Below is my submission (in the interests of openness and transparency) to the Highways and Traffic Representation Panel that meets on the 21st November 2014 starting at 9.30am.
CC:
Cllr Michael Sullivan
Cllr Steve Williams
Cllr Dave Mitchell
Mark Smith
Ken Abraham
Vicky Rainsford
Subject: Agenda item 3 (OBJECTION: PROPOSED WAITING & LOADING RESTRICTIONS – BIRKENHEAD MARKET SERVICE ROAD, BIRKENHEAD) Highways and Traffic Representation Panel Friday 21st November 2014
Dear all,
As one of two objectors to the proposed TRO for Birkenhead Market Service Road, I am announcing my intention to speak at this meeting.
I have received a letter through the post detailing the date and time of the meeting. I’m also (although you may have guessed this) going to film agenda items 1, 2 and 3.
Leonora (the other objector) may wish to speak too. However as I have had time to read the report, published yesterday there were some points I wish to raise in advance of the meeting in order that officers (and councillors) are given appropriate advance notice of the points I will raise.
I refer to the original numbering of the report.
3.4 “objector’s” should read “objectors'” as there are two of us.
3.5 Although access to Birkenhead Market Service Road can travel through Birkenhead Bus Station, as you can see from the map this is one of two ways vehicles can access the Birkenhead Market Service Road. Therefore it’s misleading to imply that people in the Birkenhead Market Service Road must have come through the Birkenhead Bus Station.
It would be useful if officers could clarify which designated bays they are referring to and what specific longer observation periods they are referring to.
3.6 Both The Grange and The Pyramids (except on a Sunday) charge for parking.
Here is the detail of blue badge spaces at the other car parks referred to (total number of spaces in brackets):
Europa Square 14 blue badge (150)
Oliver Street 6 blue badge (16)
Conway Street (on street) ~6 (6)
Burlington Street unknown
Policy SPD4 (which I’m sure councillors who are currently or have been previously on Planning Committee are familiar with) state minimum numbers of spaces for vehicles carrying disabled people as follows:
1 in the first 10 spaces should be allocated for disabled people. Thereafter 1 in every 20 spaces or 6% of the total (whichever is greater).
Applied to the Europa Square car park of 150 spaces using Class A1 – Retail this is:
first ten spaces: one space
other 140 spaces: seven spaces
Total: eight
However 6% is the greater. Depending on how you calculate the 6% (whether 6% of 150 or (6% of 140)+1) it either comes out as either 9 spaces or 9.4 spaces (rounded up to 10).
However the number of blue badges issued to the Wirral population (visitors can also use their blue badges) is higher than 6% putting pressure on existing spaces in Europa Park. On the day of the site visit with officers, there were no free Blue Badge spaces available in the Europa Park car park (out of 14) and this is pretty typical of how it is during the times the shops are open.
I quote:
“Officers consider there are sufficient parking spaces within existing Council and privately owned car parks in close proximity to the Market Hall to accommodate any overspill of blue badge holder parking from Birkenhead Market Service Road.”
In order to know that you’d have to do a traffic survey of how many spaces are free in car parks in close proximity to the Market Hall, how many of those spaces are blue badge spaces and actually know how many park in the Birkenhead Market Service Road currently with a blue badge. As far as I know (although I may be wrong) this is merely based on an opinion of officers without doing a survey. Many of the “sufficient parking spaces” are unsuitable for those with disability as disabled people if they parked in the regular spaces would not have enough room around their vehicle (especially if parked adjacent to a car) to safely get in and out of their vehicle.
3.7 Of course the Birkenhead Market Hall isn’t going to object to a traffic regulation order it’s actually funding half of the cost of. Individual traders were told by officers at the site visit that the proposals wouldn’t affect their customers unloading and loading, just parking. The traders haven’t been individually consulted and unless they read the notice on the lamppost, or found out by other means they just won’t be aware of this proposed TRO. Even if they did object, they might not know how to go about it. Bear in mind the proposals weren’t available to view in the Conway Street One Stop Shop just across the road, but were a considerable distance away at Wallasey Town Hall, Seacombe.
3.8 There are various points in the Birkenhead Market Service Road (as you can see on the plan) that are much narrower than others. Cars (or other vehicles) parked there or near there (unlawfully) can be causing an obstruction to the free flow of traffic. Although Wirral’s CEOs do not have powers to remove vehicles, the police do. Wirral’s CEOs can issue tickets (which hopefully act as a deterrent).
3.9 This is an acknowledgement by officers that the draft TRO (as consulted on) cannot be decided by the Highways and Traffic Representation Panel.
It is unclear from what is put in the report exactly what modifications officers are proposing to the proposed TRO. However what is clear is that only the original TRO has been consulted on (twice) and not the modified TRO.
The requirements in regulation 9 cause a public inquiry held by an inspector to be held if the requirements in regulations 9(3) to 9(5) are met.
To summarise these are (subject to paragraphs 4 and 5) for orders if:
(3) Subject to paragraphs (4) and (5), this paragraph applies to an order if—
(a) its effect is to prohibit the loading or unloading of vehicles or vehicles of any class in a road on any day of the week–
(i) at all times;
(ii) before 07.00 hours;
(iii) between 10.00 and 16.00 hours; or
(iv) after 19.00 hours,
and an objection has been made to the order (other than one which the order making authority is satisfied is frivolous or irrelevant) and not withdrawn; or
(b) its effect is to prohibit or restrict the passage of public service vehicles along a road and an objection has been made to the order in accordance with regulation 8–
(i) in the case of a road outside Greater London, by the operator of a local service the route of which includes that road; or
(ii) in the case of a road in Greater London, by the operator of a London bus service the route of which includes that road or by London Regional Transport.
