
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The Clyde Climate Forest Glasgow City Region Concordat Page 17 of 168
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Actively participate in, and promote, the realisation of CCF targets within each council area; Support the work of the CCF team and the CCF Delivery Partners as part of the Council’s commitment to partnership working; Ensure the CCF is integrated and trees are embedded, as appropriate, into development plans, development frameworks, masterplans, design briefs along with corporate policy and investment documents; Manage, protect and enhance the council’s tree resource through robust tree canopy cover strategies and appropriate policies and practices; Identify council owned land holdings appropriate for woodland creation as part of the council’s plans to achieve ‘Net Zero’; Work with the CCF team to identify ‘target neighbourhoods’ to increase urban canopy cover, and to identify potential tree planting sites, target available resources and facilitate delivery; Actively participate in the CCF ‘Canopy Working Group’ and other CCF working groups as they arise; Actively promote a cultural change in relation to tree provision and management and overcome perceived barriers to the planting and the retaining of appropriate trees; Actively work toward achieving the globally recognised status as a ‘Tree City of the World’ for each council. GCR Councils commit from this date to:The government’s support for the Clyde Climate Forest (CCF) through its inclusion in Scotland’s National Planning Framework; The CCF concept and targets as described in the CCF brochure The opportunity the creation of the CCF provides to deliver our economic, social and environmental aims; The opportunity to develop and enhance our partnerships with other Local Authorities, National Agencies, NGOs and communities in delivering CCF ambitions. GCR welcome: Date Work to achieve CCF targets within each Council area and to seek additional resources and funding to facilitate their delivery; Promote the interests and activities of each Council toward trees and their management, protection and enhancement wherever possible within the architecture of the CCF; Ensure that CCF communications work is compatible with, and supportive of GCR communications. The Clyde Climate Forest* commit from this date to: *The Clyde Climate Forest here refers to the CCF staff team and the CCF Delivery Partners (namely: Scottish Forestry; Woodland Trust Scotland; TCV Scotland; Green Action Trust; Trees for Cities and Glasgow City Region). The Clyde Climate Forest will see 18 million trees planted across the region over the next decade as a response to the Climate and Ecological Emergencies. Glasgow City Region’s (GCR) local authorities are important stakeholders in its delivery. Objectives – • Urban trees – 1.5 million trees to increase tree canopy cover in urban areas vulnerable to climate impacts • Woodland habitats – new woods in over 200 locations to connect our habitats and create migration routes for wildlife • New forests – doubling the current rate of woodland creation to lock up carbon and create new jobs and a renewable resource for the region. Councillor Gordan Low, Leader, East Dunbartonshire Council Councillor Owen O’Donnell, Leader, East Renfrewshire Council Councillor Iain Nicolson, Leader, Renfrewshire Council Councillor Jim Logue, Leader, North Lanarkshire Council Councillor Stephen McCabe, Leader, Inverclyde Council Councillor Susan Aitken, Leader, Glasgow City Council Councillor Martin Rooney, Leader, West Dunbartonshire Council Councillor Joe Fagan, Leader, South Lanarkshire Council Trees, woodlands, and forests have a vital role to play in making Glasgow City Region resilient to the impacts of a changing climate, helping to achieve ‘Net Zero’, and repairing our damaged ecosystems; Additional effort must be made to manage, protect and enhance our existing trees and increase the number of trees in urban and rural areas if we are to gain the climate and ecological benefits that they can afford; We must plan to deliver the benefits and values that trees, woodlands, and forests can provide to all the region’s people equally; Delivering the change at scale required for our regional tree, woodland and forest resource can only take place over a long period with sustained resourcing; GCR acknowledge that: Page 18 of 168
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7482 5/21 www.traffic-design.co.uk The Clyde Climate Forest is being delivered with the help of: The Clyde Climate Forest is a Green Network Blueprint delivery project. Contact Us Clyde Climate Forest c/o TCV, Unit M1, Rosemount Workspace 141 Charles Street Glasgow G21 2QA @ClydeClimateFor www.clydeclimateforest.co.uk Page 19 of 168
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Environment and Climate Change Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref IM/AM Date 09/11/22 Charges for Attestations for Exports Following EU Exit From Andrew McPherson, Head of Regulatory Services & Waste Solutions E-mail mcphersona@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07939 280467 Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to seek approval for the introduction of charges for Support Attestations provided to Food Business Operators (FBOs) to facilitate the export of products of animal origin (POAO) to the European Union (EU) and movements to Northern Ireland under the Northern Ireland Protocol. In North Lanarkshire, this process currently pertains only to businesses exporting fish and shellfish. From 01/01/2020 until 31/03/2022, Local Authorities (LAs) could recover the charge of £100 per Support Attestation from Food Standards Scotland (FSS). Effective from 01/04/2022, FSS are no longer paying LAs for attestations. The direction is now that LAs should recover the costs associated with providing attestation from the exporting businesses directly. North Lanarkshire intends to introduce the charge of £100 per Support Attestation recoverable direct from the exporting business/es concerned. Recommendations It is recommended that Committee: • Approve the introduction of a £100 charge for each Support Attestation under Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2017 on official controls and other official activities performed to ensure the application of food and feed law* (which has been enacted as domestic UK legislation in order that businesses can continue to trade with the EU). The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve economic opportunities and outcomes Ambition statement (5) Grow and improve the sustainability and diversity of North Lanarkshire's economy AGENDA ITEM 4 Page 21 of 168
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1. Background 1.1 The purpose of this report is to seek approval for the introduction of charges for Support Attestations under Regulation (EU) 2017/625. Support Attestations are provided to FBOs to facilitate the export of POAO to the European Union (EU) and movements to Northern Ireland under the Northern Ireland Protocol. 1.2 From 01/01/2020, after the end of the transition period of UK’s exit from the EU, export health certificates (EHCs) were required for exports of POAO from Great Britain (GB) to the EU, and, where relevant, for movements from GB to Northern Ireland (NI) under the Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP). 1.3 Until 31/03/2022, LAs could recover the charge of £100 per Support Attestation from FSS. Effective from 01/04/2022, FSS are no longer paying LAs for attestations. The direction is now that LAs should recover the costs associated with providing attestation from the exporting businesses directly instead. 1.4 Effectively the Support Attestation confirms that the premises from which the product is originating from is in full compliance with the appropriate legislation, and their POAO meet all of the health and traceability requirements for the creation of an export health certificate. The frequency with which any relevant FBO requires to be issued with a Support Attestation varies as it is risk based and can be valid for a period up to a maximum of 6 months. Over the past two years of the interim arrangements under the FSS direction, North Lanarkshire have only issued a handful of attestations each year, however this is liable to change depending upon market forces and trading practices in the Council area. At the time of writing this report, we have only borne the cost of one attestation since 01/04/2022. 1.5 Businesses will be able to recoup the costs of support attestations when moving goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland https://www.gov.uk/guidance/support- attestations-get-reimbursed-to-move-goods-from-great-britain-to-northern-ireland however we do not believe that a similar reimbursement scheme exists for moving goods to the EU; if the businesses show strong regulatory compliance and we can issue attestations for 6 month periods, the maximum cost to businesses will be £200 per year. 2. Report 2.1 Importing countries require that foodstuffs traded with them are safe. This safety is generally assured by requiring an EHC issued by, or on behalf of, the government of the exporting country. 2.2 EHCs are a definitive and authoritative statement of compliance with the requirements set out by the importing country. 2.3 The Chief Veterinary Officers (CVOs) in the UK agreed a risk assessed basis to certification and inspection of fish and shellfish intended for export to the EU and movements to NI under the NIP. Risk Based Fish Export Certification (RBFEC) enables relevant exports to be certified by Food Competent Certifying Officers (FCCOs) (suitably trained Environmental Health Officers and Food Safety Officers) or Official Veterinarians on the basis of risk assessments undertaken in line with the principles of the Food Law Code of Practice, supported by declarations from FBOs. Page 22 of 168
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2.4 Export Certification Hubs, including those within North Lanarkshire, were seen as a solution to reduce the administrative burden and costs of EHCs to facilitate the export of fish and shellfish from Scotland to the EU and to NI. 2.5. Goods arriving at the export certification hubs must be accompanied by relevant supporting attestations. The Support Attestation is not an official EHC, it is used for internal movement only within the UK to support the final certification of fish and shellfish for direct export to the EU or movements to Northern Ireland under the Northern Ireland Protocol. 2.6 It is local authority FCCOs who issue Support Attestations to the FBOs which export fish and shellfish via an export certification hub. 2.7 Effective from 01/04/2022, FSS are no longer paying LAs for attestations. The basis for this decision was that it was only ever intended as an interim arrangement to smooth the transition at the point of EU Exit, and that the arrangements were not appropriately transparent. The charges applied by FSS to export hubs were reduced accordingly. The intention is now that LAs can recover the costs associated with providing attestations from the exporting businesses directly instead. 2.8 North Lanarkshire intends to introduce the same charge of £100 per attestation recoverable direct from the exporting business. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Continue to improve economic opportunities and outcomes for local businesses, without placing an additional burden upon NLCs resource base. 4. Supporting documentation None Andrew McPherson Head of Regulatory Services & Waste Solutions Page 23 of 168
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Financial Solutions? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Only small level of income will be provided through this charge. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People and Organisational Development? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic Solutions? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 24 of 168
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Where the impact identifies a requirement for technology, has an assessment been carried out (or scheduled) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? Page 25 of 168
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Environment and Climate Change Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref AMcP/ JA Date 09/11/22 Electric Vehicle (EV) Infrastructure Proposed Tariffs From Andrew McPherson, Head of Regulatory and Waste Solutions Email mcphersona@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07939 280467 Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to provide an update on the status of the Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Network, propose the introduction of tariffs, and set out potential future opportunities for a more commercial approach. Recommendations It is recommended that committee: (1) Agree the information in this report relating to the current and future costs, assumptions and plans associated with operating public electric vehicle (EV) charge points, including future commercial opportunities. (2) Agree the introduction of tariffs for the use of Council EV charging points from the 1st January 2023. (3) Agree that this tariff will be set in accordance with the principles outlined in this report by the Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions and will be regularly reviewed thereafter to ensure that the tariff is in line with market fluctuations and realistically tracks costs being incurred. (4) Agree with the introduction of a restricted time period for the use of charging points and this is enforced through the relevant Traffic Regulation Order. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve North Lanarkshire's resource base Ambition statement (17) Ensure we keep our environment clean, safe, and attractive AGENDA ITEM 5 Page 27 of 168
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1. Background 1.1 The Scottish Government has pledged to phase out the need for new petrol and diesel cars and vans across Scotland by 2032. The National Transport Strategy 2 Delivery Plan and Climate Change Update as published in December 2020 contains several specific proposals to deliver these commitments and the UK Government has pledged to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars (excluding some hybrids) from 2030. Whilst, to date, free electric charging has been offered to incentivise car owners to move to electric vehicles, the ban on fossil fuel car sales means a free fuel subsidy incentive will no longer be necessary. 1.2 There are several different funding programmes available to help increase the adoption of electric vehicles and the development of an appropriate EV charging infrastructure network to support this growth. None of these programmes preclude the introduction of tariffs. 1.3 The Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund (EVIF) has replaced the Local Authority Installation Programme (LAIP) and is an annual funding programme which further develops EV charging networks so that EV drivers can confidently travel throughout Scotland, across both urban and rural locations. The programme is funded by the Scottish Government and administered by Transport Scotland. 1.4 In 2022/23, £60,000 has been made available from this fund to support planning for future delivery of public EV charging infrastructure. The necessary strategy / development work associated with this is progressing and part of this funding has been pooled together with City Region partners to continue progress on a wider regional strategy. 1.5 The public charge points across North Lanarkshire are included within the Charge Place Scotland network. Charge Place Scotland is Scotland’s national Electric Vehicle (EV) charging network and is a well-known and established brand owned and developed by the Scottish Government / Transport Scotland. 2. Report Current Public EV Infrastructure 2.1 Current public EV infrastructure numbers across North Lanarkshire are summarised in the below table. Dual Outlet Standard (7kW) Charge Points Dual Outlet Fast (22kW) Charge Points Dual Outlet Rapid (50kW) Charge Points Total 58 38 26 122 2.2 The existing EV Network has been funded through Scottish Government grants, which also included funding for an initial 5-year maintenance period. The last few years saw the network grow significantly with the delivery of the PACE partner project with Transport Scotland, Scottish Power Energy Network (SPEN) and South Lanarkshire Council. 2.3 During the early phases of implementation of EV charge points there was an expectation by Transport Scotland that there would be no tariff for users of the EV chargers. This would help support a wider uptake of electric vehicles. At present, the Page 28 of 168
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Council (through the various service budgets) pays for energy consumed by all users although there is no defined budget allocation. This includes private sector businesses, Council fleet and any other public sector partners, however, it is not presently possible to provide a split of this information. 2.4 Electricity costs associated with the public EV charge points for the last 3 years are demonstrated below and point to an ever-increasing growth even with increased energy costs of 23% taken into account: • 2020/21 - £57,672 • 2021/22 - £274,131 • 2022/23 - £852,000 (forecast) 2.5 The table below shows information from the Charge Place Scotland system and the energy billing from EDF. This shows the number of charging sessions, energy use and the number of unique drivers using chargers within North Lanarkshire. Month Charging Sessions Energy (KwH) Unique Drivers Jan-21 38,621 Feb-21 38,275 Mar-21 50,408 Apr-21 59,830 May-21 72,072 Jun-21 87,273 Jul-21 1,259 120,596 253 Aug-21 8,282 136,978 854 Sep-21 6,977 149,328 915 Oct-21 8,211 182,447 1,897 Nov-21 8,520 200,344 1,954 Dec-21 8,998 208,721 2,208 Jan-22 9,720 217,824 2,373 Feb-22 9,541 233,871 2,398 Mar-22 12,255 254,762 2,908 Apr-22 11,685 267,845 3,087 May-22 13,505 301,298 3,419 Jun-22 14,190 298,669 3,547 Jul-22 14,858 299,123 3,542 Aug-22 18,075 351,347 4,071 Sep-22 18,040 4,099 2.6 From the information above, the completion of project PACE has led to a significant increase in the number of charging sessions from 1,259 in July 2021 to 18,075 in August 2022. The installation of new charging infrastructure across North Lanarkshire has made charging more accessible and encouraged more electric vehicles on the roads. 2.7 The increase in electricity costs incurred by the service since 2018/19 is due to increased demand as EV ownership has increased. The significant increase in electricity costs between 2020/21 and 2021/22 is due to the overall increase in the cost Page 29 of 168
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of electricity and significant increased usage which has also been influenced by the introduction of an additional 101 dual outlet charge points installed as part of project PACE. 2.8 Given the wider strategic commitments to decarbonise the transport network in line with climate change targets and the Council’s aspiration to achieve net zero by 2030, there will have to be a rapid acceleration of the public EV charging network. The costs associated with operating and maintaining these charge points will continue to increase and whilst the initial provision of this electricity at no cost will have aided the initial transition to EV use, continuing to cover the costs of the electricity consumed along with ongoing maintenance costs will create an unsustainable pressure on Council budgets. Projected electricity costs for 2022/23 could be in the region of £852,000 based on an average monthly usage over April to August 2022 of £71,000 per month and should the rise in electric vehicle usage continue as expected, then these costs will very quickly run into tens of millions of pounds. Tariff Models / Commercialisation 2.9 The aim of a tariff model is to move towards a point where the growing EV network and infrastructure is financially sustainable and, as a minimum, covers the costs of the charging opportunity provided to the users of EVs. This would include electricity, maintenance, and where necessary expansion and replacement costs. 2.10 Discussions have taken place with partner organisations including Transport Scotland regarding implementing a cost recovery model. A move towards charging is being encouraged with Transport Scotland confirming that future funding support is likely to be conditional on a tariff regime / strategy. 2.11 Transport Scotland have also confirmed that Councils have a key role in continuing to create the conditions to attract private sector investment and that the introduction of tariffs for the use of public charge points should be set at an appropriate level. Tariffs will need to recover whole life cost of owning, operating, and replacing charge points and to enable business models that will be supported through the EVIF. The approach to tariffs should be identified as part of any Strategy and Expansion Plans. 2.12 Transport Scotland has been working with the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) to review financing and delivery models in which future investment in Scotland’s public EV charging network can be provided. This work has shown that it is necessary to ensure the availability of public EV charging infrastructure continues to grow ahead of demand, and there is a need to transition away from the current model of free charging to accelerate greater private investment models in Scotland. 2.13 Transport Scotland are encouraging ‘mixed-economy’ approaches to enable the private sector to assume greater responsibility for installation, operation and maintenance of public EV charge points as well as accepting revenue risk. This could be achieved, for example, through five-to-ten-year concession-type agreements with Councils and other public sector partners. 2.14 To facilitate this new approach, it is recommended that a tariff be set at such a level that it does not undercut the private sector which would discourage future investment and allows the Council to compete with and remain competitive with the private sector, potentially levering in further investment or partnership arrangements. In addition, tariffs should be consistent with neighbouring authorities to prevent additional road journeys to benefit from lower tariffs. Page 30 of 168
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Current Public Sector Tariffs 2.15 A review of tariffs applied across other Councils and the private sector has been undertaken and this demonstrates a complex and varied picture. It is understood that Glasgow City Council will be proposing tariffs during 2022/23 and South Lanarkshire Council have recently approved the introduction of tariffs. Locations and tariffs can be viewed at ChargePlace Scotland | Scotland's Public EV Charging Network 2.16 There are three main options for tariffs for EV charge points: • Option A - Fixed Rate: A single rate is applied regardless of amount of electricity consumed • Option B - Costs Only: Customers are charged a rate based on the number of units of electricity consumed, which could have a minimum charge and encompass all costs. • Option C - Fixed Rate Plus Costs: A fixed rate is applied to use the charge point and customers are also charged per unit of electricity consumed 2.17 After considering the available cost recovery options, it is recommended that Option B offers the most equitable and flexible charging model for the user and the Council. Incorporating all costs to the Council (energy, maintenance, administrative and management) into the cost per unit of electricity consumed allows for full cost recovery to be borne equally by all customers based on actual usage. Transport Scotland also support this tariff model. 2.18 Under Option B, the per energy unit cost to the customer will consider the following elements: • Cost of energy • Cost of maintenance • Cost of transaction (Charge Place Scotland administrative and management cost) • Employee Costs • Cost of capital (where not fully funded by external grant). 2.19 The majority of capital investment costs to date have been provided by Transport Scotland including the upgrading of previous EV chargers. In the short term, the expansion of the network will continue to be funded through continuing government grants but that will not continue indefinitely and in the future, such upgrades and associated costs will fall to the Council. The Council has not included any such capital investment in its current capital delivery programme and in short will not have the capacity to deliver such funding. 2.20 Annual maintenance costs are presently covered by agreements and warranties for a period of five years from the date of installation for the majority of the council’s chargers. This effectively reduces the maintenance costs to zero, (except for vandalism and misuse costs) until the five-year periods run out. Page 31 of 168
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2.21 Thirteen of the existing charge points no longer have current warranties and the maintenance costs are now met by the service. The remaining 101 have warranties in place until 2025/2026. As we develop our commercial approach and, as existing warranties expire, there could be scope to deliver this type of annual maintenance either as part of a commercial agreement to manage, maintain and operate chargers or by delivery through the proposed Enterprise contract. 2.22 Implementing a cost recovery model introduces additional transactional costs for administration and management. Option B proposes that when a tariff is applied to charge points, Charge Place Scotland (the ‘back office’) will collect the revenue generated and forward this to the host (in this case the Council) on a quarterly basis, minus fees. This ‘back office’ may be a further area where the Council could consider an alternative delivery model in the future. 2.23 The City Region consideration of EV tariffs has discussed the potential of a benchmark cost to use 7/22kW charge points being comparable to the costs of charging at home. The intent is to ensure that those without off-street parking and the ability to install a home charge point are not disadvantaged. However, to keep this cost low, the costs to use the 50kW charge points would need to subsidise the use of the 7/22kW units which has the potential to compromise the commercial setting of tariffs. 2.24 The tariff for the use of 50kW charge points will therefore be set at a level to compete with and remain competitive with the private sector, potentially levering in further investment. It also acknowledges the increasing use of rapid chargers by the private sector (e.g. delivery / courier firms, taxi operators). 2.25 If the introduction of tariffs are approved by Committee it would be the intention to bring in a charging facility on the 1st January 2023 and tariffs will be set at the time of implementation by the Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions. The initial tariff for the use of 7/22kW charge points will consider the comparable cost to charge at home and the tariff for the use of 50kW charge points will be comparable to existing private sector charge points. 2.26 The tariffs will initially be devised to ensure the recovery of costs associated with the operation and management of the EV charger network in North Lanarkshire and to assist in managing wider cost pressures being experienced across Council services and to contribute to a new EV Infrastructure fund. 2.27 The tariffs will be set initially and reviewed / tracked regularly throughout the year in line with market changes, as the wider cost of electricity fluctuates and to ensure that the tariffs realistically track costs being incurred. Regulation of Bays 2.29 Bay blocking, which is the behaviour of drivers of electric vehicles using charging bays when not charging or remaining in the bay once charging is complete, is becoming an increasing problem. 2.30 To ensure that charge points are available to all those that need them, it is therefore proposed that a restriction of a 1-hour maximum stay be applied to rapid charging facilities. The maximum stay for 7/22kW charging points requires to be greater as the time to charge a vehicle can vary greatly using these charge points. Page 32 of 168