(4) For the purposes of paragraph 3(a), an order shall not be taken to have the effect of prohibiting loading at any time to the extent that it—
(a) authorises the use of part of a road as a parking place, or designates a parking place on a road, for the use of a disabled person’s vehicle as defined by section 142(1) of the 1984 Act;
(b) relates to a length of the side of a road extending 15 metres in either direction from the point where one road joins the side of another road,
unless the effect of the order taken with prohibitions already imposed is to prohibit loading and unloading by vehicles of any class at the time in question for a total distance of more than 30 metres out of 50 metres on one side of any length of road.
(5) Paragraph (3) does not apply to an order —
(a) if it is an experimental order;
(b) made under section 84 of the 1984 Act (speed limits on roads other than restricted roads); or
(c) to the extent that it relates to a road which forms part of a priority route designated by the Secretary of State pursuant to section 50 of the Road Traffic Act 1991 (designation of priority routes in London).
(6) In this regulation “public service vehicle” has the meaning given by section 1 of the Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981.
As you can see from the above, even if the loading bays in the proposed TRO are modified to apply to all vehicles and not just goods vehicles, it’s the stretches it restricts of >30m in 50m stretches around the Birkenhead Market Services Road that are the problem. Without these being also taken out of the proposed TRO the requirement for a public inquiry by an inspector still applies.
Neither the TRO consulted on, nor the changed TRO can be decided by the Highways and Traffic Representation Panel because of Regulation 9.
3.10
The exceptions referred to in officer comments in relation to vehicles driven other than by the blue badge holder for the purposes of picking up the blue badge holder don’t as far as I can see form part of the consulted on TRO.
4.1
Even if in theory a TRO was granted, without enforcement it wouldn’t result in any change. There are plenty of loading bays and plenty of time deliveries will happen and there will be a goods vehicle already in the space they wish to load or unload. Whereas it can be inconvenient for drivers of large lorries to try and drive down the Birkenhead Market Service Road, the vast majority of vehicles there are connected to the market stalls or the Pyramids/Grange. Going one way to the Birkenhead Market Service Road, the Birkenhead Bus Station provides greater challenges to the drivers of goods vehicles than the Birkenhead Market Service Road itself in my opinion.
5.1
There are options that have not been considered these are:
A) Consulting on the modified TRO. In fact consultation is a requirement of Regulation 8 (Local Authorities’ Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England and Wales) Regulations 1996). The new proposals would also have to be published in a local newspaper (Regulation 7) and there would have to be a period for objections.
What’s interesting is the modified TRO officers propose hasn’t been consulted on, therefore can’t be decided by the Highways and Traffic Representation Panel.
B) Having a public inquiry chaired by an inspector on the proposed TRO (Regulation 9, 10 & 11). Again this would require a notice in a local newspaper and 21 days notice.
Lastly I would like to request that item 3 (which is this item on the agenda) it taken ahead of item 2 as both Leonora and I planned to attend the meeting of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority starting at 11.00am.
In order to get to that meeting, we will be able to stay at a meeting of the Highways and Traffic Representation Panel no later than 10.15am. Therefore it is important that the Highways and Traffic Representation Panel starts promptly at 9.30am and that is part of the reason why I am submitting this information in advance so that agenda item 3 can be dealt with quickly.
I realise this may inconvenience the objector to agenda item 2, however I cannot see it as being possible to deal with both agenda items in 45 minutes based on previous experience of Highways and Traffic Representation Panel meetings.
Thank you for reading this,
John Brace
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As the issue of Wirral Council’s/Biffa’s response to flytipping (an issue as common to politics as leaves falling from trees at this time of year) has come up again (see above), I familiarised myself with the manual handling procedures and retrieved the Biffa contract from our archive. The whole contract is marked confidential and is currently being renegotiated with Biffa around the issue of a 7 year extension. The whole contract will be published by Wirral Council by the end of the year (as it’s a new legal requirement on them). Below is an excerpt from part of it.
This is the bits on flytipping in the “Environmental Streetscene Services Contract Waste, Recycling and Street Cleansing Services 2006-2020 (2027)”:
The Street Cleansing specifications are pages 89 to 101. Page 116 is Street Cleansing Daywork Rates (this page of the contract was deliberately erased on the copy supplied to me as part of the audit).
I have included pages 89 to 102 below. However parts of erased page 116 have been reproduced in public papers for the Birkenhead Constituency Committee meetings. I’m not entirely sure where in a ~1000 or so page contract that schedules 3A and 3B refer to, but 3A & 3B also relate to the street cleansing specification. There may be the odd typographical error as I typed this up, however there are also typographical errors as part of the contract which I have reproduced as written.
Page 89
Metropolitan Borough of Wirral
Environmental Stretscene Services Contract
Street Cleansing Specification
Part 7
7.1 Street Cleansing Specification 7.1 General Description of Services
7.1.1 The Council requires the highest possible standard of Street Cleansing throughout the Borough. The standards to be achieved by the Contractor are specified and are in line with the standard required by the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (hereafter known as The Act) and in particular the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse (CoPLR) as it applies to the zone classifications of every Location throughout the Borough.
7.1.2 The Contractor should not rely upon any assistance being given by any other organisation to keep the Borough free of all Litter.
7.1.3 The Contractor shall provide for:
7.1.3.1 Removal of all Litter, bulky items, hazardous Waste and other specified materials from every Location specified, irrespective of size or type of material and irrespective of how the material arrived at the Location;
7.1.3.2 Clearance of leaf, blossom and fruit fall from every Location specified;
7.1.3.3 The clearance and disposal of all weeds and moss from all hard areas as requested by the Authorised Officer, shall form part of the normal Street Cleansing work.