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2.31 The introduction of a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) to limit the time permitted to stay in a charging bay and to include an overstay fee in the tariff, will be progressed in the usual TRO manner and enforcement of this TRO will be undertaken by the existing parking enforcement team. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Costs to operate, manage and replace the existing public EV charging network are recovered through the introduction of tariffs. 3.2 Increase in the number of commercially provided public EV charging points. Andrew McPherson Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions Page 33 of 168
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality-and-fairer- scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Financial Solutions? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Based on similar demands over the last six months the total annual income projection based on the tariff range detailed above is expected to provide a sustainable financial model going forward and would cover the costs of the charging opportunity provided to the users of EVs. This would include electricity, maintenance, staffing costs and where necessary expansion and replacement costs. It should also be noted that demand per charge point remains uncertain, as does costs associated with electricity. The introduction of tariffs is also likely to discourage use of our network to an extent and this may affect the level of income expected in the short term at least. A large-scale replacement / refurbishment programme will be required in the future. Such costs will continue to be considered as part of the tariff setting and ongoing review exercise. The creation of an electric vehicle fund to allow a replacement investment programme to be funded is also proposed. Once demand is clearer and tariffs are established there could also be scope to expand the network using tariff generated income, complementing, in the short term, any continuing external funding sources. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People and Organisational Development? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic Solutions? Page 34 of 168
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Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for technology, has an assessment been carried out (or scheduled) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The delivery of a sustainable financial model for the provision of EV charging infrastructure will encourage greater uptake in terms of low carbon vehicles and contribute to the Council’s climate change and wider sustainability ambitions. 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Given that EV charging has been free to date a communications strategy will require to be developed to ensure that users are informed well in advance of the implementation. 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? Page 35 of 168
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The current costs relating to EV charging remain unfunded and to date the costs are being managed within existing budgets by reducing other works or improving energy efficiency as part of the street lighting LED replacement programme. However, this is not sustainable and the failure to introduce tariffs combined with the increase in EV ownership will place a significant financial burden on the council and act as a barrier to commercialisation and private investment. Page 36 of 168
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Environment and Climate Change Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref AMcP/JA Date 09/11/22 Illegal Signing and Attachments to Street Furniture From Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions Email mcphersona@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07939 280467 Executive Summary The purpose of the report is to seek approval of an amended policy which seeks to introduce a more proactive and efficient procedure to address illegal signs, and to introduce a policy for attaching fixings including bunting, signs, hanging baskets etc. that ensures the industry standard structural assessments are undertaken to ensure the stability of the asset and safeguard public safety. Recommendations It is recommended that Committee. (1) Agree that any illegal signs and fixtures on street furniture are removed by local teams or contractors appointed on behalf of the council and disposed of immediately. (2) Agree that signs and other fixtures would not be permitted on street furniture or lighting columns unless a robust design check is undertaken to ensure their stability and safeguard public safety. (3) Agree that all costs associated with such requests are met by the applicant. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve North Lanarkshire's resource base Ambition statement (17) Ensure we keep our environment clean, safe, and attractive AGENDA ITEM 6 Page 37 of 168
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1. Background 1.1 The erection of signs, a-frame advertising, flags, bunting and for sale boards onto council owned street furniture including street lighting columns is problematic for most local authorities. This practice results in visibility being obstructed, signs being obscured, the structural integrity of the street lighting apparatus being compromised, creation of accessibility challenges for those with impairments and has a negative environmental impact on our local communities. 1.2 In the main, signs, flags, bunting and for sale boards are erected without consent from the council and this constitutes an offence under sections 59 and 100 of the Roads (Scotland) Act. 1.3 In 2007 the former Planning and Transportation Committee approved procedures for illegal signing to be removed by Environmental Health through their Environmental Protection Officers and since then the structure of the service has significantly changed. 2. Report Signs 2.1 Signs placed on the road network are governed by the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions. This ensures that all road signs provided in Scotland, England and Wales comply with the agreed design standards, ensure a consistent message is provided to road users, provided in appropriate locations and as such enable the law to be enforced. Signs that are not contained within the regulations require specific authorisation from Transport Scotland and should comply with the design standards. 2.2 Any signs erected on the road network that do not meet the above parameters and do not have consent from the local authority would be considered illegal signs and as such the council has a responsibility to remove these signs. The procedures introduced in 2007 made provision for the removal of such signs. 2.3 Since the sign removal procedure was approved in 2007 the structure of council services has significantly changed. With the most recent change being approved at full council meeting on the 24 February 2020 where a motion was agreed to accept budget proposals, which included a £234,000 saving in the Protective Services revenue budget over the following 2 financial years. 2.4 This saving was specifically predicated upon Fair Trading Officers within Trading Standards, Environmental Protection Officers and Animal Welfare service areas. As a result of the savings from 1st April 2020, the Animal Welfare Service and the Environmental Protection Officers (EPOs) moved to statutory service provision only; and the number of permanent EPOs on the establishment subsequently reduced from 9 FTE to 5 FTE. 2.5 On 20 May 2021, the former Environment & Transportation Committee approved the ‘Recover NL – Community Environmental Improvements’ paper, which included £280,000 additional funding allocated within the Council’s Covid Recovery Budget to temporarily support enforcement of environmental crime. Following approval at the Workforce Steering Group, this resulted in the creation of 3 FTE temporary EPO posts, for 23 months from the date of appointment to once more stand-up duties in respect of dog fouling, fly-tipping and littering enforcement work, in addition to statutory duties viz. abandoned vehicles, environmental statutory nuisance matters such as refuse Page 38 of 168
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accumulations, and enforcement of vehicle emission and idling law. The 3 temporary FTE EPOs will be in place until September 2023 and the reduced level of resource back to 5FTE would be unable to address the issue of illegal signs. 2.6 The policy in 2007 introduced a procedure that allowed the recovery of costs for the removal and disposal of illegal signs. This meant that evidence relating to the sign, locations erected and company information needed to be gathered, then time given to the company to undertake the removal. 2.7 This process is particularly onerous on staff time particularly given the Roads teams have also reduced in size since 2007. It has also proven particularly difficult to obtain the correct information that would allow the legal process to be considered competent and for costs to be recovered. It is rare for widespread signing to be erected by the same company and in general, companies will erect a small number of signs at a specific location/ road. This means that the costs for gathering evidence and considering legal proceedings significantly outweighs the removal and disposal costs. 2.8 The proliferation of signs is particularly concentrated on busy roads and in and around town centres, however, they can be erected anywhere on the road network. There is anecdotal evidence of signs obstructing visibility to traffic signs and traffic signals and pedestrians (particularly children) and in locations where the individual erecting signs are placing themselves in danger as they are erecting signs on the road without the proper traffic management. The proliferation of signs can also have a significant adverse visual impact on the local environment and give the appearance that an area is not maintained. The provision of A-Frame type advertising signs on pavements also creates additional issues for those that have visual or mobility impairments as they become a barrier to accessibility. 2.9 If signs are removed in a more proactive manner this is likely be a deterrent to others considering installing illegal signs. To do this, it is proposed that sign removal is incorporated within normal roads and land maintenance operations where the signs can be accessed and removed safely. Any signs that have more robust fixings and are in locations that require traffic management or are at height, would be removed by the council’s partners Amey Public Services LLP, or successor service provider beyond June 2024. Once removed all signs would then be disposed of immediately. 2.10 In changing the procedure, the council would accept that costs for the removal would not be pursued. However, given the difficulties in pursuing costs the new proactive approach would be more cost effective than the previous procedure and is likely to have a positive impact on the local environment. Attachments to Lighting Columns 2.11 Lighting columns are often seen as convenient supports for attachments such as CCTV, banners, hanging baskets, smart city technologies and signage. However, the lighting column and foundation are not designed to specifically accommodate additional loading over and above the column bracket arm and lantern which are essential parts of the column structure, therefore additional attachments can potentially lead to the column structure and associated foundation becoming overloaded and could potentially lead to failure. 2.12 The erection of flags and bunting on street lighting columns has been particularly problematic over the last year with a significant number being erected following sporting events, jubilee celebrations, parades etc. and on a very limited number of occasions permission has been granted in the absence of a policy. Page 39 of 168
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2.13 Whilst a visual examination of a street lighting column can be undertaken to help inform decision making, the condition of the column and foundation below ground cannot be determined. Therefore, to minimise the risk to the council and safeguard the public, it is recommended that industry standard structural inspections are undertaken before any attachment is fixed to a lighting column. 2.14 Although the service receives a small number of requests for flags and bunting to be attached to lighting columns, each request could involve a significant number of columns. Any structural assessment would require the engagement of a specialist contractor and as a result the service would incur significant costs. Given that this type of request is normally received a few weeks before an event and the majority are erected without consent, it is proposed that the council take the approach that attachments would not be permitted on street lighting columns, except where the applicant is willing to meet the costs associated with undertaking the appropriate inspections and sufficient time is provided to undertake the assessment. 2.15 Should any attachment be affixed to a lighting column in the absence of the official consent and/or inspection, then these will be removed immediately by the Council or a nominated contractor. 3. Measures of success 3.1 A reduction in the number of illegal signs erected on the road network and a quicker response time to remove any signs. Andrew McPherson Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions Page 40 of 168
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality-and-fairer- scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Financial Solutions? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The council would meet the cost of removing signs from the existing roads maintenance budget, it is unlikely this would be a significant additional costs as historically the council has been unable to recover the costs from individual business and therefore met the costs from existing budgets. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People and Organisational Development? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic Solutions? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Page 41 of 168
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Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for technology, has an assessment been carried out (or scheduled) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Before introducing the new policy it would be the intention to highlight this change through social media and where possible contact estate agents to ensure they are aware of the new policy. 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? Page 42 of 168
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Environment and Climate Change Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref AMcP/ JA Date 09/11/22 Litter Bin Strategy From Andrew McPherson, Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions E-mail mcphersona@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07939 280467 Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to advise committee of the outcome of the litter bin consultation as required by the motion agreed at the council meeting on 7 October 2021. The report also seeks approval of the new strategy that would enable modernisation of the service and see a consistent approach to litter bin provision across North Lanarkshire, the introduction of new litter bins across the centre and south operational areas and the removal of the old assets on a phased programme. Recommendations It is recommended that committee 1. Acknowledge the outcome of the public consultation exercise. 2. Approve the introduction of the litter bin strategy. 3. Approve the installation of new bins across the remainder of North Lanarkshire and the removal of the existing small capacity bins where appropriate. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve North Lanarkshire's resource base Ambition statement (17) Ensure we keep our environment clean, safe, and attractive AGENDA ITEM 7 Page 43 of 168
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1. Background 1.1 Since the introduction of the first street bins, the servicing method has remained unchanged within North Lanarkshire where all bins have been serviced using a manual process. Adjacent local authorities have moved away from small capacity bins and manual operations to enable a more efficient service to be provided and to reduce vehicle trips which has a positive impact on carbon emissions and contributes towards net zero targets. 1.2 Currently bin servicing in North Lanarkshire is undertaken in two phases where each bin is emptied by one member of the team and the bag deposited at a designated location for uplift by another member of the team. The two phased approach means there is a risk of bags remaining within the local environment for several days if the service experiences unforeseen circumstance such as vehicle breakdowns, or a shortage of drivers due to absence. When this happens, anecdotal evidence shows that fly tipping can occur at these areas and the bags can be accessed by wildlife which results in litter being spread into the local areas and the need for localised cleaning to be carried out. 1.3 The council currently has 4,771 small capacity bins for disposing of litter and dog waste, with the majority being dual waste bins, and this number continues to rise year on year. Historically the service has been demand driven with many requests for additional bins centring on the disposal of dog waste. 1.4 The cost of providing a small capacity bin is relatively low, however each bin requires to have appropriate servicing and this needs, staffing, vehicles, and fuel throughout the lifecycle of the bin. Historic savings incurred by the service mean that it is no longer possible to manually service bins at the desired frequency and this results in many bins overspilling into the local environment which leads to an aesthetic and environmental impact and an increase in service requests/ complaints. 1.5 At a meeting of the Council on the 21 February 2019 a decision was taken to accept a budget saving of £84,000 relating to litter bin rationalisation which saw the reduction of staff by 3.5FTE. As part of the saving, a review of the existing litter bins was to be undertaken and a 20% reduction of bins introduced. In addition, bin sensors were to be installed to enable a more efficient use of existing resources. 1.6 Following the above decision, the first phase of the litter bin review focused on the north operational area, Forgewood in Motherwell, and latterly country parks and the eight town centres due to increased use during the initial stages of the pandemic. The majority of the large capacity bins were installed between May and October 2021 with some additions and alterations being introduced following feedback received by the service. 1.7 At the council meeting on the 7 October 2021 a motion was submitted and agreed in the names of Councillor Goldie and Councillor Carragher as follows: “That this Council instructs Environmental Assets to carry out a review of the sites and emptying schedule of the new waste bins. This review would include a consultation with the Community Boards and other Community Groups through the existing NLC Corporate Communication network. The aim of the review would be to establish whether the current sites are the most appropriate to facilitate the needs of residents for the disposal of litter and dog waste. The results of this review would be brought back in a report to a future Environment and Transportation Committee” Page 44 of 168
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2. Report 2.1 Following the council meeting on the 21 February 2019, and to ensure a consistent approach was applied, the service undertook an exercise to review all street bins across North Lanarkshire. This review was based on criteria developed and updated as part of a draft strategy that was constructed in 2015 following market research but was not implemented at that time. 2.2 Given the extent of the network, the review process was undertaken on a phased basis and the first phase included the north operational area, Forgewood in Motherwell and latterly country parks and town centres were added due to increased footfall being evident during the initial period of the pandemic. Litter Bin Strategy 2.3 The purpose of the litter bin strategy is to ensure that a consistent approach is taken to litter bins across North Lanarkshire. The strategy will also help the council move towards a more efficient service that will transform our open spaces and streets. It will include the introduction of good quality increased capacity litter bins, frequent servicing and maintenance and bins will be provided at considered locations and identified hotspots which will enable resources to be more focused on priority areas within our communities. 2.4 The new strategy will help the council meet the aims of the national litter strategy (updated version due to be published later this year) and the ambitious targets set within the councils Climate Plan. Modernising how we deliver services is important to ensure we meet these targets. By using vehicles with greater capacity, we will reduce vehicle trips which will have a positive impact on carbon emissions. 2.5 For the strategy to work effectively it needs to be accompanied by a suitable and sustainable asset. It is therefore proposed to standardise the litter bins provided within our communities and by using bins constructed of a composite material that will have a longer life and are not subject to corrosion which is evident on many of the existing small capacity galvanised steel bins. The bins will also have a longer life cycle and will reduce the risk posed to users and staff which occurs from corroded galvanised steel bins. 2.6 The existing small capacity bins do not have a current maintenance regime however to ensure that the lifespan of the bin asset is maximised it is important that an appropriate maintenance regime is established, this will also ensure that bins are attractive to use, and the condition does not deter the disposal of waste appropriately. It is therefore proposed to introduce a bin cleaning programme with bins in town centre environments cleaned and inspected four time per year and all other bins twice annually. The planned programme would not prevent ad-hoc cleaning where required. 2.7 It is not possible to provide bins in every street, therefore bins will be focused on considered locations and identified hotspots such as main transport hubs, outside school and colleges, fast foods outlets, at parks etc. Further detail is contained within section 6.0 of the litter bin strategy. 2.8 To ensure that all bins can be serviced safely, and the council meets its obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act each location is risk assessed. This ensures Page 45 of 168
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that bins are not placed at locations where they cannot be serviced e.g. junctions, bends etc and the risk to staff involved in the emptying process is reduced. 2.9 The initial intention was for most bins to be serviced on a three-weekly cycle like the current household waste service, with increased servicing provided in town centres and country parks where litter generation and bin use was higher. 2.10 It is evident from the initial rollout of the new bins that some bins are being used for the disposal of household waste and commercial waste and as data becomes available options will be explored to address these issues as this only results in an increase in demand for reactive emptying between cycles. It is worth noting that the disposal of household waste is not a new issue, and this also occurred when small capacity bins were in place. 2.11 Similarly, from service requests received by the Service, it is also clear that certain bins outwith the original high footfall areas required to be serviced on a more frequent basis. Where this has been the case either additional bin capacity has been introduced or the frequency of emptying has been increased. 2.12 The introduction of sensor technology would be considered upon completion of the full roll out of the new bins. Installing sensors would initially focus on problematic areas where waste levels are exceeding emptying frequencies. The use of this technology and the associated data will help to inform the need for increased local capacity, revised emptying frequency or enforcement requirements where the bins are being used for the inappropriate disposal of household or commercial waste. 2.13 When introducing any service change it is important to monitor the impact to enable success to be measured and to make appropriate changes where required. It is proposed to use the Local Environmental Audit and Management System (LEAMS) managed by Keep Scotland Beautiful (KSB) and customer enquiries to monitor and inform future improvements to the litter bin provision. 2.14 It is important to note that the provision of street bins is only one element that contributes to local environmental quality and the council are working with Keep Scotland Beautiful on several areas to change cultural behaviour and introduce a proactive approach to litter and waste. To date this include the council’s ‘give your litter a lift’ campaign, cross boundary working with several other local authorities and a joint bid with Glasgow City Council where joint funding of £75,000 was achieved to tackle chewing gum. 2.15 To compliment the work undertaken by Keep Scotland Beautiful, the Council’s Environmental Protection Officers also patrol/monitor known highly littered areas and issue Fixed Penalty Fines to those individuals who deliberately litter. Consultation 2.16 As requested by the motion submitted to council a consultation exercise was carried out using Survey Monkey and the consultation distributed to Community Boards and Community Groups. The consultation was published on the council’s website on Thursday 29th of September and published on the council’s social media platforms and two weeks were provided to provide a response. 2.17 Given that some areas already had bins installed as part of the first phase of the project, two consultation documents were created to enable responses to be provided from areas where bins were now established and those yet to receive new high-capacity Page 46 of 168
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bins. The survey focused on several areas, including bin type, location, servicing and maintenance and smart technology. 2.18 The results from the public consultation for the Northern Corridor, Cumbernauld and Kilsyth areas and all other areas is included in appendix 3 and 4 respectively. Consultation Outcome Overview 2.19 There was a significant response to the survey with 1,325 responses received for the survey relating to the Northern Corridor, Cumbernauld and Kilsyth and 999 responses for the survey covering all other areas. Litter bin type 2.20 In terms of the style and construction there was significant agreement that the bin capacity should be a minimum of 240 litre and the design should be a closed top although the opinion was split in terms of the construction of the bins. When examining the individual comments, there was concern over vandalism and the feeling that galvanised steel may be more robust. Although vandalism does occur this is in a small number of cases when compared against the overall asset and as such it is proposed to install glass fibre bins which have a significantly longer asset life and are not susceptible to corrosion which results in health and safety concerns. Proposed Locations 2.21 In terms of proposed locations there was significant agreement ranging from 83% to 99% for the locations suggested. Although there was agreement about cashline machines this dropped 64% and 72% for each of the surveys and this may be a result of odour concerns which have been highlighted in the general comments provided. 2.22 Other areas suggested where bins should be provided were supermarkets, retail parks and canals however the responsibility for litter management at these locations would rest with the owners and Scottish Canals respectively. There was a suggestion that bins should be provided at car parks and provision has now been made for this, although this would only relate to council owned carparks where there is need for local litter and dog waste disposal. 2.23 The main area of concern related to the provision of bins within play areas and parks, whilst the strategy looks to maximise mechanical collection of the waste, provision has been made to reintroduce bins that would be manually serviced where operationally it would be beneficial. Smaller capacity bins in good condition which have been replaced by large capacity bins will be retained for this purpose. 2.24 It was also suggested that bins be placed on woodland walks and areas away from the main public road and footpath network however from an operational perspective the servicing of bins in very remote areas would be beyond the current resources available and is not something that is generally provided. Grassed Areas used for dog Walking 2.25 The strategy makes provision for providing bins next to some green spaces where dog walking occurs. There was significant agreement that bins should be provided at these locations and the provision of bins on dog walking routes was one of the main issues raised. As indicated previously the strategy looks to maximise mechanical collection of waste however the strategy does make provision for manual servicing where Page 47 of 168
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operationally it would be beneficial and there was significant agreement that this be provided where data supports the need. 2.26 From the survey responses there was a significant ask for the provision of more dog waste bins. It should be noted that the council has not provided dog waste bins since around 2012 due to the small capacity and significant servicing requirements. All street bins are combined waste bins that can be used for the disposal of litter and dog waste. In addition, every household can dispose of their dog waste at home via the residual waste bins. Maintenance and Servicing 2.27 There was significant agreement that cleaning frequencies and emptying frequencies should differ where use is greater such as town centres and country parks, however there was concerns that this may lead to bins not being serviced for a significant period however there would be no proposals to exceed the proposed three weekly frequency. Introduction of Technology 2.28 When asked about the introduction of smart technology 68% and 78% of those that responded to the surveys support the idea. However, there were some concerns that this could be costly, and the funding would be better used for other services, there were concerns that vandalism may impact the technology and that the data may not be used. 2.29 There is currently funding within the change management fund to undertake a trial of the sensor technology which would enable the benefits to be determined, only once this evaluation has been undertaken would a decision be taken on the potential to increase the use of the technology on the wider bin asset. Other Comments 2.30 Although there is considerable support for the new approach to street bins there were numerous concerns raised regarding appropriate servicing frequencies and the use of street bins for the disposal of household waste. The service is aware of both issues and through the Recover NL programme investment is being made on two new smaller refuse collection vehicles which will help support improve servicing. Collection information is also being gathered that would enable increased local capacity to be provided or servicing frequencies to be adjusted. 2.31 The issue of disposal of household waste within street bins can impact servicing needs and the local environment however each location will require to be reviewed on a case- by-case basis, this may lead to increased capacity, amended servicing or enforcement action taken where appropriate. 3. Measures of success 3.1 The number of requests for service relating to emptying of litter bins will reduce. 3.2 The street cleanliness index which is a statutory indicator will improve. Page 48 of 168
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4. Supporting documentation Appendix 1 - Litter Bin Strategy Survey (Northern Corridor, Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) Appendix 2 - Litter Bin Strategy Survey (All other areas) Appendix 3 - Outcome of Consultation for areas where bins are in place Appendix 4 - Outcome of Consultation for areas where bins are still to be installed Appendix 5 - Litter Bin Strategy Andrew McPherson Head of Regulatory Service and Waste Solutions Page 49 of 168
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality-and-fairer- scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Financial Solutions? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Financial costs relating to implementation of new bins, capital funding has been identified to undertake the project and funding is contained within the change management fund to undertake initial work on sensor technology. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People and Organisational Development? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic Solutions? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Page 50 of 168
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Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? As part of the second phase of the project whereby sensor technology will be deployed further discussions will be held with the appropriate services and the EAGG at that time. Where the impact identifies a requirement for technology, has an assessment been carried out (or scheduled) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Prior to the installation of the new bins in the remaining areas a coms plan will require to be developed and information provided to show the new locations, bins remaining and bins being removed. 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? If the new strategy is not adopted the service will not be able to be modernised and the council will have some areas where bins are serviced using refuse vehicles and others where manual servicing is needed. This two tier system will mean that resources in some areas could not be targeted to other important local issues due to the continuous need to manually service bins. Page 51 of 168
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Additional Comments Provided Question 2 Litter Bin Strategy Survey Northern Corridor, Cumbernauld & Kilsyth. Do you have any other comments regarding the bin capacity, style or construction? Answered 932 Skipped 393 Question 4 Litter Bin Strategy Survey Northern Corridor, Cumbernauld & Kilsyth. Do you think there are other areas where bins should be sited or do you have any other comments? Answered 769 Skipped 556 Question 5 Litter Bin Strategy Survey Northern Corridor, Cumbernauld & Kilsyth. It is not possible to provide litter bins in all residential estates. However, we recognise the demand for litter bins near some open space grassed areas for litter and dog waste where data supports this. Do you agree? Answer Choices Responses Yes 92.20% 1146 No 6.52% 81 Don't know/No opinion 1.29% 16 Please use the space below to provide any additional comments you may have. 451 Answered 1243 Skipped 82 Page 65 of 168
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Question 10 Litter Bin Strategy Survey Northern Corridor, Cumbernauld & Kilsyth. Using this new technology, our focus will be on bins which fill faster than expected. After that, we’ll consider extending the scheme across all the bins in NLC. Do you agree with the use of technology and approach suggested? Answer Choices Responses Yes 68.31% 830 No 22.72% 276 Don't know/No opinion 8.97% 109 Please use the space below to provide any further comments you may have. 437 Answered 1215 Skipped 110 Page 66 of 168
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Additional Comments Provided Question 4 Litter Bin Strategy Survey Do you have any other comments regarding the bin capacity, style and construction? Answered 447 Skipped 552 Question 6 Litter Bin Strategy Survey Do you think there are other areas where bins should be sited or do you have any other comments? Answered 462 Skipped 537 Question 7 Litter Bin Strategy Survey It is not possible to provide litter bins in all residential estates. However, we recognise the demand for litter bins near some open space grassed areas for litter and dog waste where data supports this. Do you agree? Answer Choices Responses Yes 94.13% 882 No 4.59% 43 Don't know/No opinion 1.28% 12 Please use the space below to provide any additional comments you may have. 236 Answered 937 Skipped 62 Page 72 of 168
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Question 12 Litter Bin Strategy Survey Using this new technology, our focus will be on bins which fill faster than expected. After that, we’ll consider extending the scheme across all the bins in NLC. Do you agree with the use of technology and approach suggested? Answer Choices Responses Yes 78.23% 708 No 13.48% 122 Don't know/No opinion 8.29% 75 Please use the space below to provide any additional comments you may have. 245 Answered 905 Skipped 94 Page 73 of 168
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Appendix 5 Litter Bin Strategy Page 74 of 168
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Document Control This document is controlled by the Roads and Land Maintenance Manager and is held at RECORD OF AMENDMENTS Date Version Author Changes Page 75 of 168
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Contents Executive summary 1.0 Introduction 2.0 Current Litter Bin Provision 3.0 Challenges 4.0 Bin Specification 5.0 Litter Style 6.0 Location Criteria 7.0 Positioning 8.0 Asset Management 9.0 Rationalisation/ Replacement 10.0 Approval Process 11.0 Servicing and Inspection 12.0 Provision of Smart Technology 13.0 Monitoring Impact 14.0 Partnership Working Appendix 1 – Bin location check list Appendix 2 – Prioritisation of requests Page 76 of 168
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Executive Summary North Lanarkshire’s Litter Bin Strategy aims to provide guidance which will enable the movement away from the current demand driven bin installation process, to provide more suitably designed general waste bins in targeted locations. It aims to address in part the national litter strategy for Scotland called towards a litter-free Scotland: a strategic approach to higher quality local environments. Research including findings from the UK and other countries along with our own audits highlight there are problems with small bin capacities, small aperture openings, lack of facilities to dispose of cigarette ends and gum, pole-mounted bins and corrosion. It is proposed that the use of pole-mounted litter bins, open top litter bins and dedicated dog waste bins be discontinued. Furthermore, that all bins purchased should meet a set of criteria to ensure they are fit for purpose and cost effective and so help reduce littering. Litter bins should meet the following criteria • have minimum capacity of 240 litres, (except in extraordinary circumstance where 120l bins can be provided) • be of closed top design • be free-standing • be dual purpose to collect litter and dog fouling unless recycling or smoking specific • be provided in a standard colour scheme • have North Lanarkshire Council iconography and clear signage • be of durable construction and design It is proposed that all existing bins are assessed to determine their suitability and location. Bins should only be provided in areas which meet the siting criteria, advised in this document, and where they will have a positive impact on littering levels and street cleanliness. Litter bins should be in the following areas • Outside main transport interchanges (train stations, bus shelters, car parks and taxi ranks) • Outside schools and colleges • Near fast food and convenience stores • Entrances and exits to parks and open spaces • Within North Lanarkshire’s three Country Parks • Outside public and government buildings (health centres, dentists, libraries, churches etc) • At public seating areas • Open spaces/grassed areas where dog walking is likely to occur • Areas where people are likely to queue, for example, public toilets, ATMs • Cemeteries and memorial gardens Page 77 of 168
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Since it is not possible to provide litter bins in all residential estates and every property has access to numerous bins for the disposal of all waste types, as a general policy litter bins will not be provided. There is demand for litter bins to accommodate dog waste and it is recognised that open space grassed areas where dog walking is likely to occur can be considered for bin placement however the bin must be at a location where it can be serviced by a vehicle. It is likely that a reduction in total bins across the authority could be in the region of 40% i.e. from 4,771 to 2,863; however, the total capacity will see a potential increase of up to 400% overall, as a result of a movement towards a minimum capacity of 240 litre bins. It is also important to note that bins will be provided in more suitable locations and have increased durability. This should, therefore, be viewed as a significant service improvement for the users and the council’s operational teams. It is proposed that a routine cleaning schedule should be introduced to ensure bins are kept in good condition and are attractive to use. Large capacity bins should be considered at the routes to parks and large open spaces and be positioned at locations where they can be serviced by a vehicle. Only in extraordinary circumstances would bins that require a manual operation be placed within parks and this would be to meet operational needs. These provide far greater capacity than normal bins and, therefore, far less frequent visits to empty albeit using a larger vehicle. An additional benefit is the opportunity they offer for staff to use them to place litter collected in the vicinity thereby allowing resources to be targeted to areas that require a higher level of service. New technology offers innovations to the method of managing bins by placing sensors within the bin that wirelessly communicates with software accessed via a web page. Such systems alert the service when bins need to be emptied but also develop emptying frequencies by continually undertaking trend analysis. Such systems would require investment but would enable a more proactive approach to street bin servicing and would see a decrease in demand driven requests. It is suggested that such systems are targeted to specific locations where bins are filling quickly between servicing cycles, however as the cost of technology decreases there may be an opportunity to install sensors in all bins. It is necessary that we monitor the impact of this strategy. It is recommended that the existing statutory indicator of street cleanliness be used to compare pre and post strategy implementation along with the tonnage collected from bins, the level of complaints and enquiries, customer satisfaction surveys, measurements of the lifetime of bins and individual bin audits. While the focus of the strategy is based on operational needs and meeting our statutory duties by placing litter bins at the appropriate locations now and in the future, there are many other aspects to reducing littering levels in North Lanarkshire. It is recognised that partnership working with all council staff external agencies and community groups is essential to achieve the best environmental results. Page 78 of 168
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Introduction Scotland’s litter problem is well documented. In recent years large scale research projects have been undertaken by various organisations including the Scottish Government to try to better understand this problem with the aim of tackling it more effectively. This resulted in the National Litter Strategy for Scotland called towards a litter-free Scotland: a strategic approach to higher quality local environments which was launched in June 2014 and highlights the benefits of a clean, safe environment. It is designed to encourage people to take greater responsibility, and for organisations to be more accountable, as part of the overall focus on preventing litter and illegal dumping. Zero Waste Scotland provided much of the research for this strategy document. Key points of the research are • 50% of the population admit to having littered at some point • More than 250 million individual litter items – and more than 60,000 fly tipping incidents are dealt with by public bodies each year • Around 25% of Scots see litter as a problem in our local communities • Littering by individuals is often habitual or caused through thoughtless actions These findings are of particular concern since litter and fly-tipping contribute to crime, ill health, accidents, and lower property values as well as the obvious environmental impacts. Furthermore, as a society, we pay to deal with these effects, and Zero Waste Scotland estimates that it costs Scotland’s local authorities incur direct costs of £46 million per year to deal with fly tipping and litter. In addition, there is a further £4.5m spent on enforcement and education. There are also indirect costs that are likely to exceed £25m per year from social, health and safety and nature and wildlife impacts. Over and above these costs, a further value is being lost to Scotland because around 50% of litter and fly tipping could be recycled if disposed of correctly. Research conducted by Keep Scotland Beautiful found that over 92% of Scots thought it important that we were litter-free for the international events hosted in Scotland in 2014. The real gains for the Country and for those charged with keeping it clean are evident when we stop dropping litter in the first place. It is recognised that behavioural change is essential and strong and consistent campaign messaging aimed at making the dropping of litter as socially unacceptable in the future as drink driving is today is required”. The most obvious anti-litter infrastructure is public litter bins. The Brook Lyndhurst review of littering behaviour and anti-littering policies commissioned by Zero Waste Scotland is clear that the provision of litter bins can reduce littering levels within an area. However, more bins is not necessarily the solution to the litter problem, and even when it is, it is not a service that is free and it is worth noting that a poorly serviced overflowing bin is as likely to generate a litter problem as to reduce it, if people are deterred from using the bin, or waste is simply added only to spill out onto the ground [8, 9]. Scottish local authorities currently provide tens of thousands of public litter bins with the aim of encouraging members of the public to dispose of their waste responsibly and reduce littering levels. Zero Waste Scotland are clear that litter bins need to be of an appropriate size, provided in appropriate locations, be serviced regularly Page 79 of 168
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and be clean and smartly presented to be an effective tool in litter prevention. Considering the various research studies which have been conducted on overall bin numbers and resultant littering levels, simply increasing bin numbers is unlikely to be effective in tackling the litter problem in North Lanarkshire. Furthermore, increasing bin numbers generates unnecessary costs in terms of bin purchase, bin replacement and associated operational costs. This litter bin strategy aims to address the current litter bin infrastructure in North Lanarkshire and help reduce littering levels. It is proposed that this aim can be best expressed as: North Lanarkshire’s Litter Bin Strategy aims to provide guidance which will enable the movement away from the current demand driven bin installation process, to provide more suitably designed general waste bins in targeted locations within North Lanarkshire. 1.0 Current litter bin provision North Lanarkshire Council is the fourth largest local authority in Scotland by population and serves 341,370 residents (30 June 2019). To reduce the incidences of littering the authority currently provides 4,771 litter bins of which 557 are designated dog waste bins, 978 are general litter bins and 3,236 are dual bins which are designed to be used for dog waste and general waste. 2,541 of these bins are free standing with 2,230 pole mounted bins. Individual bins range in capacity with 50 litre, 70 litre, 90 litre, 120 litre and 240 litre bins throughout the authority area. There are more than 40 different bin styles, many of which detract from their purpose due to their design, location, or condition. In general, bins are relatively equally distributed throughout the authority, but some residential areas have a greater number due in the main to dog walking activity. 2.0 Challenges While there are a significant number of litter bins there are a range of problems which reduce their effectiveness. The following problems are evident within the existing bin population: • small capacities • small aperture openings • litter being spread by the wind and birds because of open-top design • lack of facilities to dispose of cigarette ends • broken mounts on pole-mounted bins • rust and corrosion damage • dirt and grime deposits on bins • broken doors which enclose the inner liner of the bin • vandalism damage including burning It is important that these issues are addressed as Zero Waste Scotland research suggests that not only the availability of bins but also the bin condition can impact on their usage and thus on the levels of litter present in the surrounding areas. Although bin aesthetics are important, especially in high footfall areas such as town centres, practicality is the most important factor in bin design, especially the ease of emptying the bins. In the past the practicality of the bins purchased has been given a lower priority than the look of the bins. Page 80 of 168
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3.0 Bin Specification To address these issues, it is essential that a specification be created from a set of criteria established for the purchase of new bins to be sited on Council ground and/or serviced by council staff. It is not proposed that a standard bin be used rather that a set of criteria be established within which a range of bins can be specified. It is proposed that all bins purchased by North Lanarkshire Council should meet the following criteria. The minimum capacity should be 240 litres. This size has been to maximise the total bin capacity which will impact on the emptying frequency required. Bins of smaller capacity require to be emptied more frequently when compared to larger capacity bins in the same location. The use of smaller capacity bins would result in the requirement for greater numbers of bins to be purchased to provide the same capacity and service provision as the larger capacity bins, in the same area. Smaller bin size would require increased frequency of collections and associated maintenance and cleaning of the bins, which all results in increased costs to the authority. The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) state that generally, the larger the bin, the lower the servicing cost per litre of litter emptied. Bins smaller than 120 litres are not suitable due to the reasons listed above, however, bins of much larger capacity may also be unsuitable due to the increased physical size of the bin, which could cause access issues depending on the location. Both total capacity and physical size must be considered when selecting suitably designed bins. All bins provided by the authority should be of closed top design. This will help to reduce waste spillage, which currently occurs from open top bins, which then creates a further burden on council services. It is also aimed at reducing the incidence of illegal dumping of waste in on-street litter bins, which is a problem mainly associated with bins of open top design. Spillage of waste from these bins is a problem highlighted in much of the current research as well as audits carried out in North Lanarkshire. Their open top design increases their susceptibility to wind and can result in litter being blown from the bins to surrounding areas. This design also enables, and arguably encourages, waste to be thrown towards the bin rather than being placed in the bin. Studies conducted by DEFRA have shown that many people do not pick up their waste if it is thrown towards the bin opening and misses, landing on the ground. This research also highlights that open top bins are more susceptible to the illegal dumping of waste in public litter bins compared to bins with closed tops. Their open top design makes it easier to dump bags of household waste or commercial waste in the bins. New litter bins should all be free-standing. No pole mounted litter bins should be purchased. These bins contribute to the negative aesthetic impact of on-street waste collection and research has suggested they are also not as cost effective as free-standing litter bins. Middlesbrough Council highlight that they are of limited value in terms of their capacity, durability, and generally low impact on reducing levels of litter. Research shows that the capacity of a litter bin directly impacts on maintenance costs as smaller bins require to be emptied more frequently in direct comparison to larger capacity bins provided in the same area. The cost of a 50 litre pole mounted bin as opposed to a 120 litre free-standing bin has been estimated by Rossendale Borough Council, to be approximately 60% more over the bins life cycle and this efficiency would increase with a minimum bin size of 240 litres. It is important to note that this figure will show some variation in each local authority and is dependent on footfall numbers and resultant litter bin usage. However, taking this into account there is clear indication that it would be more cost effective to provide larger free- standing litter bins as opposed to smaller pole-mounted litter bins. Page 81 of 168