7.1.3.4 Collection of other categories of Waste including flytipping, dead animals and other items from any Location, public spaces, highways, lay-bys, Roadside verges, watercoueses, etc. as instructed by the Authorised Officer.
7.1.3.5 Collection of Waste from other Cleansing activities as required at fairs, markets, and any other public or special events;
7.1.3.6 Clearance of sand and tidal debris;
7.1.3.7 Cleansing of rear passages and Entries;
7.1.3.8 Cleansing of car parks;
7.1.3.9 Cleansing of promenades, embankments, revetments, associated areas;
7.1.3.10 Emptying of Litter bins as specified;
7.1.3.11 Removal of graffiti and flyposters (Provisional Item);
7.1.3.12 Provision of a Rapid Response Service (Provisional Item);
7.1.3.13 Removal of abandoned shopping trolleys (Provisional Item);
7.1.3.14 Street washing in specified areas (Provisional Item);
7.1.3.15 Gritting of zone 1 town centre Locations (Provisional Item);
7.2 Hours of Operation
7.2.1 In zone 2, zone 3 and zone 4 areas normal daily Cleansing Services may take place from Monday to Sunday inclusive and should not normally commence prior to 0600 hours and not normally continue after 2000 hours in order to avoid nuisance and complaint. However, it is recognised that works outside these hours may be required to satisfy the requirements of the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse or the requirements of certain Services. The Contractor should request written approval from the Authorised Officer prior to commencing Cleansing Services between the hours of 2000 hours and 0600 hours.
7.2.2 In zone 1 areas normal daily Cleansing Services many take place from Monday to Sunday inclusive. There are no specified core Service hours for zone 1 areas.
7.2.3 The Contractor should be aware that Mechanical Sweeping should not be undertaken in some residential areas at times that will cause reduction in amenity, statutory nuisance or complaint.
7.2.4 The Contractor must note the opening hours of the Waste disposal Sites could be a constraint on his operations and he must ascertain from the Waste Disposal Authority when the facilities are open. If the Contractor wants to operate outside these hours then he shall make arrangements with the Waste
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Disposal Authority and be responsible for any additional special charges made by the Authority in complying with the Contractors’ request.
7.3 Bank and Public Holidays
7.3.1 Bank and public holidays may be treated as normal working days.
7.3.2 The Contractor shall provide the Service 364 days per year, the only exception being Christmas Day.
7.4 Area Zoning
7.4.1 The whole Borough has been zoned in accordance with the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse and can be described as follows:
7.4.1.1 Zone 1 – Town centres, shopping centres, shopping Streets, major transport centres, central car parks and Locations adjacent to these (e.g. footways, highways, passageways, etc);
7.4.1.2 Zone 2 – High density residential area, suburban car parks and transport centres;
7.4.1.3 Zone 3 – Low density residential areas, other transport centres and areas of industrial estates;
7.4.1.4 Zone 4 – All other areas.
7.5 Cleansing Standards
7.5.1 The Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse prescribes four standards of cleanliness:
7.5.1.1 No Litter or refuse, known as grade A;
7.5.1.2 Predominantly free of Litter and refuse apart from small items, known as grade B;
7.5.1.3 Widespread distribution of Litter and refuse with minor accumulations, known as grade C;
7.5.1.4 Heavily Littered with accumulations, known as grade D.
7.5.2 Grade A shall be achieved by the Contractor after Cleansing and shall conform to the photographic standard contained within Appendix 9.9.3 and contained in the CoPLR.
7.6 Minimum Cleansing Frequencies
7.6.1 The minimum Cleansing frequencies required by the Council at each location shall be in accordance with that outlined below and the appropriate zoning allocation.
Zone
Frequency
Manual
Mechanical
1
Daily
Weekly
2
Weekly
Fortnightly
3
Monthly
Monthly
4
Monthly
Quarterly
7.6.2 It is recognised that these frequencies may be insufficient to maintain the output standard described in the Code of Practice for Litter and Refuse (COPLR) and the Contractor will be required to assess for himself the actual frequencies he proposes to adopt for all Locations throughout the district.
7.7 Carriageway Sweeping
7.7.1 Road Channels and the adjoining carriageway on each side of the Road and car parks shall be thoroughly swept and de-Littered at the minimum frequencies stated, or as otherwise directed by the Authorised Officer in accordance with the Act.
7.7.2 No additional payment will be made for hand sweeping at the heads of cul-de-sacs, traffic islands or other areas and the Contractor shall include for this work within the tender.
7.7.3 Pedestrian refuges and similar features may require additional manual sweeping. Manual sweeping shall be done concurrently with the sweeping operation to the standards set out in the COPLR, or as
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otherwise directed by the Authorised Officer. The areas shall be thoroughly Cleansed to ensure all litter, detritus and vegetation is removed and the area is left clean. No additional payment will be made for this work and the Contractor shall include for this work within the tender.
7.7.4 The minimum frequencies stated do not replace the requirement for the Contractor to achieve the standards required under the COPLR and the Contractor will be required to alter frequencies and provide additional resources to ensure these standards are met.
7.8 Footway Sweeping
7.8.1 All areas designated for footway sweeping shall be throughly swept and de-Littered at the minimum frequencies stated, or as otherwise directed by the Authorised Officer in accordance with the Act.
7.8.2 Areas around Street furniture, where it is impossible or impractical for the footway to be mechanically swept, shall be concurrently Cleansed by hand to ensure all litter, detritus and vegetation is removed and the area is left clean. No additional payment will be made for this work and the Contractor shall include for this work within the tender.