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Throughout North Lanarkshire many pole-mounted litter bins have broken mounts which results in the bins falling to the ground. Their small physical size means the bin aperture opening is then very low to the ground. This is problematic for several reasons. Firstly, it makes the area look untidy and neglected and secondly, it requires users to bend down close to ground level to be able to dispose of waste. It should be noted that some people will be unable to do this due to personal limitations. It is likely to result in some members of the public choosing to litter rather than dispose of their waste in these bins due to the extra perceived effort involved. Furthermore, because of the broken mounts, these pole-mounted bins no longer comply with the Department for Transport’s Inclusive Mobility Guidelines. The guidelines state that the bin opening should be 1000mm above ground level to ensure ease of use by most of the general public. New litter bins should all be dual purpose for general waste and dog fouling. There are currently 557 dedicated dog waste bins provided in various locations throughout the authority. This strategy supports the continued removal of dedicated dog waste bins and that no new dog waste bins are provided. Where areas have multiple dog waste bins and there is a known problem with dog fouling in the area, free-standing dual litter bins should be provided as a replacement. These bins are of a much larger capacity than the current dedicated dog waste bins used and can collect litter alongside dog waste. Research suggests it is far more efficient to collect dog waste in dual litter bins when compared to dedicated dog waste bins. There is a perception held by members of the public that to tackle the problem with dog fouling the Council should invest in large numbers of dog bins and provide them throughout the authority. However, this would not be cost effective as simply providing more bins is unlikely to influence people who currently choose not to pick up after their dogs. The problem may be better tackled by aiming to reduce fouling instances and promoting responsible disposal of waste within the bins provided or at home rather than simply increasing bin numbers, which therefore results in increased costs. While many dog owners do pick up fouling there remains a tendency to want to bin this as soon as possible and where this is not possible to attach the waste bag to a fence, tree, or such like. The message that such bags should be placed in the residents’ domestic residual bin needs to be at the forefront of all communication plans. Bins should be provided in a standard colour scheme. To enable the easy identification of a litter bin. The current colour scheme which is used by North Lanarkshire Council is varied; however, most litter bins are black. It is proposed that all dual-purpose litter bins purchased will be black to ensure consistency across all areas. The bins which the authority provides should have North Lanarkshire Council iconography and clear signage applied to the front (and rear where appropriate). This should clearly display the function of the bin, that is, dual litter and dog fouling. In their study researching how to deal with the problem of littering, Lewis, Turton and Sweetman (2009) state that clear signage on and around bins is also important so people know what to put where, as well as being aware of the bins in the first place. Bins must be of durable construction and design. Part of the council savings options 2013/16 proposed that the replacement timescale of a litter bin be extended to 15 years and it was stated this efficiency saving does not propose the withdrawal of litter bins currently in existence but will see a reduction in the replacement of these bins within their current lifespan, as well as a reduction in the installation of new litter bins across the authority. Page 82 of 168
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Bins which have been purchased over recent years have been reviewed to assess if they are durable enough to last the required 15 years. The conclusion of this assessment is that these bins are not durable enough and are likely to last around five years, after which refurbishment or complete replacement is required. This is a result of a combination of the effects of rock salt applied to treat icing conditions, vandalism, and lack of maintenance. Considering the durability of the current bins and the whole life costs associated with refurbishment and increased maintenance, purchasing glass fibre composite (GFC) litter bins in the future provides the best overall value for money. This would ensure the litter bins provided remain in a good condition throughout their time in use since they do not degrade to an extent which causes a negative aesthetic impact on the local area or compromises the function of the bin. Bins constructed from GFC are corrosion resistant, fire resistant and are extremely durable. The lifespan of each bin has been found to be between 10 and 15 years in coastal environments (Scarborough Borough Council) where bins have remained in good condition. Like metal bins, a refurbishment service is available at the end of this period at half the cost of purchasing a new bin, potentially meaning the bins could last up to 30 years. The table below highlights the whole life costs across a 15 year period between GFC and Galvanised Metal bins. Litter Bin Construction Glass Fibre Composite (240l) Galvanised Metal (240l) Cost per bin (2019/20) £500 £260 Manufacturer warranty 1 year parts and labour 1 year parts and labour and 10 year anti perforation (subject to maintenance schedule being adhered to) Expected lifespan (to need of refurbishment/replacement) 15 years (at NLC maintenance schedule) 5 years (at NLC maintenance schedule) Number of refurbishments necessary based on manufacturer warranty N/A 1 Number of refurbishments necessary based on expected lifespan 0 1 Number of replacements necessary based on expected lifespan 0 1 Cost of refurbishment £250 £130 Total cost over 15 years (based on expected lifespan) per bin £500 £650 Page 83 of 168
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It should be noted that these costs are correct as of 2019/20 when new bins were installed within the Country Parks/ Town Centres and North Operational area. Market conditions have significantly changed and the current cost of a Glass Fibre Composite bin is £718 and a Galvanised Metal bin is £739 reflecting growing energy and material costs. These costs are likely to reduce depending on volume ordered. Whilst it is not a current issue there have been instances of the current galvanised metal bins being stolen and it is thought that they were being stolen for their scrap value. Glass fibre composite bins have no scrap value and as such are unlikely to be subject to theft. It is proposed that wherever possible glass fibre composite (GFC) material is specified. Bin style There are over 40 different styles of bin installed in North Lanarkshire. Many are not fit for purpose and contribute to a poor look to an area, but also cause staff problems when emptying due to the different styles of locking mechanism used. Therefore, it makes operational sense to provide a much smaller range of bin style. However, it should be noted that this strategy does not propose a one size fits all solution and recognises that certain areas may require specific bin styles to match the needs of that location. Much of the current bin asset now looks tired, are outdated and are disintegrating. The bins which are in poor repair are generally discoloured and quite heavily corroded especially around the aperture and base. There is an increased risk of injury when people are using bins which may have sharp edges resulting from corrosion but also, research has shown that litter bins are less likely to be used when they are in a state of disrepair or are unclean. Providing a much smaller range of bin styles would improve the current collection operation as staff would require a smaller range of keys, therefore increasing the speed of servicing. There are a range of large capacity bins commonly known as silo style bins which should be considered for country parks and other large open spaces. These cost more per unit to buy and to install but there are savings which arise from the less frequent servicing albeit a larger Hiab type vehicle is required. Furthermore, there is the opportunity to use these as collection points for litter arising from litter picking activity and smaller litter bins within designated areas. 4.0 Location Criteria There are no documented guidelines which provide information on suitable locations in which litter bins should be installed. In the past, litter bins have been installed in obvious places but also in response to requests received from members of the public or local businesses in a demand driven process. This has resulted in litter bins being installed randomly throughout the authority area, with no set criteria used in determining suitable locations. Locations where litter bins should be installed are listed below. • Outside main transport interchanges (train stations, bus shelters, car parks and taxi ranks) • Outside schools and colleges • Near fast food and convenience stores • Entrances and exits to parks and open spaces • Within North Lanarkshire’s three country parks • Outside public and government buildings (health centres, dental surgeries, libraries, churches etc) • At public seating areas • Open spaces/grassed areas where dog walking is likely to occur Page 84 of 168
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• Areas where people are likely to queue (public toilets, ATMs etc.) • Cemeteries and memorial gardens • Car parks Page 85 of 168
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5.0 Positioning New bins will only be installed in areas where it is anticipated that they will make a positive impact on street cleanliness and where the location is deemed appropriate with reference to the siting guidelines provided in this document in a movement away from the current demand driven installation process. As a general policy litter bins will not be provided in residential estates. Research highlights that bins provided in residential estates have higher instances of vandalism and misuse. The exception to this policy is where public grassed areas or parks are found within residential estates, where dog walking frequently occurs. In these locations dual litter bins should be installed to provide dog walkers with suitable facilities to dispose of dog waste to reduce fouling instances however it should be noted that this waste can be disposed of within the household waste bins and any litter bins provided would be placed at a location that can be serviced by a vehicle. Bins will also be installed in areas which do not currently have litter bins, but which match the criteria listed above. In all suitable locations an assessment should be undertaken to ensure the installation of litter bins would not cause access issues. Consideration must be given to those who have sight impairment so that the location of litter bins does not cause potential obstruction or hazard. Consideration must also be given to those who have mobility difficulties. Free standing litter bins could cause access problems in certain locations or even render some areas impassable. The Department for Transport’s Inclusive Mobility Guidelines recommend that the minimum clearance required on a footway is 1500mm with an absolute minimum clearance of 1000m past short obstructions such as bins. Free-standing bins should be positioned out of the main line of travel or grouped with existing street furniture so that they do not present a collision hazard or reduce the usable width of the footway for people using wheelchairs, mobility aids or guide dogs. These guidelines also provide information which is aimed to ensure the ease of use of litter bins by most of the public. These guidelines state that waste bins should be approximately 1300mm in height; they should continue down or close to ground level and should have no sharp edges. The bin opening should be 1000mm above ground level. They should be highly visible, including the use of coloured branding to increase visibility [2]. All bins purchased by North Lanarkshire Council should conform to the guidelines listed above and all locations where litter bins are provided should also adhere to the criteria listed above. Where the location assessment finds that installing bins would be in breach of the above guidelines, bins will not be installed. 6.0 Asset Management All new bins will have their installation date recorded along with other key information in the service management systems. This will allow a record to be kept of when each bin is due to be replaced according to the replacement timescale. No spare parts will be purchased for the litter bins. In cases where the bins are severely damaged and a bin refurbishment is not possible, a replacement bin will be sought. In areas where persistent vandalism occurs, damaged bins will be removed, and replacement bins should not be provided. Page 86 of 168
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7.0 Rationalisation/ Replacement It is necessary that the locations in which bins are currently provided are assessed and a process of bin rationalisation undertaken. The removal of one bin should not necessarily result in the replacement with a new free-standing bin. Bins should only be provided in areas which meet the criteria, advised in this document, and where they will have a positive impact on littering levels and street cleanliness. The aim of this is to move away from the current demand driven process which is unsustainable. Results from litter bin audits, have shown this approach to be an inefficient method of determining suitable locations for bins to be installed. Many of the current litter bins are under-used or simply not used at all. This represents a waste of resources and should be addressed by removing the litter bins from these locations. Although implementing the strategy suggests a reduction in total bin numbers of around 40% it is important to confirm that the purpose of the strategy is to focus the provision of litter bins at appropriate locations where they would impact on street cleanliness and the strategy should not be viewed as an asset reduction programme. That said if a 40% reduction is achieved this would see the number of street bins reduced from 4,771 to around 2,862. However, it is key to note that providing larger bins at more suitable locations would see a significant increase in capacity an asset with increased durability. 8.0 Approval Process The area in which a litter bin is requested or being considered for replacement must have an assessment undertaken. This requires that a site visit be conducted to assess whether there is an environmental need for a litter bin in the location requested. There are several factors which should be assessed during the site visit using the check list shown in appendix 1. • The litter bin location must match one of the location criteria listed • The area should have a known problem with litter/dog fouling evidenced by complaints/enquiries and where there are currently no bins provided nearby or the existing bins are overflowing on a regular basis • The bin would need to be expected to be well used to make it cost effective. If bins located nearby are not well used i.e. bin fill levels are low with high levels of littering present in the local area, installing another bin is unlikely to be effective in tackling the litter problem • Installing a bin must not cause an obstruction. The minimum acceptable clearance on the footway would be 1200mm • Bins should not be considered for installation in areas where nearby bins are frequently vandalised • If the bin/bins were installed, emptying/servicing must be possible without any significant change to the current collection programme • Bin proximity to property should be assessed. The installation of bins must not cause a nuisance to home or business owners. Complaints have arisen from members of the public due to bins being installed near their property Page 87 of 168
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Once an initial assessment has taken place and the result is favourable to the siting of a new or replacement bin an assessment of affordability will be made, and the bin demand will be added to the list of approved new or replacement bins. Each new or replacement bin will be prioritised using the table in appendix 2. North Lanarkshire has been zoned using the system from the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse (Scotland) 2018. Within the Code of Practice zone 1 requires the quickest response times for the removal of litter and refuse and this time increases for each higher zone. It is therefore proposed to give the highest priority to bin requests in zone 1 with reducing priority for each subsequent zone. When a decision has been reached following a request the individual will be advised of the outcome. This will include reference to the litter bin strategy and the reasons for the decision. It is key to note that bins will only be supplied, installed, maintained, or emptied if they are located on land for which North Lanarkshire Council has responsibility. 9.0 Servicing and Inspection It is proposed that the litter bins will be serviced on a three-weekly cycle like the household waste bins. Bins within higher footfall areas such as Town Centres and Country Parks would be serviced twice weekly or an alternative appropriate frequency which would be determined through service data. Litter bins are subject to wear and tear and accidental or wilful damage. They are required to be adequately maintained to ensure the lifespan of each bin is maximised. Bins which are not adequately maintained will deteriorate quickly and will require refurbishment or full replacement at much more frequent intervals increasing costs. The routine maintenance activities include cleaning bins and greasing hinges with other repairs implemented as required. There is no established cleaning schedule for litter bins and it is proposed that a cleaning schedule be introduced to ensure they are kept in good condition. This is important as it will help to protect the bins and increase their lifespan. Furthermore, cleaning will ensure bins are kept in good aesthetic condition throughout the time they are in use since Keep Britain Tidy state that the cleanliness and condition of litter bins directly impacts on their use, as bins that are dirty or not in good condition can deter people from using them. During maintenance activity, bins will be inspected to record any damage or any other factor which may mean the bin would need to be replaced. Cleaning will involve pressure washing bins, using suitable detergent to remove any dirt, deposits or odour from the internal and external surfaces of both the body of the bin and the bin liner. It is proposed that each bin in town centre locations be cleaned and inspected four times per year. This is important not only for aesthetic reasons, but also to ensure there is no odour from bins. Other bins will be cleaned and inspected at least twice per year. Bins may also be cleaned out with these times when requested by staff or in response to requests for service. If a bin is found to be damaged following inspection, to the extent that it compromises the function of the bin or has significantly worn and is required to be replaced it will be considered in accordance with the assessment process. Following an assessment which decides to replace a damaged bin a refurbished or a new bin will be chosen on a case-by-case basis. Page 88 of 168
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13.0 Provision of Smart Technology Wireless sensors are available to fit inside bins which can determine the level of fill and communicate this information to a cloud-based web service. This information can then allow a reactive bin emptying service to be delivered. Over time the system can build up a picture of fill rates of individual bins and the service could be fine-tuned to a routine emptying plan. It would cost money to buy and fit sensors and run the software to receive and analyse the data. It is proposed to introduce sensors initially in locations where fill levels regularly exceed the servicing periods. As the cost of technology reduces there may be an opportunity to place sensors in all bins to achieve a smarter and more proactive servicing frequency. 14.0 Monitoring Impact To determine the success of this strategy it is important to provide some methods of measuring the impact to allow an effective review. The levels of littering present in North Lanarkshire are measured using the Local Environmental Audit and Management System (LEAMS) managed by Keep Scotland Beautiful (KSB). This system is based on auditing a sample of street lengths three times a year by trained staff who are accompanied on one of the audits by a member of KSB staff. The system generates the street cleanliness index (%age of sites deemed to be at an acceptable level) as well as other pertinent data. This data is available for past years and the cleanliness index is a required measure by the Local Government Benchmarking Scheme. This data would enable the direct comparison of street cleanliness pre and post implementation of the litter bin strategy. The number of street cleaning enquiries and complaints is available for past years and analysis of enquiries and complaints post implementation of the litter bin strategy would assist in determining the success of the strategy. Customer satisfaction surveys would also give an indication of the public view of the approach set out in this strategy. Auditing of the rationalised bin population in specific areas will also assist as well as measuring the lifetime of bins. 15.0 Partnership Working It is recognised that to maximising environmental improvements cannot be done by simply introducing a new litter bins strategy and this should only form one strand to the council’s approach. It is therefore essential that all relevant parties who can affect littering are involved in any wider litter strategy developed by the council. Internal partners include: • Waste Management Services for technical and operational aspects • Protective Services for matters of enforcement • Planning who shape the place through the development approval • Roads and Transportation who manage the road network • Education to encourage behavioural change at an early age • Corporate Communications who can assist in marketing and messaging Page 89 of 168
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External partners include: • Friends and Community groups who have interest in specific areas • Keep Scotland Beautiful for technical advice and support • Zero Waste Scotland for technical advice and funding • Community Boards to build local resilience and encourage local accountability and change Page 90 of 168
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Appendix 1 – Bin location check list Criterion Notes Location of the requested bin Does the area match at least one of the criteria set out for the siting of bins across the authority? Is there a known problem with litter/dog fouling in the area Are there any litter bins provided in the local area? What is the usage of these bins – are they overflowing? Width of pavement – would installing a litter bin cause an obstruction? (Absolute minimum clearance is 1200mm) Is there a history of vandalism of bins in the area? Can the bin be serviced without significant operational changes? Would the installation of a litter bin cause a nuisance to anyone? – e.g. householder/business owner Can the bin be serviced by a vehicle, adhering to all health and safety requirements? Page 91 of 168
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Appendix 2 - Prioritisation of Requests Location Priority Level Zone 1 6 Zone 2 5 Zone 3 4 Zone 4 3 Zone 5 2 Zone 6 1 The detailed definitions of each zone are given below (Information from the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse (Scotland) 2018. Zone 1 - Areas subject to extremely high footfall and/or vehicular movement and/or very high number of potential litter sources. • Major city centres • Very busy visitor attractions • Areas in and around regular event locations • Primary commercial and retail areas in city centres • Major transport hubs • Land of designated educational institutions – schools, colleges, universities • Other land, including canal land**, roads of 40mph or less, waterways and embankments, railway land and track within 100 metres of a railway station platform end, all within and around these areas with equivalent footfall/vehicle movements Zone 2 - Areas subject to high footfall and/ or vehicular movement and/or high number of potential litter sources. • Small city centres and large town centres • High density residential areas mixed with retail premises • Popular visitor attractions • Primary commercial and retail areas in large towns/city suburbs • Large, heavily used industrial estates • Busy recreational land – beaches, parks, walks, cycle paths, canal land** etc. • Transport interchanges in busy public areas – car parks, bus stations, railways stations, ports, harbours, airports. • Land of designated educational institutions – schools, colleges, universities • Other land, roads of 40mph or less, waterways and embankments, railway land and track within 100 metres of a railway station platform end, all within and around these areas with equivalent footfall/vehicle movements Page 92 of 168
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Zone 3 - Areas subject to moderate footfall and/ or vehicular movement and/or a moderate number of potential litter sources. • Medium town centres • High density residential areas – predominately terraced, flatted, where more than 50% of the dwelling have no off road parking • Moderately used visitor attractions • Secondary retail, office and commercial areas • Moderately used Industrial estates and business parks • Moderately used recreation land – beaches, parks, walks, cycle paths, canals land** • Transport interchanges with moderate usage – car parks, bus stations, railway stations, ports, harbours • Land of designated educational institutions – schools, colleges, universities • Other land, roads of 40mph or less, waterways and embankments, railway land and track within 100 metres of a railway station platform end, all within and around these areas with equivalent footfall/vehicle movements Zone 4 - Areas subject to low footfall and/ or vehicular movement and/or low number of potential litter sources. • Small town/village centres • Moderate to Low density residential areas – 50% or more dwellings have off road parking • Suburbs of towns • Low use industrial estates, business parks • Low usage recreational land – beaches, parks, walks, cycle paths, canal land** • Transport interchanges with low usage – car parks, bus stations, railway stations, ports, harbours • Land of designated educational institutions – schools, colleges, universities • Other land, roads of 40mph or less, waterways and embankments, railway land and track within 100 metres of a railway station platform end, all within and around these areas with equivalent footfall/vehicle movements Zone 5 - Areas subject to very low/no footfall and/ or vehicular movement and/or few/no potential litter sources. • Land that is publicly accessible subject to infrequent or little use, includes remote beaches • Land of designated educational institutions – schools, colleges, universities • Other land including canal land**, roads of 40mph or less, waterways and embankments, railway land and track within 100 metres of a railway station platform end, all within and around these areas with equivalent footfall/vehicle movements Page 93 of 168
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Zone 6 - Roads over 40mph and Operational Railway Land. • Any road/above the 40mph speed limit including all surfaces within the road boundary. Operational railway land including the track, tracksides through to the fence line, excluding land and track within 100 metres of a railway station platform. Notes * the body that holds the duty/ies is responsible for allocating zones and updating these ** as detailed in the Litter (Statutory Undertakers) (Designation and Relevant Land) Order 1991 Page 94 of 168
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Environment and Climate Change Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref AM/NP/VA/CM Date 09/11/22 Lighting Up Parks Appraisal From Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions E-mail mcphersona@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07939 280467 Executive Summary This report has been produced in response to the motion passed by council in March 2022 requesting a report on lighting solutions in all our parks. The report summarises the existing lighting provision in parks including the recent programme of renewable lighting improvements. Information is provided on the options appraisal which informed the recent programme and provides a basis for any further investment. Recommendations It is recommended that the Environment and Climate Change committee: 1) Acknowledges the progress made providing sustainable lighting within North Lanarkshire’s parks and greenspaces on key routes over the last 2 years. 2) Acknowledges that in general terms the provision of solar lighting is the most appropriate choice for lighting paths within our parks and greenspaces where appropriate. 3) Supports the intention to continue to implement sensitive and sustainable lighting solutions on a project by project basis as resources allow. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve the health and wellbeing of our communities Ambition statement (16) Transform our natural environment to support wellbeing and inward investment and enhance it for current and future generations AGENDA ITEM 8 Page 95 of 168
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1. Background 1.1 At full council on 31 March 2022 a motion by Councillor Fotheringham and Councillor Barclay was passed, namely: “Council notes the campaign launched by Radio Clyde calling for lighting to be installed along the main routes of public parks; and notes that this campaign is supported by a range of individuals and organisations. Providing lighting in our parks could build on the expertise gained by the Park Power initiative and renewable energy could be built into any design. This would allow greater access and use of these facilities by our residents; Public parks play a very significate role in community life; our parks should always be accessible and safe places; promote and encourage activity all year round; that there are sufficient technological solutions to provide sensitive lighting solutions which keep people safe and promotes the biodiversity in our parks and open spaces. Council therefore agrees to prepare a report in the new committee cycle to provide lighting solutions in all our parks.” 1.2 To date North Lanarkshire Council has invested over £200k installing embedded ground level, solar stud guidance lights throughout six sites across North Lanarkshire, from town parks to country parks, along previously unlit routes. Specific targeted lighting is also provided in key areas such as sports areas and around car parks associated with buildings in evening use. The most recent investment being £45k of sports lighting for the new pump track being built at the Bellshill Gateway to Strathclyde Country Park. 2. Report 2.1 The increased use of our parks and outdoor greenspaces over Covid-19-related lockdowns highlighted the importance of greenspace as a way of improving people’s health and wellbeing. 2.2 In 2020/21 £50,000, from the Sustrans Spaces for People fund, was secured to improve access to our parks and green spaces to help maximise their use throughout the winter period, with the aim of supporting our community’s physical and mental well-being during daytime hours and extend that use into the hours of darkness. This was achieved by implementing low level solar lighting studs in two pilot parks, Drumpellier Country Park, Coatbridge and Duchess Park, Motherwell. The routes selected were in general suitable for solar stud lighting but did still require some minor improvements to the paths such as widening where too narrow, lowering kerbs for increased accessibility, upgrading path surfaces, filling potholes, removing tree root damage and resolving flooding issues. 2.3 The solar studs help increase the use of greenspaces several hours into the evening when light is fading. The lights provide guidance lighting and are not intended to light areas throughout the night. A considered approach was taken to balance the statutory obligation to protect biodiversity of our greenspaces and the carbon emissions implications of mains powered lighting with the aims of providing a safer route through popular green spaces in low light conditions. Other practical factors taken into consideration prior to installing the studs included appropriate path surfacing and sufficient day light coverage along the proposed routes to charge the solar studs. 2.4 Following on from the success of the pilot project in 2021/22, a one-off Capital Reserves fund of £158,000 was agreed to install solar studs across more sites within North Lanarkshire. Seven sites were initially proposed but due to unsuitable surface path conditions and dense canopy cover across three of the sites, Page 96 of 168
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• The Peace Garden, Cumbernauld • Moore Park, Chryston • Wheatholm Park, Airdie the following four were progressed: • Burngreen Park, Kilsyth, • Palacerigg Country Park, Cumbernauld • Dunbeth Park, Coatbridge • Strathclyde Country Park, Motherwell. Works within these four areas will be completed in October 2022. 2.5 To date, the process of solar light stud installation has provided the council with a valuable insight as to what would be involved with regards to delivering this lighting alternative in a larger scale. A review of what potential further options could be considered to comply with the ask of the original motion was then undertaken by the Greenspace team. 2.6 A key driver behind the request for additional lighting was the sense that this would make our greenspaces safer places during times of darkness. Lighting is perceived as good for reducing crime and accidents, but this is a complex scenario. It can improve safety by reducing the risk of trips and slips in the dark, however there is no clear evidence that increased outdoor lighting reduces crime levels. It may make visitors feel safer, but in some instances bright lighting of areas reduces safety and increases the risk of harm. In particular glare, the excessive contrast between bright and dark areas in the field of view, can aid rather than reduce criminal activity. 2.7 According to a 2011 study of London street lighting and crime, there is no good evidence that increased lighting reduces total crime and in 1997 a National Institute of Justice study concluded, “We can have very little confidence that improved lighting prevents crime. A 2015 study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health found that streetlights don’t prevent accidents or crime, but do cost a lot of money. The researchers looked at data on crime and road traffic collisions in 62 local authorities in England and Wales and found that lighting had no effect, whether authorities had turned them off completely, dimmed them, turned them off at certain hours, or substituted low-power LED lamps. 2.8 The very nature of greenspaces encourages biodiversity and is an area attractive to wildlife. Consideration must also be given to how any lighting would impact on these areas. Many species depend on the natural rhythms of day-night and seasonal and lunar changes to light levels. As a result, artificial lighting has several negative impacts on a wide range of species including disrupting their feeding, breeding and movement which may reduce and fragment populations. Some locations are particularly sensitive to light pollution and lighting schemes in these areas must be carefully planned to avoid negatively affecting wildlife and the environment. 2.9 An options appraisal exercise was also undertaken to establish the impacts and benefits of each type of available lighting and a summary of the outcome is detailed in the table below: Option Limitations Lighting impact Secondary Impacts Revenue Burden Carbon Emissions Page 97 of 168
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Solar studs Can only be installed on good quality surfacing. Only works effectively where tree cover does not block sufficient light. Clearly defines key travel/ recreation routes. Does not provide lighting for ‘tasks’ such as sport. Little impact on nocturnal wildlife. Low replacement costs No annual running costs. Low embodied carbon. No ongoing carbon emissions Standard street lighting poles and sports lighting Requires an adjacent grid connection or expensive cabling costs Provides lighting for ‘tasks’ such as sport as well as lighting key routes Creates areas of high contrast linked in some studies to reduced safety Stronger lighting has more impact on wildlife. Public perceive area to be safer, though studies show this is not evidenced in reduced crime figures High replacement costs Utilities costs £112.60 annual running cost per unit. High embodied carbon. Ongoing carbon emissions 13,249kg per year. Omni Led or Autonomous off grid renewable lighting poles Only works effectively when location is one where photovoltaics and mini turbine have good supply. Most completely off-grid products are only effective in sunnier climes than Scotland. Batteries may require a mains feed based on 40 days a year during very poor weather conditions (no sun or wind). Provides lighting for ‘tasks’ such as sport as well as lighting key routes Creates areas of high contrast linked in some studies to reduced safety. Can be dimmed when no motion is sensed to reduce impacts and extend life. Stronger lighting has more impact on wildlife. Public perceive area to be safer, though studies show this is not evidenced in reduced crime figures High replacement costs. £24.53 annual running cost per unit for battery back- up units. High embodied carbon. No ongoing carbon emissions for off-grid units. Ongoing carbon emissions for battery back-up units, 47.35kg per year. 2.10 In order to envisage the financial implications of extending parks lighting, costs were calculated based on providing a lit active travel route through Strathclyde Country Park on wide, well surfaced asphalt paths. The distance considered is 3604 meters (2.2miles). • Providing solar light studs, 7m apart on either side of this route – estimated capital cost £94k Page 98 of 168
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• Standard grid street lighting 30m apart on one side of the route (excluding ducting, connection to national grid supply and on-going running costs) – estimated capital cost £363k • Providing renewable lighting columns 25m apart would require a battery supply backed up to a mains grid supply to supply enough light during the winter months – estimated capital cost £835k 2.11 There are approximately 20 miles of pedestrian paths throughout Strathclyde Country Park and the above figures represent approximately 11% path coverage. The capital costs involved to solely supply lighting, not including any path surfacing works required, would range in the region of £841k for solar studs to £7.453M for off-grid renewable energy lighting. 2.12 These above costings are based on existing ground conditions being well maintained, drained, smooth, asphalt surfaces. Major costs would be involved in upgrading most paths within greenspaces given they are predominantly semi-bound surfaces or in poor condition. On-going revenue costs have also not been included in the above figures. An estimated cost to have the 20 miles of paths within Strathclyde Country Park upgraded to a standard width asphalt path would cost somewhere in the region of £5.764M. 2.13 The above financial estimate represents roughly one third of the total length of pedestrian paths within NLC’s 3 country parks. Extrapolating this further, providing lighting along all pedestrian routes within all country parks is estimated to cost between £2.5m to £22.3m depending on the type of lighting improvements selected and the supporting works required. 2.14 With limited financial resources, spending core budget on lighting must be compared to the same spend on other park improvements. During the pilot project, passing members of the public raised questions as to whether evening lighting was in the best interests of the majority or if park users would rather see more investment into surface and drainage improvements. These route improvements make public greenspaces accessible to a wider range of residents during the day as opposed to making changes for a smaller subset of evening users. 2.15 During the Master planning stage of Country Parks for the Future, the public were canvassed to find out more about their priorities. There was considerable evidence that visitors wanted improved park access, but this tended to focus on the condition of existing paths, the desire for new connective paths, lack of waymarking and improvements to public transport/ active travel/ parking required to reach the greenspace. There was no real call for the parks to have lighting to provide 24 hour access. 2.16 In order to determine whether providing lighting in previously unlight greenspaces has significantly increased public usage, in proportion to the spend, data collection is required before and after lighting is added to the public path. An automated solution is to install pedestrian counters at site specific entrance points and collect data for a period before and after installation. Recent works at SCP will provide an opportunity to monitor increased usage over the next 12 months but this option is not possible on sites where visitor numbers were not monitored before lighting was installed. 2.17 The current 5-year capital budget for the Country Parks for the Future programme is less than £5million, considering that lighting up key paths has been estimated to costs between £2.5m to £22.3m, prioritising increased lighting provision over other Page 99 of 168
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improvements identified during the community consultation would severely impact on the rest of the programme delivery. 2.18 In summary therefore it is the recommendation from the Greenspace Team that solar studs are selected as the most effective option for the general lighting of our paths within parks and greenspaces where resources allow, not only based on capital costs but also in relation to revenue costs, impacts on wildlife, carbon emissions and the lack of evidence that lighting improves safety. 2.19 Notwithstanding the paragraph above, there will be occasions where certain areas require additional lighting - routes which provide active travel links, shortcuts in busy areas, very high traffic recreational routes and specific area-based activities such as sports pitches. Lighting requirements for these areas will be carefully considered on a project by project basis and funds sought to continually build on the improvements made to date. 2.20 The next proposed lighting improvement project involves trialling combined street lighting, public Wi-Fi, CCTV and sensor technology installations at Palacerigg and Strathclyde Country Parks. The units under consideration contain their own individual solar arrays and mini wind turbines which generate around 60% of the electricity required for normal operation. 2.21 The Greenspace Team are part of the Scottish Park Managers Forum, facilitated by Greenspace Scotland, which meets regularly to discuss a range of relevant operational issues and keep members updated on the latest developments in the field. Parks lighting was the topic of a meeting earlier this year and the forum provides an ideal opportunity to consider best practice and learn from any experimental developments. Studies and research are ongoing throughout the UK looking into the wider impact outdoor lighting has on human behaviour, wildlife and the wider environment in general to provide best practice guidance for those seeking to light up greenspaces and the outcome from this will be incorporated into future developments. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Increased public use of key routes in low light as monitored via people counters in Strathclyde Country Park. 3.2 Consideration of the most suitable lighting solution for park improvement projects on a case by case basis bearing in mind anticipated public usage levels, visitor safety, carbon emissions and biodiversity impacts. Andrew McPherson Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions Page 100 of 168
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality-and-fairer- scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Financial Solutions? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? No recommendations for additional spend on park lighting are made. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People and Organisational Development? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic Solutions? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 101 of 168
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The report outlines progress on Proof of Concept work on utilising renewable energy lighting and Wi Fi provision in parks. Where the impact identifies a requirement for technology, has an assessment been carried out (or scheduled) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The report recommends renewable lighting options as the preference for any new projects to contribute to the transition to net zero 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? Page 102 of 168
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Environment and Climate Change Committee ☒approval ☐noting Ref AMcP/AM Date 09/11/22 RESILIENCE PLANNING & BUSINESS CONTINUITY UPDATE From Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions E-mail mcphersona@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07939 280467 Executive Summary The report provides an update on the Council’s arrangements relevant to Resilience Planning and Business Continuity and the proposed changes within the structure of the service. Recommendations It is recommended that CMT: 1. Support the ongoing improvements to the Council’s business continuity and resilience planning arrangements. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement All ambition statements AGENDA ITEM 9 Page 103 of 168
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1. Background 1.1 The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (Contingency Planning) (Scotland) Regulations 2005 define local authorities as Category 1 Responders and as such we are required to fulfil the statutory obligations in respect of contingency planning and business continuity. 1.2 Previous reports to CMT have highlighted that standard Business Continuity Guidance is now available on the Council’s intranet (http://connect/index.aspx?articleid=20534 ) and a copy of this has been circulated to all Heads of Service for implementation. The provision of this guidance has: • Allowed a more consistent approach towards business continuity planning (BCP) across all Council Services; • Ensured that all Plans are regularly reviewed, updated and tested; • Ensured that failure of critical IT infrastructure/ systems are part of BCP; and • Ensured that periodic assurance is provided by all Senior Managers that appropriate and robust BCP is in place to cover all service areas. 1.3 The delivery of effective continuity arrangements and the Council’s overall emergency response throughout the recent pandemic have highlighted the effectiveness of the previous arrangements, but the lessons learned from this event and the recommendations from a recent internal audit have allowed improvements within the approach to be identified. 2. Report 2.1 The overall resilience and business continuity arrangements were extensively tested throughout the Council’s response to the ongoing pandemic. 2.2 In summary the maintenance of all critical services throughout the period of the pandemic has demonstrated the robustness and depth of the resilience and business continuity arrangements now in place. 2.3 Although the overall response of the Council during the pandemic allowed the continuation of all critical services, this in no way suggests that the response was perfect, and that all business continuity and emergency resilience procedures were without fault. A fundamental principle of any resilience response is the ‘Review’ phase. The purpose of this is not to assign blame but to highlight weaknesses in the overall response to an incident, identify their cause and introduce changes which will prevent a recurrence in any future response. This review has been undertaken at a local level and a national COVID-19 Inquiry has also been established for which the Council will stand up a short-term working group to address all requests for data etc. 2.4 To compliment the ongoing review process, the Council’s Internal Audit team also undertook a review of the current corporate resilience arrangements and issued a report with their findings on the 20 July. Although the report concluded that there existed a ‘reasonable assurance’ that effective business continuity and resilience planning measures were in place, several improvement actions were also identified and agreed: • Changes were suggested to the framework in place for documenting individual Services’ business continuity and disaster recovery arrangements to enhance the quality and completeness of the corresponding plans. • Corporate and individual services’ business continuity and disaster recovery arrangements would benefit from a robust, formalised review process. Page 104 of 168
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• Formal testing of business continuity and/or disaster recovery arrangements needs to be undertaken consistently across the Council in line with corporate expectations. • Management should ensure that the role and responsibilities of Business Continuity Champions are reviewed and documented to provide greater clarity of corporate expectations of what such individuals are expected to do in relation to business continuity. 2.5 An action plan has now been agreed which will deliver on all the recommendations detailed above and includes a review of the existing guidance document to provide further clarity to services which should lead to improvements in the overall quality and robustness of all individual business continuity plans. In addition, random audits of individual services’ continuity plans will also be undertaken by the Resilience Development team. 2.6 In line with the current guidance document, there is a requirement on all Heads of Service to complete an annual assurance return. The purpose of this is to demonstrate that each Service area has reviewed their business continuity plans to take account of any change in circumstance to their business activity and provide examples of which business areas have had their BCP’s subject to testing. These assurance returns were due to be completed by 17 September 2022 and all returns have now been received by the Council’s Resilience Development Team from each Head of Service. 2.7 Also included within the business continuity guidance document is a summary of the Council’s ongoing preparation to develop specific arrangements relevant to Power Resilience and how the Council will respond to a ‘black start’ event – the complete loss of power across the national grid. National guidance relevant to this has only recently been released and the draft Power Resilience Strategy is now at an advanced stage and the intention will be to bring a final draft of this to committee in the new year. 2.8 The recent pandemic has now clearly evidenced the importance of effective business continuity and resilience planning arrangements and has placed an even greater focus on the work of the Resilience Development Team; and whilst implementation of the recommendations from the recent internal audit process will enhance the overall approach to business continuity across the Council, this will place additional asks on this team. The irony of the Resilience Development team is that it is one of the least resilient services operating within the Council with a full-time staffing compliment of 1.5FTE. In recognition of the additional tasks now being expected of this team and the increasing role and profile of the service, the compliment of the service has now been increased to two FTE to provide the capacity which will be necessary to deliver on the ongoing improvements required within this area and provide the necessary support to the individual services. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Effective Resilience and Business Continuity Planning to ensure the delivery of critical services in the event of a major incident. Page 105 of 168
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Andrew McPherson Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions Page 106 of 168
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality-and-fairer- scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Financial Solutions? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People and Organisational Development? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic Solutions? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ Page 107 of 168
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If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for technology, has an assessment been carried out (or scheduled) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? Having effective resilience and business continuity arrangements in place across the organisation will reduce the risk associated within a number of service areas. Page 108 of 168
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Environment and Climate Change Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref AM Date 09/11/22 Rationalisation and Development of Waste and Fleet Service Assets – Programme of Work 2.1 From Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions E-mail mcphersona@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07939 280467 Executive Summary The report builds on previous reports and provides an update on the proposals within the Waste and Fleet Service to maximise the use of the Council’s assets in line with the Councils Programme of Work Number 2.1. The report also provides a summary of the proposals to move towards an electric/ low emission fleet for the Council. Recommendations It is recommended that Committee: 1. Support the ongoing proposals for the Bellshill Waste and Fleet Complex. 2. Support the work associated with the introduction of an Eco Park within the Bellshill complex. 3. Endorse the actions now being taken across the Dalmacoulter, Auchinlea and Wardpark facilities. 4. Support the progress and actions proposed to allow the decarbonisation of the Council fleet. 5. Support the move of the Trade Waste service to a fully digital registration process. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve North Lanarkshire's resource base Ambition statement (3) Maximise the use of our marketable land and assets through improved development in business and industrial infrastructure AGENDA ITEM 10 Page 109 of 168