7.9 Shopping Areas and Precincts
7.9.1 The main shopping areas in the Borough are located at Birkenhead and Liscard and are listed in the Streets Data File, contained within Appendix SC2, with maps of these areas contained in Appendix 9.9.1. The areas of the covered precincts in Liscard and Birkenhead are privately owned and are Cleansed by others. All other shopping Streets are identified in the Streets Data File.
7.9.2 The Contractor is to include for the Daily Cleansing of all surface areas within and around shopping areas, frontage to frontage, incorporating all features such as furniture, shrub beds, grass areas, hard surfaces, passageways, pathways, drainage slots and channels, Service Roads, delivery bays and Walkways, etc.
7.9.3 All drainage channels and gratings, etc., shall be kept cleared of Litter, sludge and debris.
7.10 Inner Area Cleansing
7.10.1 The Inner Area of the Borough is delineated on the map contained within Appendix 9.9.4 The area comprises part or all of the districts of New Brighton, Liscard, Egremont, Seacombe and the Birkenhead areas of North End, Central, Tranmere and Rock Ferry together with part of New Ferry.
7.10.2 The Contractors attention is drawn to the problems that exist within these areas, particularly where the property is terraced with rear Entries. The Contractor must include for the thorough Cleansing of the areas in accordance with this Specification irrespective of the volume of material to be removed.
7.11 Cleansing of Entries
7.11.1 The Contractor is required to thoroughly Cleanse all Entries in the Borough, as detailed in Appendix 9.9.1, once every four Weeks, in accordance with this Specification irrespective of the volume or type of material to be removed.
7.11.2 All Cleansing operations shall be carried out at the time of visit to include the removal:
7.11.2.1 Flytipping;
7.11.2.2 Litter (including animal faeces);
7.11.2.3 Detritus;
7.11.2.4 Dead weeds;
7.11.2.5 Flyposters;
7.11.2.6 Grafitti.
7.11.2.7 Any other items.
7.11.3 Some Entries are gated. The Authorised Officer will issue gate keys to the Contractor at the commencement of the Contract. Should the Contractor lose any keys, then the Contractor shall be liable for the cost of replacement keys.
7.11.4 The Contractor shall allow for this within the tendered price, and no additional payment shall be made.
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7.11.5 The Contractor shall submit a schedule for these Works to the Authorised Officer for approval prior to the commencement of the Contract. The Contractor is required to request prior written approval from the Authorised Officer before amending the agreed work schedule.
7.12 Cleansing of Estates and Low Density Residential Areas
7.12.1 A significant proportion of the residential areas of the Borough have been included within zones 3 and 4 and include most of the private and social housing estates as well as the lower density residential areas. The Contractors attention is drawn to the Litter problems on some of the estates where there are large open spaces which need to be maintained to the standards prescribed in the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
7.13 Schools
7.13.1 The Contractor is advised that, in addition to scheduled Cleansing, the Contractor is required to provide an additional Weekly Cleanse to the areas surrounding secondary schools within the Borough. These schools, along with details of the surrounding areas, are listed in Appendix SC11.
7.13.2 The Contractor shall allow for this within the tendered price, and no additional payment shall be made.
7.14 Car Parks
7.14.1 Pay and Display car parks are provided adjacent to all the main commercial areas in the Borough and are heavily used. The Contractor is required to maintain the standards of all Pay and Display car parks.
7.14.2 All other car parks, including those at Council offices, are required to be Cleansed regularly, except for those identified in clause 7.15 of this specification which form part of the summer Cleansing requirement.
7.14.3 Car parks shall be classified as the same area zone as the adjacent Road and shall be Cleansed accordingly. Locations and sizes of car parks can be found within the Streets Data File, contained within Appendix 9.9.1.
7.15 Promenades, Revetment Walls and Associated Areas
7.15.1 For the purpose of this Contract, “Promenade” shall be defined as the end lengths of Road, pavement and associated features at Seacombe Promenade, Sandon Promenade, Egremont Promenade, Magazine Promenade, Tower Promenade, Marine Promenade, Marine Promenade Car Park, Kings Parade, Coastal Drive, former Derby Pool car park and access Road, Leasowe Common Roadway from Leasowe Road to the rear of the sea wall and grass areas from front to rear of the kiosks, North Parade and Meols Parade, Hoylake Promenade from Hoylake to Meols and South Parade West Kirby including the car parks at both ends of the Marine Lake.
7.15.2 The Contractor is to include all pedestrian access to promenade areas via Roads, passages or steps and carry out Cleansing as if they were part of the promenade.
7.15.3 During the prescribed summer season (twenty-six complete Weeks commencing with the first Monday in April each year) the Contractor is required to thoroughly Cleanse the entire grassed areas of Kings Parade and Leasowe Common on daily basis to remove all Litter and dog fouling in order to maintain these locations at Grade B.
7.16 Litter Bins
7.16.1 Litter bins of the post mounted or free standing varieties are provided in large numbers throughout the Borough, as detailed in Appendix 9.9.2. The Council has a progressive policy both to replace any existing Litter bins that are damaged and also to provide additional Litter bins at any Location the Authorised Officer considers may help to reduce Litter problems.
7.16.2 The Contractor is required to empty all existing Litter bins together with any additional Litter bins installed by the Authorised Officer as frequently as necessary to prevent the escape of Waste. For the avoidance of doubt no Litter bin should be more than 3/4 full at any time and no additional payment will be made for additional Litter bins.
7.16.3 The Contractor shall also be required to empty any Litter bin, at the request of the Authorised Officer, within 2 hours of the request being made.
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7.16.4 At the time of emptying, the Contractor should remove any Litter within one metre of the Litter bin.