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1. Background 1.1 Previous reports to Committee have outlined the ongoing rationalisation exercise to be undertaken across the Waste service to allow consolidation of the service within key depot facilities. This in turn will result in overall efficiencies for the Waste service with the resulting effect of freeing up space for other service areas to consolidate their own depot facilities and ultimately therefore provide a capital receipt for the Council through the sale of any depot deemed surplus to requirements. 1.2 The development of the depots will also include future proofing the facilities to ensure they are able to accommodate the current and future plans of the Council to move towards an electric/ low emission fleet in line with Government guidance and to assist in delivery of the Council’s ambition to achieve net zero emissions by 2030. 2. Report 2.1 Bellshill Waste and Fleet Complex 2.1.1 In line with the previous reports, although the original intention was to locate all Waste and Fleet personnel to the Bellshill complex until such times as a new facility could be built, structural faults within the building being utilised required an immediate evacuation of the facility at the turn of last year. The Service has now introduced an interim arrangement which will see all servicing work on fleet vehicles undertaken at the previously vacated Souterhouse depot, taxi MOT testing undertaken within the ‘7 Day Centre’ and the Waste service temporarily located to the Souterhouse depot. To accommodate this move, the Land Services team previously based at Souterhouse were temporarily based at Bellshill within a section of the facility that it is not subject to any structural concerns. 2.1.2 Running in parallel with the above temporary arrangements, a procurement exercise was completed for the delivery of the new Waste and Fleet depot at Bellshill. Tilbury Douglas Construction Limited have now been appointed as the preferred bidder and works have now commenced on site with an anticipated completion date of September 2023. 2.1.3 Following completion of the above works, and the centralisation of the Waste and Fleet service at Bellshill, this will allow Land Services to be centralised within the Souterhouse depot allowing further rationalisation of their own depot facilities. To assist in this process, the Council’s recycling centres will now also be changed to both accommodate the disposal of waste arising from the work of Land Services and the provision of improved welfare facilities within the centres. Providing this more locally based operating model will allow employees from Land Services to operate close to their area of operation and reduce the number of vehicle movements by providing local disposal outlets. This in turn will not only deliver operational efficiencies but a reduction in carbon emissions. 2.1.4 The build of the new depot facility will also be managed alongside the demolition of the existing buildings on site and a procurement exercise will commence for this works once we have a defined timeline for the other build programmes on site to ensure all works can proceed without impacting on any other. To facilitate the demolition works arrangements have been made to temporarily relocate the Land Services team previously based at Bellshill to the Souterhouse depot. Page 110 of 168
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2.2 Bellshill Eco Park 2.2.1 Although as discussed later in this report, the move towards the decarbonisation of the LGV fleet is in line with expectation and there is a plan in place for the HGV fleet, the key challenge for the Council is accelerating the overall decarbonisation. The limiting factors at present are funding, technology and fuel availability: • Funding - local authorities are now faced with a significant savings agenda over the coming years. The cost difference between an electric/hydrogen HGV vehicle when compared to its more traditional and proven diesel alternative is significant with some vehicles being over 300% more expensive. • Technology – although electric LGV vehicles are now commonplace and increasing in both range and availability, this is not replicated within the HGV sector. There needs to be an increasing demand for low emission vehicles which will drive the technology and which in turn will reduce the purchase price. • Fuel availability – there is a lack of low emission infrastructure available throughout the country which would encourage both public bodies and the private sector to move towards alternative low emission vehicles, particularly within the HGV sector. Public bodies do not have the resource or skillset to deliver this independently and so we are left with a chicken and egg situation – nobody will build significant infrastructure/ vehicles unless there is a dedicated market and there will be no market until there is the appropriate infrastructure. It is critical therefore that the public sector acts as the catalyst to kick start this process. 2.2.2 To address this very challenge, North Lanarkshire Council has now entered discussions with Scottish Power Energy Retails Limited (SPERL) to consider the possibility of delivering the largest EcoPark facility in the United Kingdom within the Council’s Bellshill complex. The intention of this EcoPark is to deliver over 40 electrical charging points and a permanent hydrogen fuelling station. This will also be augmented by the electrification of the adjacent new waste and fleet depot providing further electrical charging infrastructure. 2.2.3 Location of this facility at Bellshill will allow easy access from all the main arterial routes across Scotland – M8, M74 and A80. Discussions have already commenced with the blue light services within Lanarkshire to make them aware of the project and further talks will now commence with other public bodies, partners and neighbouring local authorities. In addition, and as detailed above, the facility will be opened to the private sector to encourage the switch from fossil to clean energy solutions as the net zero commitment from the Council applies across all business sectors within its area. The public sector cannot be seen to work in isolation with such projects and all public bodies should be assisting business to adapt and succeed in a sustainable way. 2.2.4 The EcoPark facility will also be supplemented by a smaller Green Hydrogen fuelling facility within the Council’s other main depot facility at Wardpark, Cumbernauld and again will allow the switch from diesel to Hydrogen for the HGV fleet based at this location. 2.2.5 Although discussions are still at an outline planning stage, it is the intention for this site to go live in spring/summer of 2024 and further updates on this project will be provided to Committee at future committee cycles. Page 111 of 168
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2.3 Dalmacoulter Landfill Facility 2.3.1 At present, the Council must negotiate contracts for the disposal and processing of its recyclable and bulky items on a regular basis. From previous tender processes, we are aware that many companies do not apply for these contracts or are ruled out from award of any tender due to them being uncompetitive as they are not based locally within North Lanarkshire, and the resulting transport costs for the material exclude them from any contract award on a cost basis. By providing a waste facility within the heart of the Council area we then remove this barrier for companies to apply for contracts as they would have a central base from which to collect the material. This in turn opens up the full potential of the marketplace to the Council for any future contracts which in turn will drive down the costs of our waste service to the benefit of the Council Tax payer. 2.3.2 In light of the above, and as previously reported, the Waste service applied for and was granted full planning permission for a material recovery facility (MRF) for the hardstanding area at former Dalmacoulter landfill site. It should be noted that this does not involve the treatment of any waste – simply the sorting and bulking of waste which is then sent for treatment at another plant. 2.3.3 The existing Dalmacoulter site brings in no income to the Council and the original intention was that the Council would enter into a long-term lease with a private contractor who would design, build and finance a material recovery facility (MRF) on the site. 2.3.4 Over the period of the planning application, several discussions have taken place with colleagues within the Council’s procurement team and a market engagement exercise undertaken. Although there does appear to be some appetite for such an arrangement from the external market, the complexities involved in the original proposal of granting a long-term lease for the site on a design, build and finance agreement would be such that would question the value of any such long-term contract. 2.3.5 In light of the above, a business case is now commencing to determine what the best option for the site would be. This will effectively consider three options: • Design, build, finance and operate by a private contractor; • Design, build, finance and operate by the Council; and • Market the land with the accompanying planning permission and deliver a capital receipt for the Council. The intention is to complete this business case by May of 2023 and an outcome from this reported to Committee. The potentially worst outcome would be to market the land which may then be purchased by a company already operating in the area to prevent any competition. If this risk was to be realised, then the Council would be in no worse a position but have sold off a previous liability for the Council for a capital receipt. 2.4 Wardpark Facility 2.4.1 The initial proposal was to locate the entire Waste and Fleet service at the Bellshill complex. However, after reviewing the two services, it was agreed that basing several refuse collection vehicles and ASN school buses within the Northern half of the council area would deliver a more efficient operation. This has now been delivered with the appropriate supporting welfare facilities etc. located within the Wardpark facility. Page 112 of 168
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2.4.2 With the longer-term future of this facility now secured, planning consent has now been achieved to operate the facility as a waste transfer station. This will allow the bulking of waste collected within the North area of the authority and reduce the number of vehicle movements to disposal outlets which may be remote from the point of collection. Similar to the arrangements being introduced across the recycling centres for Land Services this will introduce both operational and carbon savings for the service. 2.4.3 Work will now commence in line with the business case for the Dalmacoulter facility to determine how best to proceed with the development. Again, the timeline for the outcome of this will be in line with the business case for the Dalmacoulter site – May 2023 and the outcome from this will determine what additional waste management licencing will be required. 2.5 Solar Farms at Auchinlea and Dalmacoulter Landfill Sites 2.5.1 The Council is now engaging the services of a private consultant to determine the viability of the footprint of the closed landfill areas at Dalmacoulter and Auchinlea as potential solar farms. There are already existing grid connections at the sites so the costs associated with the establishment of any solar farm will be significantly reduced as it is the grid connection which very often determines the viability of such projects. Similar to above, the outcome from this assessment will be provided to Committee in the update report for this programme of work in May 2023. 2.6 Decarbonisation of Council Fleet 2.6.1 The depot rationalisation and new workshop detailed above will also enable adaptations to be made to meet our future requirements as we accelerate our move to decarbonise our fleet. Integral to this will be the introduction of appropriate infrastructure across all depot and office facilities to ensure sufficient power and charging points are available. 2.6.2 To date we have upgraded the power capacity at both the Bellshill and Wardpark depots and increased the number of charging points within most depot and office locations and the table below outlines the charging capacity that will be available by the end of this financial year (mix of rapid charging and standard charging). The numbers of charging points will continue to increase over the coming years to reflect the growing number of electric vehicles. Depot Location Number of Charging Points Bellshill 69* Ladyanne Depot, Airdrie 8 Netherton Recycling Centre, Wishaw 2 Reema Road Recycling Centre, Bellshill 4 Shotts Recycling Centre, Shotts 2 Stobcross Recycling Centre, Coatbridge 2 Wardpark Depot, Cumbernauld 18 Souterhouse Depot, Coatbridge 10 Civic Centre, Motherwell 15** Dalziel Building, Motherwell 4 Fleming House, Cumbernauld 4 Kildonan Street, Coatbridge 1 Page 113 of 168
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Albert Street, Motherwell 2 Canyon Road Depot, Wishaw 2 Strathclyde Country Park 12 Getting Better Together, Shotts 2 Total 157 *Will reduce to allow appropriate works within the Bellshill complex. **Includes 13 charging points which will be fitted over the coming 3 months. It should be noted that the above charging facilities are for the exclusive use of Council vehicles and the charging infrastructure in place for public use and access is being coordinated through colleagues within the Council’s Roads service. 2.6.3 The Council now has a vehicle replacement programme in place for all light commercial vehicles which will see us move in a graduated approach to an entire electric/ low emission fleet by 2027/28. The graph below provides an indication as to the way in which this will be achieved: 2.6.4 The move towards replacement of the heavy goods vehicles (HGV) in the Council fleet will be somewhat slower. The detail provided previously in this report outlines the reasons for this and the graph below shows the expected position of the HGV fleet provided that the Eco Hub facility is delivered as outlined above: Page 114 of 168
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Trade Waste 2.7 In line with the digital transformation of the service, the Service will now move to a complete online service for Trade Waste. This will allow all customers to register and print off their duty of care waste certificates electronically reducing the administration of the process to both the customer and Service. Although all existing customers have been contacted, only 100 have moved to the online system voluntarily. To ensure we deliver on this digital enhancement the Service will now contact all customers to advise that they have until 31st March 2023 to register online and if this is not completed then the Service will discontinue with the uplift service. We will provide regular reminders up until this date and provide assistance to any business requiring it. 3. Measures of success 3.1 The delivery of more efficient front-line services within North Lanarkshire and reduced financial and environmental costs associated with the delivery of these services. Andrew McPherson Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions Page 115 of 168
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality-and-fairer- scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Financial Solutions? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People and Organisational Development? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic Solutions? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Page 116 of 168
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Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for technology, has an assessment been carried out (or scheduled) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? As detailed in the report, the initiatives being taken forward will contribute towards the Council’s ambition of net zero by 2030. 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? Page 117 of 168
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Environment and Climate Change Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref AM/NP/VA/HA Date 09/11/22 PoW P025.1(2) update: Using Greenspace to Improve Health, Wellbeing, and Social Outcomes. From Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions E-mail mcphersona@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07939 280467 Executive Summary The report highlights the work undertaken in the last 12 months to improve health and wellbeing activity in Greenspaces, a key outcome for this element of the programme of work. Using Scottish Government Nature Recovery and Smarter Choices Smarter Places funding and one-off funds awarded to improve sustainability in parks the Community Greenspace and Greenspace Projects teams continue to deliver more accessible, more biodiverse spaces for the residents of North Lanarkshire and beyond to enjoy. The report also outlines work that has been achieved through the additional temporary staff resource, including the biodiversity enhancement of sites and large-scale public engagement projects. Some detail on upcoming projects to enhance the local greenspaces of North Lanarkshire is also provided. Recommendations It is recommended that the Environment and Climate Change committee: 1) Acknowledge the continued significant effort to improve health, wellbeing and social outcomes through effective use of our greenspace. 2) Recognise the planned investment this year across a further range of engagement exercises including participatory budgeting, and research into changing behaviours around active travel together with the delivery of further projects which will contribute to tackling the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change through investing in our greenspaces. 3) Recognise the impact these interventions can have on addressing inequalities in accessing greenspace The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve the health and wellbeing of our communities Ambition statement (15) Encourage the health and wellbeing of people through a range of social, cultural, and leisure activities AGENDA ITEM 11 Page 119 of 168
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1. Background 1.1 The Community Greenspace team, and more recently with the addition of the Greenspace Projects team, have for many years been proactive and extremely effective at securing external funding to enhance delivery of important projects in our local greenspaces. 1.2 The council has been part of one of four pilot Green Health partnerships across Scotland focused on how better cross-sector co-ordination can bring forward approaches to increasing physical activity and improving mental health through engagement with the natural environment. 1.3 A recent report from Public Health Scotland (July 2022) reports that socio-economic inequality in relation to use of greenspace increased during the pandemic. Data from the University of Glasgow shows greater rises in reported use of greenspace among more advantaged groups than disadvantaged. The report concluded that ‘People who used greenspaces during the pandemic reported positive benefits, particularly for their mental health and wellbeing. However, not everyone experienced these benefits equally. While many people’s use of greenspace increased, some people, including those that did not have access to a garden or shared outdoor space at home, did not access or use parks and other public greenspaces.’ 1.4 It is clear that we have to continue to focus on how we can reduce this inequality through both improving physical access, but also in increasing community confidence and familiarity with utilising this major council asset. 1.5 This report provides a brief overview of how some of the money secured both internally and externally has been used to deliver towards PoW 25.1 (2) using greenspace to improve health, wellbeing and social outcomes over the last 12 months. 2. Report Nature Restoration Fund 2021/22 £369k and 2022/23 £274k 2.1 In 2021/22 we received this funding as a part of the Scottish Government’s wider £500m investment in Scotland’s natural environment. These funds support projects that will help to deliver nature restoration, safeguard wildlife, and tackle the causes of biodiversity loss due to climate change. 2.2 In North Lanarkshire the investment from 2021/22 was used over a wide variety of projects to enhance biodiversity and improve conditions in local areas, including: • The introduction of areas of wilfdlower and hedgerow enhancement as part of bigger access projects in urban areas; • A feasibility study into 'no mow' projects across our 3 country parks, which will inform best practice and techniques for future planned projects following the outcome of these trials. • A contribution to a large-scale river restoration project at Dumbreck Marsh LNR with SEPA as partners. • A contribution to the removal and treatment of Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) • Restoration of a key native woodland link. 2.3 In 2022/23 the planned spend has begun and includes: Page 120 of 168
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• £50k investment to deliver projects chosen through a North Lanarkshire wide participatory budgeting exercise to encourage our communities to make suggestions for projects to improve biodiversity and recovery of nature in their local spaces. • A catchment wide project to manage invasive species in Kilsyth (with opportunities and access to training for local people to assist in future maintenance). • A project proposing to create new ponds (at investigation stage) at: Newarthill & Hillrigg and undertake pond restoration works (large scale works) at Perchy Pond (Greenhead Moss Local Nature Reserve (LNR)) and St Maurice’s pond (LNR); and smaller scale works at the dipping pond at Strathcylde Country Park; the curling pond at Colzium Lennox Estate and 3 smaller ponds at Riccard Johnstone. • Planting of 2 avenues of trees (for the Queen’s Green Canopy project) • Enhancement tree planting at the Dalzell Estate Arboretum • A project to enhance our town parks through the introduction of biodiversity meadows. • A contribution to a bog restoration project in Cumbernauld, also drawing in funds through the Peatland Action programme administered by Nature Scot. 2.4 Scottish Government have indicated that this fund will continue for a further three years at a similar level. In 2023/24 we intend to build on the participatory budgeting approach to further engage communities with nature recovery and are hopeful that we can fund a greater number of projects next financial year. Smarter Choices Smarter Places 2.5 Between September and November 2021 over 13,300 North Lanarkshire residents took part in a game that was designed to embed behaviour change in relation to active travel choices with the people who take part. The initiative was funded by Smarter Choices Smarter Places - Scottish Government funding received from Paths for All to be used to encourage more people to reduce their car use in favour of more sustainable travel choices (walking, cycling, wheeling and public transport). 2.6 Participants registered to earn points by tapping a card on a beatbox that allocated those points to a team (often a school but can be a community team). The beatboxes were spaced 0.5miles apart and participants must travel on foot, by bike or scoot between the boxes to score points for their team. Healthy encouragement was provided by way of prizes to be won at the end of the 6-week game period. There were several themes to encourage participants to visit new places and try new routes throughout the game period. This game included beatbox locations around Bellshill, Motherwell, Newmains, Shotts and the surrounding area and 48 primary schools took part. 2.7 Surveys from after the game period showed that there was a 7% decrease in adult participants reporting inactivity and there was a 5% increase in children walking to school daily. This is one of several Beat the Street games that have taken place in North Lanarkshire over the last 10 years and this year we are using Smarter Choices Smarter Places funding to evaluate their effectiveness. The research will provide data on what other activities or interventions we may be able to introduce to further reduce the reliance on the car, particularly for shorter journeys and how we can improve the equity of access to those opportunities in the areas of North Lanarkshire with the highest levels of deprivation and where communities have shown not to engage with Page 121 of 168
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active travel programmes in the past. Some focus for potential new interventions will be on the location of proposed hubs across North Lanarkshire. One off Funding – additional Countryside Rangers 2.8 In March 2021 Nature Scot made available funding to support visitor management at hot spot locations. The funding was made available due to the realisation of the importance that local greenspaces had played in people’s lives throughout lockdown. Appointment of 2 Assistant (seasonal) Countryside Rangers took place for temporary posts to October 2021, then were successfully extended to March 2022. 2.9 These posts have subsequently been extended to the end of March 2023 with 2 further posts also possible through one off funding being made available to further support the work that these posts have being undertaking. 2.10 Specific duties that have been supported through this additional resource have included: • Providing additional site stewardship visits to ensure a welcome environment for visitors and to monitor the impact that visitors have in our local greenspaces. Stewardship takes place at our 10 designated Local Nature Reserves and another 20 priority sites throughout the council area. • Assisting in the delivery of the Outdoor Education Programme at Strathclyde Country Park, providing a bushcraft activity for all the P7 children attending the programme. Additional staffing allowed the service to expand provision as Education increased the numbers of children taking part in the programme. • Assisting in the provision of the Branching Out initiative, which was particularly important following the impacts of the pandemic on people’s mental health. • Providing a renewed Greenspace diary of events for the public to be involved in throughout the autumn of 2021 and the spring and summer of 2022. • Assisting in the running of regular Countryside Ranger led volunteering programmes at 3 sites across the area. Lanarkshire Green Health Partnership 2.11 The Get Walking Lanarkshire Health walk programme continues to deliver a weekly programme of over 30 health walks, with additional specific walks for people living with or affected by cancer, those living with or affected by dementia and we offer walks with British Sign Language for deaf people and their families. One of our walking groups recently won “Paths for All’s Ian Findlay Outstanding Achievement Award 2022”. The project has also trained 11 new walk leaders between May and July 2022, and now supports 2661 walkers on a regular basis. 2.12 The partnership is also working to deliver improvement projects and during 2021 embedded green health within the Lanarkshire Weight Management Service to tighten links to other opportunities within NHS Lanarkshire. 2.13 Smaller projects that the partnership have supported recently include the delivery of a dementia friendly garden on Airbles Road and an investment in a community garden at King George V Park, Wishaw. 2.14 The Open Space audit and strategy will help us better focus interventions close to communities that will most benefit from them. We will also work with NHSL Lanarkshire to apply Health Inequalities Impact Assessment to Greenspace improvement projects to ensure we are targeting them effectively. Page 122 of 168
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3. Measures of success 3.1 Increased numbers of people accessing Wellbeing activities in parks (including Get Walking Lanarkshire, Branching Out, Greenspace Diary activities). 3.2 Continued success in drawing in external funding to support greenspace projects in country parks and open spaces. Andrew McPherson Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions Page 123 of 168