7.16.5 The Contractor is to inspect all Litter bins for damage as they are emptied and report any damaged bins to the Authorised Officer each evening by e-mail.
7.16.6 Most bins provided for use by the public have lockable inner liners and the Contractor is to ensure that these liners are replaced and locked back in after each emptying.
7.16.7 The Contractor shall be required to lock in any inner liners that are found to be not locked in, at the request of the Authorised Officer, within 24 hours of the request being made.
7.16.8 Any liners which, in the opinion of the Authorised Officer, were not locked in after emptying, and subsequently suffer loss or damage, shall be replaced by the Contractor at no cost to the Council. The Authorised Officer’s decision is final.
7.16.9 At the request of the Authorised Officer, the Contractor shall be required to wash, disinfect and clean out Litter bins in order to maintain them in a clean and sanitary condition. Payment for this work shall be made in accordance with the schedule of Daywork Rates.
7.16.10 At the request of the Authorised Officer, the Contractor shall be required to cap Litter bins in a given area when the alert status increases, so that they cannot be used for the duration of the increased alert. The Contractor shall be required to remove the caps, at the request of the Authorised Officer, when the alert status returns to normal. Payment for this work shall be in accordance with the schedule of Daywork Rates.
7.17 Drugs Related Litter
7.17.1 The Contractor shall include for the collection and removal of drugs related Litter from all Locations included in the Contract as a normal part of the Street Cleansing Service.
7.17.2 The Contractor shall be responsible for the collection and removal of drugs related Litter encountered as part of the normal Street Cleansing Service. The Contractor shall also respond as and when instructed by the Authorised Officer. The Contractor shall respond as soon as possible and, in any case, within ninety minutes of the instruction being issued during normal hours of operation.
7.17.3 The Contractor shall ensure all Employees are fully trained and carry the appropriate protective equipment to enable them to respond to such incidents.
7.17.4 All incidents of drug related Litter must be noted and reported electronically to the Council on a Weekly basis.
7.17.5 No additional payment shall be made for drugs related Litter removed as part of the normal Street Cleansing schedule or from occupied residential properties. On occasions when the Contractor responds to incidents which are not in areas scheduled to be Cleansed as part of the normal Street Cleansing Service or residential properties the Contractor shall receive additional payment based upon the Daywork rates. (Removal from residencies which are under renovation or managed by agents will be chargeable).
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7.18 Leaf Fall
7.18.1 Whilst most Roads in the Borough suffer an increased Street Cleansing work content during the leaf fall period the Contractors attention is drawn to the Oxton, Heswall and Caldy areas of the Borough where the problem is more prevalent than in other areas.
7.18.2 The Contractor shall include for the collection of leaf fall from all Locations included in the Contract as a normal part of the Street Cleansing Service and deploy such additional resources, such as a dedicated resource for the clearance of leaves, as are necessary to maintain the Cleansing Schedule.
7.18.3 On collection, the Contractor shall take clean leaf fall for Composting wherever possible.
7.19 Grass Cutting and Weed Control
7.19.1 Any cut grass accumulated on footpaths and Roads etc. after mowing or cutting, shall be swept up and removed by the Contractor as part of the normal programmed Cleansing activity.
7.19.2 The clearance and disposal of all unwanted vegetation from all hard areas, grass margins, obstructions, shrub beds, and other ad-hoc Locations as requested by the Authorised Officer, shall form part of the normal Street Cleansing work. Moss is defined as unwanted vegetation and shall be removed as part of the Service.
7.19.3 The contractor will be responsible for the removal of weed once weed spraying has been successfully undertaken by or on behalf of the Council. The contractor shall remove live weeds from channels where the presence of such weeds has been caused by the contractor’s failure to cleanse the channels.
7.20 Graffiti and Fly Posting Removal (Provisional Item)
7.20.1 The Contractor shall remove graffiti and fly posters from Relevant Land within the Borough, including highway signs and apparatus (but excluding traffic management and utility apparatus) as requested by the Authorised Officer and/or members of the public. The Contractor will remove graffiti and fly posters by a method approved in writing by the Authorised Officer.
7.20.2 Where chemicals are proposed to be used by the Contractor to remove graffiti, the Contractor shall provide the Authorised Officer with COSHH Assessments of the chemicals to be used, and the Authorised Officer’s written approval must be gained in advance.
7.20.3 The Contractor shall remove graffiti from underpasses through paint-out.
7.20.4 Racist or offensive graffiti or fly posting, and illegal advertising graffiti or fly posting, will be removed by the Contractor within 24 hours of notification. All other graffiti or fly posting will be removed by the Contractor within 5 days of notification.
7.20.5 If the graffiti or fly posting has been removed, but stains or residue have affected a permeable surface, the Contractor will inform the Authorised Officer by e-mail within 24 hours of completion of the work.
7.20.6 Graffiti removal and fly posting removal from private property and utility apparatus will be through private arrangement between the Contractor and property owner. Payments will be made direct to the Contractor by the customer requesting the Service. The Contractor will retain any income generated by this Service.
7.20.7 The Contractor is to submit a Weekly report to the Authorised Officer detailing the graffiti and flyposting that has been removed during that Week.
7.20.8 The Council treats the problem of flyposting and graffiti very seriously and will prosecute anyone caught or suspected of committing such an offence providing that sufficient evidence can be gathered. The Contractor is to assist the Council in this regard by obtaining photographic and written evidence (i.e. time, date, location, posters, etc.) and supplying this information to the Authorised Officer in an agreed format at the end of each day. The Contractor may also be required, from time to time, to assist the Council in the preparation of prosecution statements and attendance at court hearings.