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality-and-fairer- scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Financial Solutions? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People and Organisational Development? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic Solutions? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 124 of 168
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Where the impact identifies a requirement for technology, has an assessment been carried out (or scheduled) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Many of the projects mentioned help to reduce the impacts of climate change by enhancing biodiversity in our local greenspaces. 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? Page 125 of 168
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Environment and Climate Change Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref AMcP/JA Date 09/11/22 Amey Public Services LLP: Operational and Financial Performance Monitoring Report for 01 October 2021 to 30 September 2022 and Financial Performance to 31 July 2022 From Andrew McPherson, Head of Waste and Regulatory Services E-mail mcphersona@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 01236 638575 Executive Summary This report outlines Amey Public Services (APS) Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) performance against its’ business objectives and council priorities for the period October 2021 to September 2022 and its’ financial performance to 31 July 2022 Recommendations It is recommended that the Environment and Climate Change Committee (1) Acknowledge APS LLP’s operational performance up to 30 September 2022, along with service delivery highlights over the past 12 months. (2) Acknowledge APS LLP’s financial performance at 31 July 2022 The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve North Lanarkshire's resource base Ambition statement (17) Ensure we keep our environment clean, safe, and attractive AGENDA ITEM 12 Page 127 of 168
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Background 1.1 The council created the roads, street lighting and winter maintenance services LLP in 2010, following a tender exercise for a strategic partner to deliver such services over a ten year period. The successful bidders were Amey Local Government Limited and the contract commenced on 14 December 2010. Amey LG Ltd (now Amey Public Services LLP) owns a 67% shareholding in the strategic partnership with the council owning the remaining 33%. 1.2 A Management Committee consisting of representatives from both APS and North Lanarkshire Council is responsible for the LLP’s governance, which includes operational delivery and management, staffing, financial control and reporting, health and safety, performance monitoring and risk management. The Management Committee meets quarterly, with council representation consisting of one senior officer and one Elected Member, and APS LLP membership comprising up to four representatives. 1.3 As per the Works Agreement, service reviews required to be carried out jointly at year 4 and 8 of the strategic partnership. The former Planning and Transportation Committee considered the findings of the Year 4 review and approved the requirement for the council to continue working with APS LLP to identify opportunities for the business to establish a stable financial position. 1.4 The Year 8 review commenced in July 2018 with the outcome initially reported to the former Infrastructure Committee in November 2018, but then carried forward to former Policy and Resources Committee in December 2018. The review recommended that the Head of Environmental Assets conduct a market testing exercise to identify whether amending some of the existing contract rates and prices for a term beyond June 2021 will be more beneficial to the council than ceasing the contract at its natural termination date. 1.5 The result of the market testing demonstrated that amending APS LLP rates provides value for money and recommended that the contract be extended for a period up to June 2024. The extension to the contract was reported to and approved by the former Environment and Transportation Committee in August 2019. 2. Report 2.1 This report confirms where Amey Public Services LLP are fulfilling its contractual obligations and meeting the council’s service delivery expectations, as well as providing information from Financial Solutions on financial performance and overall financial standing within the company. This information will help give early warning of any financial risks which may give rise to operational or reputational risks for the council. Performance Indicators 2.2 Operational and financial performance is reported to this Committee after it has been considered by the Amey Management Committee. This provides Management Committee representatives with the opportunity to address any issues which require attention and thereafter, allows this Committee to receive the updated position, including any remedial actions where these may be required, that are being implemented. Page 128 of 168
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2.3 Operational and financial performance is reported to this Committee after it has been considered by the Amey Management Committee. This provides Management Committee representatives with the opportunity to address any issues which require attention and thereafter, allows this Committee to receive the updated position, including any remedial actions where these may be required, that are being implemented. 2.4 The outcomes from the 2021-22 and the forecast for 2022-23 performance indicators are detailed within appendix 1. Best Value Efficiency Saving (BVES) 2.5 The first 10 years of the contract makes provision for the contractor to provide the council with a BVES. This payment was set out at the time of tender and was a percentage of cost delivered through the contract. The BVES was then added to the road’s revenue budget as an income and reinvested in road maintenance activities. 2.6 The contract is now in the extension period, and this means the contractor is no longer contractually required to provide the BVES. In financial terms, based on the average BVES for the first 10 years of the contract this will result in a £313,000 budget reduction and therefore a reduction in road maintenance activities. Overview of Governance Arrangements 2.7 APS LLP largely satisfies the council’s required oversight arrangements, and routinely submits the monitoring information expected by council officers in line with the timeframes specified within the LLP Agreement. Comments, Compliments and Complaints 2.8 During this period APS received no complaints. Service Delivery Highlights 2.9 The following service delivery highlights were achieved during this period:- • APS maintained its excellent H&S record over the period with 1 RIDDORS, 0 Lost time injuries and 4 Non-Lost Time Injuries. • Completion of phase 3 of the Loaning road safety scheme. • Completion of an active travel route including footpath widening, lighting and island installation works. • Completion of traffic calming scheme at Chapelhall. • Commencement of the delivery of a junction improvement scheme at the A71 Horsley Brae which includes complex works including piling and service diversions. • Completed junction improvements at Panther Drive • Continued with the LED replacement programme, nearing completion or residential areas and commenced main road work. • Completed the carriageway resurfacing programme. • Commenced bus infrastructure improvements, improving accessibility. 2.10 APS staff have also undertaken a number of activities in support of the local and wider community:- Page 129 of 168
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• Amey staff collected four van loads of donations from Tesco supermarkets in Cumbernauld and transported them to the local foodbank. • Amey staff undertook works at St. Mary’s Primary School in Cumbernauld constructing two reading sheds and re-barking an area of ground. Business Development 2.11 A key aim of the contract is to encourage business development. During this period APS were successful in the following. • Successful in its tender for East Renfrewshire Council: Lighting Maintenance contract 2021-2024, which has a one-year extension option to 2025. • Completed works for other Amey business units such as o Layby construction works –A78 Finlaystone o Lighting works –A78 defects; M77 and M80 signpoles and lighting; A77/A78 roundabouts. Financial Impact Public Accountability Obligations – Financial year 2022/23 2.12 To satisfy the council’s duty to ensure the organisation delivering roads, street lighting and winter services on its behalf is financially sound, the council’s Section 95 Officer maintains appropriate and proportionate processes and procedures for scrutinising APS LLP’s financial performance. 2.13 The council’s Legal Agreements with APS LLP specify the financial information which the company must submit to the council including an annual business plan, monthly management accounts, audited financial statements etc., to enable Financial Solutions to assess and report any financial risk likely to arise as a result of the council using APS LLP to deliver these services. 2.14 The Council expends both revenue and capital resources annually with APS LLP to deliver services which assist the Council in achieving its priority outcomes. For the Councils financial year 2022-23, sums of £10.964m and £13.971m were budgeted in respect of revenue and capital respectively for roads and lighting maintenance. APS operates a financial year ending 31 December 2022 and revises its forecast twice throughout the year. Based on APS revised forecast (RF1), works from the Council represent around 94% of annual anticipated net turnover. Financial Performance as at 31st July 2022 2.15 The financial statements presented in Appendix 2 are based on the Reforecast Budget 1 position which takes cognisance of known movements from the approved 2022 budget shown in Appendix 3. 2.16 Based on their financial statements to 31st July 2022, members will wish to note the LLP is reporting a year-to-date accounting profit of £0.091m, which is a £0.058m favourable variance to the RF1 forecast profit of £0.033m. Appendix 2 provides further details regarding the LLP’s financial position, as well as commentary to explain the key variances reported. Page 130 of 168
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2.17 Although the contract provides scope for the Council to receive dividends from this partnership agreement, the cumulative negative trading position evidenced in the balance sheet means the LLP has not yet had an opportunity to declare any dividends. 2.18 In return for satisfactory service delivery and effective financial performance through the LLP, Amey Local Government Limited is entitled to receive a management fee which comprises both fixed and variable elements and is partially linked to level of works delivered through the contract. However, the payment of the management fee is dependent upon generation of cumulative profits and given the LLP currently has cumulative net liabilities, the management committee has agreed that no management fee is payable for 2022. Overall Financial Standing – Balance Sheet as at 31st July 2022 2.19 Appendix 3 provides key balances to give members an update on the overall financial standing of the company, as at 31st July 2022, along with the previous year’s comparator figures. Key balances and indicators worthy of specific note include: a. As a result of previous year losses, the company has cumulative net liabilities of (£6.016m), an improvement on the previous year position of £0.167m which primarily reflects the 2021 accounting profit. b. A comparison of the LLP’s current assets to its current liabilities equates to a net current asset of £1.988m and a current ratio of 2.03. A ratio of less than 1 is generally an indication of an organisation having insufficient resources to meet its obligations. therefore in this instance 2.03 indicates that the LLP has a strong current asset position. However as detailed in section 2.17 (d) the company has a significant long term liability balance resulting in the net liability position overall. c. The cumulative losses over a number of years have had a material impact on cash balances therefore cash should continue to be closely monitored to ensure the LLP can meet its obligations in terms of salaries, creditors and HMRC payments etc. The LLP have current cash forecasts of £1.199m. d. The LLP has a long-term liability balance of (£8.004m), which predominantly reflects loan support (£6,252m) provided by the parent company Amey LG to enable the LLP to continue delivering services. Currently, there are no expectations that any additional loan support will be required in 2022. In recognising the LLP is largely dependent upon the support received from the parent company, officers from Financial Solutions regularly obtain assurances from the LLP and Amey LG regarding their continued loan support. Approved Budget 2022 2.20 In line with Amey group timelines, the 2022 approved budget had been prepared by the LLP, and indicates a budgeted accounting surplus position of £0.559m on turnover of £17.606m. Based on APS budget, works from the Council represent around 87% of annual anticipated net income. Appendix 4 provides further details on the approved budget and commentary to explain the key movements. Page 131 of 168
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3. Measures of success 3.1 These reports are intended to give Members an insight into how the LLP is performing and where it is supporting delivery or adding value to the council’s priorities. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 The following appendices support this report:- Appendix 1 Performance Indicators & Outcomes Appendix 2 Financial Performance as at 31 July 2022 Appendix 3 Overall Financial Standing as at 31 July 2022 Appendix 4 Approved Budget – 2022 Andrew McPherson Head of Regulatory Services & Waste Solutions Page 132 of 168
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality-and-fairer- scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Financial Solutions? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People and Organisational Development? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic Solutions? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 133 of 168
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Where the impact identifies a requirement for technology, has an assessment been carried out (or scheduled) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? Page 134 of 168
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Appendix 1 Performance Service Area Target Outcome/Purpose 2021/22 Actual 2022/23 Target 2022/23 Actual Comments Improve economic opportunities and outcomes OBJECTIVE: Improve infrastructure to help current and incoming businesses to grow and create employment, help current and incoming businesses to grow and create employment Street Lighting Activities To enable vulnerable people to feel safe in their local area 97.91% 95% 97.50 This performance target includes measures related to: Works Outstanding, Works Quality, Dispute Resolution, Dark Street Lamps & Works Registration Compliance (SRWR). Roads Works Activities Contribute to the long-term economic sustainability of North Lanarkshire 90.02% 95% 93.57 This performance target includes measures related to: Works Outstanding, Works Quality, Dispute Resolution & Road Works Registration Compliance (SRWR). General Performance Contribute to the long-term economic sustainability of North Lanarkshire 90.78% 95% Not available This performance target includes: Reinstatement Compliance, Remedial Works Compliance, Prompt Payment to Suppliers, Public Complaints & Health and Safety Compliance. OBJECTIVE: : Improving North Lanarkshire’s resource base BVES efficiencies To positively support the partnership, deliver efficiencies to the Schedule of Rates payable via the works agreement £277,697.59 (2019 BVES) N/A No longer applies to contract There is no target for BVES as this is calculated as a percentage of annual spend. The BVES is paid to NLC annually (based on calendar year spend). Street Lighting Activities – Performance has remained like previous year and exceeds the minimum target of 95%. Road Works Activities and General Performance – Performance has improved recently and is slightly below the target of 95% however this does not pose any real concerns and we continue to work with APS to meet the set targets. BVES efficiencies – The value of BVES returned to the council has reduced slightly when compared to previous years this is a result of the BVES only being applicable to part year. It should be noted that the contract is now within the three-year extension period and as such BVES no longer applies, this therefore results in a loss of income to the council and a reduction in investment in road maintenance as a result which could have been in the region of £313,000 based on the average throughout the contract, although this varies depending on the annual spend through the contract. Page 135 of 168
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Appendix 2 Financial Performance as at 31 July 2022 2022 2022 Year to Date 2021 Commentary Annual Forecast (RF1) Revised Forecast (RF1) Actual Variance Provisional Outturn £m £m £m £m £m Income from NLC 16.898 10.459 10.851 0.392 8.951 Revenue & capital funding Strategy WIP (net of provision) 0.454 0.454 0.454 0.000 2.134 Write down strategy to 2021 Other 3rd party income 1.068 0.700 0.700 0.000 0.440 Other clients inc. other local authorities Total Income 18.420 11.614 12.006 0.392 11.525 Additional income due to increased NLC capital works and support to Amey group works Expenditure; Employee costs (7.392) (4.446) (3.949) 0.496 (3.486) Reduced employee costs Sub-contractor costs (2.343) (1.878) (1.969) (0.091) (2.123) Increased costs due to utilising sub-contractors for increased works undertaken Materials (3.710) (2.631) (3.052) (0.421) (3.057) Increased costs associated with sourcing of materials and inflation Plant & Vehicle costs (3.520) (2.157) (2.470) (0.313) (2.036) Increased plant hire costs to support increased works undertaken Property, Communications & Other (0.777) (0.470) (0.474) (0.004) (0.337) Total resources expended (17.742) (11.581) (11.915) (0.334) (11.039) Trading profit/(loss) 0.679 0.032 0.091 0.058 0.486 Amey Public Services LLP Income & expenditure Page 136 of 168
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Appendix 3 Amey Public Services LLP Overall Financial Standing - Balance Sheet as at 31 July 2022 Balances/ Indicator 2022 YTD Actual Commentary 2021 2022 Movement £m £m £m Stock 0.516 Primarily materials and salt 0.547 (0.031) Trade Debtors 0.076 Predominately inter-company balances 0.091 (0.015) Accrued Debtors inc. prepayments 2.482 Predominantly work in progress, VAT and inter-compaany balances 1.787 0.695 Trade Creditors (0.803) Material balance which Amey aim to pay within agreed terms of 60 days (0.577) (0.226) Other Creditors inc. VAT & other taxes (1.125) Accruals and deferred income (1.560) 0.434 Cash/ Bank 0.842 0.895 (0.053) Net Current Assets/ (Liabilities) 1.988 1.184 0.805 Long term Loans (8.004) Predominantly parent company loan of £6.252m and payroll costs to group of £1.753m. (7.367) (0.638) Contract Loss Provision 0.000 0.000 0.000 Net Asset / (Liabilities) (6.016) (6.183) 0.167 Page 137 of 168
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Appendix 4 Approved Budget - 2022 2021 2022 Commentary 2021 Annual Forecast (RF1) Budget Movement 2022 v 2021 Provisional Outturn £m £m £m £m Income from NLC 14.180 14.568 0 Revenue & capital funding 8.951 Strategy WIP (net of provision) 1.875 0.750 (1) Write down strategy to 2024 2.134 Other 3rd party income 0.844 2.287 1 Other clients inc. other local authorities 0.440 Total Income 16.899 17.606 0.706 11.525 Expenditure; Employee costs (6.118) (8.352) (2.235) Decreased staffing costs reflecting utilisation to deliver agreed programmes of works combined with a reduction relating to reclassification of vehicle costs (3.486) Sub-contractor costs (1.149) (0.914) 0.235 Decreased expenditure due to reduced utilisation of sub- contractors on contract works (2.123) Materials (5.274) (4.062) 1.212 Decreased expenditure due to profile/mix of programmes of works for year (3.057) Plant & Vehicle costs (3.164) (3.011) 0.153 Increased expenditure on plant and vehicles maintenance (2.036) Property, Communications & Other (0.699) (0.707) (0.009) Minor movement (0.337) Total resources expended (16.403) (17.047) (0.644) (11.039) Trading profit/(loss) 0.496 0.559 0.062 0.486 Contract Provisions 0.606 0.000 (0.606) Contract provisions fully accounted for in P&L 0.000 Net profit/(loss) 1.102 0.559 (0.544) 0.486 Amey Public Services LLP Income & expenditure Page 138 of 168
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Environment and Climate Change Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref: AM/LO Date: 09 November 2022 Contract Award for Supply and Delivery of Household Waste Bins From Andrew McPherson, Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions E-mail mcphersona@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07939 280467 Executive Summary Environment and Climate Change Committee (the “Committee”) is asked to approve the award of a contract for Supply and Delivery of Household Waste Bins (the ‘Contract’) to SSI Schaefer Limited. The Contract is for an initial period of 36 months and anticipated to commence on 28 November 2022. The Council reserves the right to extend the Contract for additional periods up to a maximum of a further 24 months. The value of the Contract shall not exceed £1,500,000.00 (One Million, Five Hundred Thousand Pounds Sterling) exclusive of VAT. The value of the Contract is pertinent to demand therefore the Contract will end either when the maximum value is met or when the term of the Contract expires, whichever comes first. Recommendations It is recommended that Committee: • Approves the award of the Contract for the Supply and Delivery of Household Waste Bins to SSI Schaefer Limited. at the maximum value of £1,500,000.00 (One Million, Five Hundred Thousand Pounds Sterling) exclusive of VAT. This recommendation follows the completion of a procurement procedure, where the tender recommended for award has been evaluated as providing the most economically advantageous tender in terms of cost and quality for the Council. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve the health and wellbeing of our communities Ambition Statement (17) Ensure we keep our environment clean, safe, and attractive AGENDA ITEM 13 Page 139 of 168
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1. Background 1.1 The Council has a statutory obligation to provide households with wheeled bins to dispose and recycle their household waste. Waste Solutions provides households with three different recycling bins (Paper / Card, Glass, Metal & Plastics & Food / Garden) to enable them to recycle their recyclable household waste materials and a general waste bin to enable them to dispose of their general refuse. 1.2 In 2021-22, the Council ordered 13,828 household wheeled bins to enable continuous delivery of its four residential waste disposal / recycling streams. 1.3 The Council provides its three types of recycling bins free of charge to residents however residents are charged for general waste bins. 1.4 The requirements within the Contract have been procured on an ad-hoc basis from various generations of “Recycle and Refuse Containers” framework agreements developed and implemented by Scotland Excel. Requirements have been purchased on an ongoing basis and the Contract will formalise and streamline future demand and purchasing arrangements. 2. Report 2.1 A user intelligence group (the ‘UIG’) of technical and procurement representatives was formed to review technical specifications, discuss trading processes, market conditions and trends, ways to maximise community benefits and sustainability and to agree the procurement strategy that would deliver maximum benefit for the Council via the Contract. 2.2 The initial estimated value of the Contract dictated that the procurement procedure be undertaken in accordance with the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015. 2.3 The procurement procedure was undertaken as a “Direct Award” from the Scotland Excel framework agreement for Recycle and Refuse Containers (0721), Lot 1 – 2 Wheeled Bins (the “Framework”). 2.4 The Contract award recommendation is made following analysis undertaken by benchmarking current rates from suppliers appointed to the Framework against the Council’s annual usage figures from 2021, quality scores obtained by suppliers appointed to the Framework and compliance with the Council’s specification. Accordingly, the Contract award recommendation is made following a direct award call-off procedure (as permitted within the Framework) to the supplier determined to be the most economically advantageous following this benchmarking analysis undertaken. 2.5 It is recommended that the Contract is awarded to SSI Schaefer Limited. 2.6 Further details of the procurement procedure are provided in Appendix 1 and 2. 2.7 The Contract is for an initial period of 36 months anticipated to commence on 28 November 2022. The Council reserves the right to extend the Contract for additional periods up to a maximum of a further 24 months. Page 140 of 168
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2.8 The value of the Contract shall not exceed £1,500,000.00 (One Million, Five Hundred Thousand Pounds Sterling) exclusive of VAT. The value of the Contract is pertinent to demand therefore the Contract will end either when the maximum value is met or when the term of the Contract expires, whichever comes first. 2.9 The costs associated with contract delivery will be contained within the revenue budget for Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions with some costs offset by resident charges for general waste bins. Price Savings / Increases 2.9 Within the pre-tender benchmarking analysis, proceeding with SSI Schaefer Limited on a direct award basis indicated a circa 14% cost avoidance saving against the next ranked supplier utilising their Framework rates. Within the direct award procurement procedure, a further 0.80% (circa £3,000 per annum) cash saving was received following reduction of rates submitted by SSI Schaefer Limited within their tender against their Framework rates. Price Stability 2.10 Rates received shall be firm for the initial 12-months of the Contract. Subsequent to that initial period, there is provision within the Contract for SSI Schaefer Limited to request an annual review of their submitted rates, however, these will require to be no greater than the current National Retail Price Index. It will be at the sole discretion of the Council whether to accept or reject any pricing amendments proposed. Community Benefits 2.11 The Council is committed to maximising the delivery of community benefits. The procurement included a community benefit requirement, this approach is designed to deliver local community benefits where possible. 2.12 Within their tender, SSI Schaefer Limited committed to deliver the following community benefits within the Contract: Community Benefit Type Quantity Committed Financial Support for a Community Project / Organisation 1 2.13 The community benefit delivered as part of the Contract does not include the creation of jobs or apprenticeships. Fair Work First 2.14 Within their tender submission and to gain entry to the Framework, SSI Schaefer Limited demonstrated a number of fair working practices within their organisation. Page 141 of 168