7.21 Sand and Tidal Debris
7.21.1 Promenades and Roads which are near to beaches and slipways become covered, on occasions with quantities of sand, shingle or tidal debris. The Contractors attention is especially drawn to the large
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amount of wind blown sand which is deposited on the highway at West Kirby, Hoylake and New Brighton that will need to be removed in order to ensure highway safety.
7.21.2 The Contractor shall provide all equipment and include in his tender for the removal of any such sand, shingle or debris from Roads affected as part of his normal Cleansing operation and, upon referral from the Authorised Officer, within 24 hours.
7.22 Rapid Response Service (Provisional Item)
7.22.1 The Contractor shall engage sufficient dedicated personnel to provide a Rapid Response Service. This Service is to be provided from 08.00 to 17.00 Monday to Saturday inclusive to deal effectively with any matters which, in the opinion of the Authorised Officer, are of an urgent nature.
7.22.2 The Contractor is not required to provide this Service on Bank Holidays.
7.22.3 Recent experience indicates that approximately 250 requests for the Rapid Response Service are made by the Authorised Officer each year although no guarantee is given or implied that this figure is the maximum which should be expected.
7.22.4 The Contractor is to respond immediately, upon request from the Authorised Officer, to any matter of an urgent nature and in any event must have satisfactorily dealt with the occurrence within one hour of receiving the request. If the Authorised Officer or his representative attend an incident his instruction must be observed.
7.22.5 The Contractor must make available between the hours of 08.00 and 17.00 Monday to Saturday inclusive, a responsible person to receive requests for the Rapid Response Service and have sufficient seniority to be able to act upon the receipt of that request.
7.22.6 No other resources are to be diverted from their normal tasks in order to provide a Rapid Response Service.
7.22.7 Examples of occurrences which the Authorised Officer may refer to the Rapid Response Service are:
7.22.7.1 Clearance of debris after a traffic accident;
7.22.7.2 Broken glass or other debris on the highway;
7.22.7.3 Damaged bus shelters;
7.22.7.4 Debris or loads spilled from vehicles;
7.22.7.5 Oil spillages on the highway which require sanding and subsequent sweeping up of the sand. OR cleaning up of such spillages using other methods approved by the Authorised Officer;
7.22.7.6 Dead animals on the highway and/or beaches;
7.22.7.7 Flytipping (no exclusions);
7.22.7.8 Flytipping industrial Wastes;
7.22.7.9 Responses to public complaint, which in the opinion of the Authorised Officer, requires immediate action in order to bring about customer satisfaction.
7.22.8 The Contractor may also be required to respond to occurrences outside of the core hours stated, or to respond to incidents occurring at the request of the Authorised Officer. Payment for such call out shall be made in accordance with the schedule of Daywork Rates given in the Pricing Schedule.
7.22.9. Within 24 hours of responding to such an occurrence, the Contractor shall submit a report to the Authorised Officer in an agreed format giving details of the incident, timings, actions taken and outcomes, etc.
7.22.10 The Council treats the problem of flytipping very seriously and will prosecute anyone caught or suspected of committing such an offence provided that sufficient evidence can be gathered. The Contractor is assist the Cuoncil in this regard by obtaining photographic and written evidence (i.e. time, date, location, posters etc.) and supplying this information to the Authorised Officer electronically at the end of each day. The Contractor may also be required, from time to time, to assist the Council in the preparation of prosecution statements and attendance at court hearings.
7.23.1 The Contractor should be aware that the Council has resolved to recover, store and make a charge for shopping trolleys abandoned on relevant land or highways under section 99 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
7.23.2 It will be the responsibility of the Contractor to recover any shopping trolleys which appear to be abandoned and store such trolleys at the depot under the control of the Contractor. A Weekly log of all trolleys so repossessed and in the possession of the Contractor will be passed to the Authorised Officer stating:-
7.23.2.1 The Location where the trolley was located;
7.23.2.2 the identified owner of the trolley (where possible);
7.23.2.3 the condition of the trolley.
7.23.3 The Contractor will only be required to release trolleys in their possession recovered as part of the requirement upon production of a written receipt from the Authorised Officer indicating that the recovery charge has been made. The owner of the trolleys will be requested to acknowledge receipt of his equipment at the time of collection and the owner will be responsible for all transport charges in respect of the collection of the same.
7.23.4 Unclaimed trolleys in the possession of the Contractor may be disposed of after they have been stored for a minimum period of six Weeks, following certification from the Authorised Officer that they may be disposed of. Any income from the sale of unclaimed trolleys may be retained by the Contractor.
7.24 Gritting (Provisional Item)
7.24.1 The Contractor shall be responsible for the gritting of zone 1 town centre areas in accordance with schedule detailed in Appendix 9.9.1.
7.24.2 The Contractor shall use a urea based product which shall be provided to the Contractor by the Council free of charge.
7.24.3 The Contractor shall also be required to provide an ad hoc gritting Service, as and when required by the Authorised Officer.
7.24.4 Payment for these works shall be in accordance with the Daywork Rates given in the Pricing Schedule.
7.25 Street Washing (Provisional Item)
7.25.1 The Contractor will be required to provide a Weekly Street washing Service to the shopping areas as detailed in Appendix 9.9.1.
7.25.2 The Contractor shall allow for this within the tendered price, and no additional payment shall be made.
7.25.3 The Contractor may also be required to provide a Street washing Service at other Locations, at the request of the Authorised Officer. Payment for this Service will be in accordance with the schedule of Daywork Rates given in the Pricing Schedule.