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Contract Strategy 2.15 Officers from Waste Solutions will be responsible for managing the Contract which will be undertaken in accordance with the Council’s agreed approach to contract and supplier management. 3. Measures of success The Contract will deliver the following outcomes: 3.1 The appointment of a supplier who has the experience and capability to deliver a high quality service for the Council’s waste bin provision that will deliver the minimum demand expectations of the Contract; 3.2 The Contract award procedure is compliant with the procurement legislation and internal procedures; 3.3 That best value is both demonstrable and achieved; 3.4 That the Contract secures a community benefit; 3.5 That the Contract performance shall be proactively managed to ensure high performance, consistency and demand expectations are met; and 3.6 A collaborative approach to the procurement of the requirements, minimising the burden on internal resource and leveraging the economies of scale. 4. Supporting documents Appendix 1 Summary of Procurement Process Appendix 2 SME Status and Location of All Tenderers Andrew McPherson Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions Page 142 of 168
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.2 Financial Impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Financial Solutions? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The Council has a statutory obligation to provide households with wheeled bins to dispose and recycle their household waste. Accordingly, the requirements of the Contract are accounted for within existing revenue budgets for Waste Solutions. 5.3 HR Policy Impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.4 Legal Impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.5 Data Protection Impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.6 Technology / Digital Impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon Impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Page 143 of 168
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Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.8 Communications Impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.9 Risk Impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? Appropriate contract monitoring shall be undertaken to ensure full compliance with the terms of the Contract. Page 144 of 168
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Appendix 1 – Summary of Procurement Process Response Procurement Procedure Utilised: Direct Award Governing Legislation / Regulations: Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 Date Contract Strategy Approved: 07 September 2022 Date ITT Published: 08 September 2022 Number of Companies Invited to Take Part: 1 Tender Return Deadline: 21 September 2022 Number of Tenders Received: 1 Where Only One Tender Is Received, Why? Direct Award – Only One Company Invited to Participate in the Procedure Tenders Received from SME’s: 0 Tenders Received from NLC Based Tenderers: 0 Number of Non−compliant Tenders: 0 Number of Compliant Tenders: 1 Number of Recommended Tenderers: 1 Evaluation Team: Officers from Waste Solutions, Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions Anticipated Contract Start Date: 28 November 2022 Total Contract Period (Months): 36 + 12 + 12 Maximum Total Contract Value: £1,500,000.00 Page 145 of 168
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Appendix 2 – SME Status and location of all Tenderers Name of Tenderer Size of Tendering Organisation (Micro, Small, Medium or Large) Location (Local Authority / Council Area) SSI Schaefer Limited Large Hampshire Page 146 of 168
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Environmental and Climate Change Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref: NLC-CPT-22-036 Date: 09 November 2022 Procurement of the Provision of the Recycling & Treatment of Kerbside Collected Glass, Metal & Plastics From Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions E-mail mcphersona@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07939 280467 Executive Summary The Environment and Climate Change Committee (the “Committee”) is asked to acknowledge the variation / modification to the current contract for the Recycling & Treatment of Glass, Metal & Plastics and to approve the award of a new contract for the Recycling & Treatment of Kerbside Collected Glass, Metal & Plastics (the ‘Contract’) to Levenseat Limited. The modification to the current contract was undertaken in accordance with regulation 72 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 to extend the originally tendered term of the Contract to allow the re-procurement process to be undertaken. The award of the new Contract is for an initial period of 36 months anticipated to commence on 16 January 2023. The Council reserves the right to extend the Contract for additional periods up to a maximum of a further 24 months in two 12-month periods. This Contract will generate an income to the Council of approximately £1,833,544.38 over the 5 year period. Recommendations It is recommended that Committee: • acknowledge the decision taken by the Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions to apply a modification to the current contract; and • approve the award of the new Contract to Levenseat Limited with the Contract generating approximately £1,833,544.38 of income over the 5 year period. The recommendations follow processes undertaken in accordance with the relevant internal procedures and procurement regulations with the award of the new Contract recommended AGENDA ITEM 14 Page 147 of 168
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to the tenderer that has been evaluated as providing the most economically advantageous tender in terms of cost and quality for the Council. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve economic opportunities and outcomes Ambition Statement (17) Ensure we keep our environment clean, safe, and attractive Page 148 of 168
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1. Background 1.1 The Council is responsible for the receipt, segregation, recycling, treatment and disposal of glass, metal & plastics collected via its kerbside refuse collection service. Circa 18,000 tonnes of glass, metal & plastics is collected via the Council’s kerbside collection service for recycling annually. 1.2 The kerbside collection of glass, metal & plastics is one of several services operated by the Council’s Waste Solutions team and compliments the weekly domestic kerbside collection services and household waste recycling centres that are strategically located throughout North Lanarkshire. 1.3 The current contract, approved for award by the Policy & Resources Committee on 21 June 2017, commenced on 01 October 2017 and was due to expire on 30 September 2022 following expiration of all extension periods permitted. 1.4 The Council intended to commence a new contract award procedure to re-procure requirements of the Contract before it was due to initially expire. However, due to a review of market conditions given their volatility, and an appraisal to identify and better understand the application of a new pricing model in the re-procurement process that could potentially enable an income to the Council rather than an expenditure, the re- procurement procedure was late in commencing. 1.5 To enable continuity of the Council’s glass, metal & plastics collection service between the period when the current contract was due to expire and when the new Contract was due to commence, action was taken to extend the current contract to cover this period. 1.6 In accordance with condition 38 of the Council’s General Contract Standing Orders, advice was requested from the Head of Asset and Procurement Solutions and the Head of Legal and Democratic Services to proceed with the variation via Regulation 72 of the Public Contract (Scotland) Regulations 2015 (the “Regulations”). 1.7 Following dialogue with Corporate Procurement and Legal Services, and receipt of associated advice from the Head of Asset and Procurement Solutions and the Head of Legal and Democratic Services as per above, the Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions progressed with modifying the Contract in accordance with Regulation 72(1)(e) of the Regulations as the modification was determined to not be substantial as per the conditions listed within the Regulations. 1.8 Accordingly, the current contract term was extended by a further three and a half months to 15 January 2023 by way of varying / modifying the Contract. Applying this modification to the current contract ensured continuity of service for the Council’s kerbside collected glass, metal & plastics collection service until such time as the new Contract was approved for award and implemented. 1.9 Following communication with the incumbent provider, they agreed to the proposed extension to the current contract through the modification proposed. The incumbent provider also confirmed their agreement to continuing with the original terms and conditions of the current contract whilst also confirming that their existing rates would continue to be applied. Page 149 of 168
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1.10 The value of the current contract modification is not expected to exceed Two Hundred and Thirty Thousand Pounds Sterling (£230,000.00) exclusive of VAT. The costs associated with modification will be contained within the Waste Solutions revenue budget for 2022/23. 1.11 Committee is being notified of the action taken by the Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions to modify the current contract in accordance with conditions 15.3 and 15.4 of the Council’s Financial Regulations. 2. Report 2.1 For the new Contract, a user intelligence group (the ‘UIG’) of technical and procurement representatives was formed to review technical specifications, discuss trading processes, market conditions and trends, appraisal of pricing approach, ways to maximise community benefits and sustainability, and to agree the procurement strategy that would deliver maximum benefit for the Council via the Contract. 2.2 The identified procurement procedure (route to market) dictated that the procurement procedure be undertaken in accordance with the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015. 2.3 The procurement procedure was undertaken as a “Mini Competition” from the Scotland Excel Treatment and Disposal of Recyclable and Residual Waste (27/17) Dynamic Purchasing System, Lot 1 - Co-Mingled Mixed Recyclate. 2.4 The Contract award recommendation is made on the basis of the tenderer who submitted the most economically advantageous tender. 2.5 The tender submitted by Levenseat Limited has been evaluated as representing the most economically advantageous tender for this Contract. 2.6 Appendix 1 confirms the scoring achieved by each tenderer, further details of the procurement procedure is provided in Appendix 2 and the SME status and location of all tenderers is located within Appendix 3. 2.7 Any costs associated with contract delivery will be contained within the revenue budgets for Waste Solutions. Price Savings / Increases 2.8 This Contract has moved from an expenditure of circa £580,000 per annum to generating an income to the Council of approximately £1,833,544.38 over the 5-year Contract term. This is due to waste materials collected from Council residents holding substantive value which is sold on by Levenseat Limited at profit to third-parties for recycling. Accordingly, the Contract now provides a pathway for the Council to receive a fixed percentage of all its waste sold by Levenseat Limited. 2.9 It should be noted however, that although this Contract is in a very positive position at present, it is very much dependant on market forces (as detailed below) which can Page 150 of 168
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move very rapidly in a negative direction. Accordingly, any potential saving / income which will come from the Contract will be used to offset current service burdens and contribute towards the overall savings proposals for the Council over the next three years. Price Stability 2.10 The percentage of income that the Council could receive from Levenseat Limited for the material sold on to third-parties shall be set by the monthly “mid-point” price per tonne as set by the industry recognised “Lets Recycle” online benchmarking platform. 2.11 However, associated handling and contamination fees submitted will remain fixed and unchangeable for first twelve (12) months of the Contract. Subsequent to that initial period, there is provision within the Contract for Levenseat Limited to request annual reviews of these prices however any review of these prices are not permitted to be greater than the National Retail Price Index at the time of the request. It will be at the sole discretion of the Council whether to accept or reject any pricing amendment proposed for handling and contamination fees. 2.12 Additionally, the national Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) is due to be implemented on 16 August 2023 by Zero Waste Scotland. The impact the DRS will have on kerbside collected drinks containers via the Contract is not yet known and will not be fully known until the scheme goes live. Should the DRS have a significant impact on collected materials, and costs / rates via the Contract, the Council reserves the right to review the pricing model applied within the Contract. Community Benefits 2.13 The Council is committed to maximising the delivery of community benefits. The procurement included a community benefit requirement, this approach is designed to deliver local community benefits where possible. 2.14 Within their tender, Levenseat Limited committed to deliver the following community benefits within the Contract where possible: Community Benefit Type Quantity Committed New Job for an Individual not from a Priority Group (Full Time) 1 Educational Visits 5 Work Experience Placement to obtain a "Foundation Apprenticeship" 1 Financial Support for a Community Project / Organisation 1 2.15 The community benefits delivered as part of the Contract does include the creation of a job and an apprenticeship. Page 151 of 168
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Fair Work First 2.16 Within their tender submission, Levenseat Limited advised that they have committed and/ or will commit to the following areas of the Scottish Governments “Fair Work First” initiative: • accredited Living Wage Employer; • appropriate channels for effective voice, such as trade union recognition; • investment in workforce development; and • offer flexible and family friendly working practices for all workers from day one of employment. Contract Strategy 2.17 Officers from Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions will be responsible for managing the Contract which will be undertaken in accordance with the Councils agreed approach to contract and supplier management. 3. Measures of success 3.1 The Contract will deliver the following outcomes: • The appointment of a service provider who has the experience and capability to deliver a high quality and responsive service to segregate, recycle, treat and disposal of Glass, Metal & Plastics collected via the Council’s Kerbside Collection that will deliver the minimum delivery targets within the Contract; • The contract award procedure is compliant with the procurement legislation and internal procedures; • That best value is both demonstrable and achieved; • That the Contract secures a range of community benefits; • That the Contract secured a number of “Fair Work First” initiatives; • That the Contract performance is proactively managed against a number of local Key Performance Indicators and national targets; and • A collaborative approach to the procurement of the requirement, minimising the burden on internal resource and leveraging the economies of scale. 4. Supporting documents Appendix 1 Summary of Tender Evaluation Process Appendix 2 Summary of Procurement Process Appendix 3 SME Status and Location of All Tenderers Page 152 of 168
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Andrew McPherson Head of Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions Page 153 of 168
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality-and-fairer- scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial Impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Financial Solutions? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? North Lanarkshire Council has a statutory obligation to provide a kerbside collection for Glass, Metals and Plastics wastes. This has been built into the revenue budget of Waste Solutions service. 5.3 HR Policy Impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People and Organisational Development? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 154 of 168
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5.4 Legal Impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic Solutions? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data Protection Impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e-mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital Impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for technology, has an assessment been carried out (or scheduled) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 155 of 168
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5.7 Environmental / Carbon Impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? This contract if for recycling/reuse of this waste stream. This will have a positive impact on the carbon emissions. 5.8 Communications Impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk Impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ Low risk as Levenseat Limited put in a contingency as part of their tender plus there are other contingency measures available to the Council if Levenseat Limited was unable to fulfil the Contract to enable continuous service delivery in accordance with the applicable procurement regulations. Page 156 of 168
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Appendix 1 – Summary of Tender Evaluation Process Final Rank Tenderer Name Total Tender Score (%) Recommended for Contract Award (Y / N) 1 Levenseat Limited 93.20 Yes 2 Hamilton Waste & Recycling Limited -336.04* No *The total tender percentage score for Hamilton Waste & Recycling Limited is showing as a negative as their submitted tender price would have been an expenditure to the Council whereas Levenseat Limited’s submitted tender price was an income to the Council. Page 157 of 168
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Appendix 2 – Summary of Procurement Process Response Procurement Procedure Utilised: Mini Competition DPS Owner Scotland Excel DPS Title Treatment and Disposal of Recyclable and Residual Waste DPS Reference Number 27/17 DPS Lot Reference Lot 1 – Co-Mingled Mixed Recyclate Governing Legislation / Regulations: Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 Date Contract Strategy Approved: 16 September 2019 (Overarching Strategy for the Scotland Excel Treatment and Disposal of Recyclable and Residual Waste (27/17) Dynamic Purchasing System) Date ITT Documents Published: 16/08/2022 Number of Companies Invited to Take Part: 31 Tender Return Deadline: 05/09/2022 Number of Tenders Received: 2 Tenders Received from SME’s: 2 Tenders Received from NLC Based Tenderers: 0 Number of Non−compliant Tenders: 0 Number of Compliant Tenders: 2 Number of Recommended Tenderers: 1 Basis of Contract Award (Both Lots): Quality: 30% Price: 70% Evaluation Team: Officers from Waste Solutions Anticipated Contract Start Date: 16 January 2023 Total Contract Period (Months): 36 + 12 + 12 Maximum Total Contract Value: Income generated Page 158 of 168
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Appendix 3 – SME Status and location of all Tenderers Name of Tenderer Size of Tendering Organisation (Micro, Small, Medium or Large) Location (Local Authority / Council Area) Levenseat Limited Medium South Lanarkshire Hamilton Waste & Recycling Limited Medium East Lothian Page 159 of 168
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Environment and Climate Change Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref CG/JMcK Date 09/11/22 Contracts awarded below Committee approval threshold From Head of Asset and Procurement Solutions E-mail mckinstryj@northlan.gov.uk Telephone James McKinstry 07939281102 Executive Summary This report notifies the Committee of the contracts awarded between 1 July 2022 to 30 September 2022. It sets out those contracts awarded with a value below the financial threshold requiring Committee approval. Recommendations The Environment and Climate Change Committee are: • advised of the Contracts awarded below Committee approval threshold between 1 July 2022 to 30 September 2022 as per the process within the Council’s General Contract Standing Orders. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve economic opportunities and outcomes Ambition statement (17) Ensure we keep our environment clean, safe, and attractive AGENDA ITEM 15 Page 161 of 168
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1. Background 1.1 The Councils General Contract Standing Orders (the ‘GCSOs’) outline financial approval thresholds for contracts for goods, works and services. Contract awards above £500,000 for Supplies and Services and above £2,000,000 for Works require approval by the Committee. These contract awards are considered by the Committee on a case-by-case basis. 1.2 Where the value of a contract award is between £50,000 and £500,000 for Supplies and Services and between £500,000 and £2,000,000 for Works, GCSOs require that the Head of Asset and Procurement Solutions award these contracts on behalf of the appropriate Chief Officer. 1.3 The Head of Asset and Procurement Solutions is required to notify Committee on a regular basis of any such contracts awarded on behalf of Procuring Service Areas. 2. Report 2.1 The GCSOs require that contracts in excess of £500,000 for supplies and services and £2,000,000 for works are approved, on a case-by-case basis, by the Committee before award. 2.2 The GCSOs require that contracts with a value above £50,000 but less than £500,000 for Supplies and Services and above £500,000 but less than £2,000,000 for Works are awarded by the Head of Asset and Procurement Solutions on behalf of the appropriate Chief Officer. 2.3 The contracts awarded by the Head of Asset and Procurement Solutions that are under the £500,000 Committee financial approval threshold for Supplies and Services and £2,000,000 for Works in the period from 1 July 2022 to 30 September 2022 are detailed in Appendix 1. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Contracts support the delivery of Council and service priorities. 3.2 Appointment of contractors who have suitable experience and capability to deliver the required supplies, services or works. 3.3 Contracts awarded by the Council are compliant with GCSOs and procurement legislation. 3.4 The Council’s Contract Register is kept updated by services and management information is comprehensive and accurate. 3.5 Best Value is both demonstrable and achieved. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1 - Summary of contracts awarded. Page 162 of 168
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James McKinstry Head of Asset and Procurement Solutions Page 163 of 168
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality-and-fairer- scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Financial Solutions? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where Financial impacts have been identified, they have been established and addressed in each specific Contract Strategy and incorporated into the project. The Council’s Procurement Strategy proposes methods of maximising the delivery of procurement benefits that could bring improved financial return to the Council and the areas wider economy. Certain benefits have a monetary value attached and these will be monitored on a project-by-project basis. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People and Organisational Development? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where HR impacts have been identified, they have been established and addressed in each specific Contract Strategy and incorporated into the project. Contracts awarded by the Council are compliant with GCSOs and procurement legislation. 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic Solutions? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where Legal impacts have been identified, they have been established and addressed in each specific Contract Strategy and incorporated into the project. Page 164 of 168
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Contracts awarded by the Council are compliant with GCSOs and procurement legislation. 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Contracts for Fleet Management Solution and Civica Licensing listed have been assessed by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG). Where the impact identifies a requirement for technology, has an assessment been carried out (or scheduled) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☒ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Sustainable procurement is one of the key objectives of the Council’s Procurement Strategy and will have a positive impact, including, embedding sustainable procurement as business as usual and incorporating community benefits into the Councils contracts. Supporting local businesses and SMEs through closer working with colleagues in the Council’s Enterprise department and by making our processes more streamlined and accessible. Where Environmental/Carbon impacts have been identified, they have been established and addressed in each specific Contract Strategy and incorporated into the project. 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? Page 165 of 168
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Where Risk impacts have been identified, they have been established and addressed in each specific Contract Strategy and incorporated into the project. Contract award procedures may be susceptible to legal challenge if they are not discharged in accordance with GCSO and procurement legislation. Page 166 of 168
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APPENDIX 1 – SUMMARY OF BELOW THRESHOLD CONTRACT AWARDS Contract Description Contract Award Date Contract Start Date Contract End Date Contract Extension Contract Value (inc extension) (£s) Pre- Procurement Estimate (£’s) Successful Tenderer Supplies Services Works No of Tenders Received Route* Supply of Compostable Sacks & Liners 01/07/2022 15/07/2022 14/07/2023 14/07/2024 £388,128.00 £412,000.00 Cromwell Polythene Ltd Supplies 2 FMC3 Bridge Inspections 2022-23 14/07/2022 13/07/2022 31/03/2023 N/A £277,746.09 £280,000.00 Atkins Ltd Services 1 DAF3* Junction Improvement Works, A73 Carlisle Road/South Biggar Road 11/08/2022 15/08/2022 02/12/2022 N/A £521,857.37 £635,000.00 MacLay Civil Engineering Ltd Works 4 CR Provision of a Fleet Tracker System 22/08/2022 22/08/2022 21/08/2025 21/08/2027 £268,100.00 £268,100.00 CTrack Ltd Services 1 DAF3* Landfill Leachate Removal Services 15/09/2022 11/11/2022 10/11/2023 N/A £170,150.00 £170,150.00 Scottish Water Horizons Ltd Services 1 EXT** *Direct Awards from 3rd party collaborative frameworks to best value providers. **Contract extension to incumbent provider delivering best value. Provision for extension made in original contract award reported to previous Committee. Key – Procurement Route CO - Contract Open Procedure CR - Contract Restricted Procedure FO - Framework Open Procedure FR - Framework Restricted Procedure FMCC - Mini Comp Council Framework Page 167 of 168
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FMC3 - Mini Comp 3rd Party Framework DAFC - Direct Award Council Framework DAF3 - Direct Award 3rd Party Framework DAH&SC - Direct Award Health & Social Care Related Services N - Negotiated Contract EXT - Extension to Contract/Framework Page 168 of 168