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Street Cleansing Specification
Part 7
7.26 Special Events and Voluntary Organisations
7.26.1 To cater for special events in the Borough such as shows, fairs, sports activities, etc. (for example, the Wirral Show), or voluntary groups undertaking special clearance and Litter picking tasks in the Borough the Authorised Officer may require the Contractor to supply labour, vehicles, Plant or equipment to assist with or promote clearance operations.
7.26.2 The Contractor will be paid in accordance with the schedule of Daywork Rates given in the Pricing Schedule for any item supplied under this clause.
7.27 Volume and Type of Material
7.27.1 The Contractor shall not place any constraint on the volume or type of Litter which is to be removed from any Location, and all such eventualities shall be included for within the Contract price.
7.27.2 Any item of Litter discarded or deposited at any Location to which this Contract applies having a volume not exceeding 1 cubic metre must be removed at the time and day programmed for Street Cleansing. The volume of 1 cubic metre shall be applied to single items and not be the aggregate of smaller items. If any item of Litter discarded or deposited at any Location to which this Contract applies and has a volume of more than 1 cubic metre it shall be collected by the Contractor using separate resources if he so wishes but in any event must be cleared within 24 hours of its detection.
7.27.3 The Contractor’s attention is drawn to the fact that Waste Collection in this Borough is carried out using wheeled bins. There are occasions when householders fail to use the Waste Receptacle provided and put Waste out in bags or boxes or loose. If this occurs the Contractor is required to ascertain where the Waste has come from and recover any documentary evidence, prior to removal, and inform the Authorised Officer immediately so that enforcement action can be taken against the householder. The Contractor is required to remove all such deposits as part of the normal Cleansing operation.
7.28 Organisation and Methods
7.28.1 Subject to the approval of the Authorised Officer the Contractor is permitted to organise the delivery of the Service in any way which fulfil all the requirements of the Contract to the required standard within the required times, although the Council does have a preference for area based Service provision and tandem working to ensure task completion.
7.28.2 The Contractor is permitted to use both heavy and compact mechanical sweepers anywhere in the Borough where they can be effectively utilities and subject to normal weight restrictions.
7.28.3 The Contractor is encouraged to consider using compact mechanical sweepers in some of the high profile areas of the Borough.
7.29 Programme of Work
7.29.1 The Contractor shall submit a full and detailed programme of work to the Authorised Officer for approval, not later than four Week prior to the commencement of the Contract.
7.29.2 The Programme shall include details of all rounds to be worked and shall include the days when each Location is programmed to be Cleansed. This information shall be provided electronically and may also be presented as colour coded maps or lists of work programmed per day per round provided that the information is supplemented by clear indication of the direction of progress of work throughout the day. The Authorised Officer may audit the quality of the work undertaken throughout the course of the day.
7.29.3 The programme of work shall not be altered in any way without the prior approval of the Authorised Officer.
7.30 Performance Monitoring
7.30.1 The Council will require the Contractor to achieve the highest standard of Cleansing at each programmed Location on each day. The actual level of performance achieved on each day shall be measured by inspecting a random sample of programmed Locations after Cleansing operations are complete and noting the standard observed by comparison with the photograph standards within Appendix 9.9.3.
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Street Cleansing Specification
Part 7
7.30.2 Grade A denotes compliance with the Contract whilst any other grade will denote a failure to perform.
7.30. The random selection of Locations to be monitored will be computer generated by the Authorised Officer daily. It is envisaged that 5% of programmed work for a given day will be subject to inspection although a higher or lower percentage may be used depending on the level of confidence built up between the Contractor and the Council. For the avoidance of doubt the percentage sample size shall be determined at the sole discretion of the Authorised Officer.
7.30.4 Performance monitoring is to be carried out by the Contractor on seven days each Week, Monday to Sunday, with the Contractor’s representative being accompanied by an officer of the Council who will verify the grades being noted. In the case of disagreement between the Council’s and Contractor’s representative a photograph will be taken by the Council of the disputed Locations and the Authorised Officer will adjudicate after viewing the photographs.
7.30.5 It is hereby declared that the results of the daily performance monitoring inspections are to be accepted as being representative of the performance achieved across the Street Cleansing Service for that day and will be used in the calculation of performance in accordance with clause 4.14 and Clause 4.37 of the Conditions of Contract.
7.30.6 The Contractor is expected to carry out additional supervisory inspections in the normal course of business, but any such additional supervisory inspections will be excluded from the computation of the Contractor’s percentage performance for the purposes of Clause 4.14 and Clause 4.38 of the Conditions of Contract, unless in the opinion of the Authorised Officer, the inclusion of the additional supervisory inspections in the computation is statistically valid.
7.30.7 Without prejudice to the obligations of the Contractor to achieve the standards of Cleansing specified herein, should any supervisory inspection reveal that the standard of cleanliness at any Location inspected is below grade A, the Contractor will ensure that such Location is returned to grade A standard within the time stipulated in the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse for the zone specified for that Location, namely:
7.30.7.1 In zone 1 areas, if at grade B, it shall be restored to grade A within six hours. If at grade C it shall be restored to grade A within three hours. If at grade D it shall be restored to grade A within one hour.
7.30.7.2 In zone 2 areas, if at grade B, it shall be restored to grade A within twelve hours. If at grade C it shall be restored to grade A within six hours. If at grade D it shall be restored to grade A within three hours.
7.30.7.3 In zone 3 areas, if at grade C, it shall be restored to grade A within twelve hours. If at grade D it shall be restored to grade A within six hours.
7.30.7.4 In zone 4 areas, if at grade C, it shall be restored to grade A within one Weeks. If at grade D it shall be restored to grade A within three days.
7.30.8 These standards shall apply between the hours of 0600 and 2000 daily in zone 2, zone 3 and zone 4 areas, and at all times in zone 1 areas.
7.30.9 The contractor shall keep electronically contemporaneous and accurate records of all operative and supervisory inspections it has carried out and of all remedial action taken pursuant to such inspections, and shall make such records available for inspection and copying by the Authorised Officer as and when required. The Contractor shall retain the inspection records for a minimum period of eighteen Months. The Contractor is hereby reminded that the daily random performance monitoring inspection records form the basis for the computation by the Contractor of its Weekly Certificate of Performance for the purposes of clause 4.14 and Clause 4.38 of the Conditions of Contract.
7.30.10 Notwithstanding the provisions of this clause the Council reserves the right at all times to inspect the quality of the work being undertaken by the Contractor for the purposes of assessing the effectiveness of the Street Cleansing Service.
7.31 Oil Pollution and Other Incidents
7.31.1 Due to the proximity of main shipping lanes and oil transfer facilities there are occasions when the Council may be required to respond to incidents of oil pollution in the area.
7.31.2 The Council may also, on occasion, be required to respond to other incidents in the area, natural or otherwise (for example terrorist attacks).
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Street Cleansing Specification
Part 7
7.31.3 In the event of any such incidents requiring a response by the Council then the Authorised Officer shall be empowered to divert some or all of the Contractors resources as deemed necessary by the Authorised Officer. The Contractor will not receive any additional payment for such diversions where they occur within the Contractors normal working hours and are directed to be undertaken in place of the Street Cleansing workload programmed for the duration of the diversion. Where the Authorised Officer requires assistance at other times outside the Contractors normal working hours then Daywork Rates shall apply.
7.31.4 Any specialised equipment, materials and protective clothing necessary to deal with such incidents will be provided by the Authorised Officer at the Council’s expense.
7.32 Parking
7.32.1 Some Streets in the Borough are regularly parked with cars that can cause difficulty in thoroughly Cleansing the edges of the carriageways. The Contractor will, however, be expected to make every effort to keep such Roads thoroughly Cleansed using any special equipment he may consider necessary. It is expected that the Contractor will have made himself familiar with the problems to be experienced and to overcome the difficulties in sweeping which parked cars can cause. Allowance should be made for this when submitting the tender, as no additional payment will be made by the Council in respect of this problem.
7.33 Supplementary Information
7.33.1 The Street Database computer file provided to the Contractor in Appendix 9.9.1 does not form part of the Contract documents and the Contractor is to verify the information himself, as its accuracy is not guaranteed or implied.
7.33.2 The data base file gives a guide to the lengths or surface areas of Locations to which this Contract applies and shows the zoning of those Locations.
7.34 Continuous Service Improvement
7.34.1 The Council have a policy of reviewing the Services it provides to the residents of the Borough and the Street Cleansing Service will be subject to such reviews.
7.34.2 Any review of the Service will be undertaken jointly between the Contractor and the Authorised Officer and will entail market research to canvas opinion from the residents of the Borough that the standard of Cleansing required by the Contract is being met.
7.34.3 The Contractor will cooperate with the Authorised Officer in improving the Service to meet the aspirations of the residents of the Borough. If such improvements are necessary to enable the originally Contracted Service to be performed then no additional payment will be made to the Contractor in making any such improvement.
7.35 Performance Monitoring (Street Cleansing)
7.35.1 At all times after the Commencement Date the Contractor will be required to assess performance in conjunction with the Council in accordance with the provisions of clause 7.30 of the Specification and to deliver a Certificate of Performance each week to the Authorised Officer to identify the percentage achieved through the performance of the Street Cleansing Services that Week.
7.35.2 Monitoring of a randomly selected statistically valid sample of work performed by the Contractor in a given period is to be used to assess the quality and extent of the Contractor’s performance during that period.
7.35.3 In the first instance, the computation of any default in performance by the Contractor shall be made in accordance with the provisions of clause 7.30.3 of the Specification, but, as set out below, should the Council in its absolute discretion consider that for any given period the use of the normal method of performance monitoring has not given or may not afford a sufficiently accurate measure of the Contractor’s default in performance for that period, the Council may carry out its own audit of the Contractor’s work which includes inspection of the physical Cleansing operation, all administration and documentation and the activities relating to the production of the performance assessment figures. In this case the results of such audit shall be used as the basis for calculating the performance by the Contractor.
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Environmental Stretscene Services Contract
Street Cleansing Specification
Part 7
7.35.4 The certificate of performance shall be submitted to the Authorised Officer Weekly to show the percentage of the Services performed in strict accordance with the Contract. The performance percentage shall be calculated on the basis of the Contractors records of the inspections it has carried out pursuant to clause 7.30.3 of the Specification and in accordance with the following formulae:
100 – (Number of Items not Grade A upon Inspection x 100)
Total Number of Inspections 1
7.35.5 In order to calculate the deductions for failure in performance for any monthly period, the Contractor shall:
7.35.5.1 average the performance percentages for the days/weeks covered by that certificate of performance.
7.35.5.2 the deductions appropriate to that averaged figure should be ascertained from the Table 1, Performance Monitoring Valuations.
7.35.6 The Contractor shall undertake to exercise the utmost good faith in assessing its monthly percentage performance.
7.35.7 The Council may at any time carry out an audit inspection of the work undertaken by the Contractor in accordance with the agreed auditing procedure set out in clause 7.30.1, in order to ascertain whether the Contractor is complying fully with its obligations under the terms of the Contract. The Authorised Officer shall give the Contractor prior notice of the commencement on any such audit inspections and invite the Contractor to observe the audit.
7.35.8 The agreed auditing procedure will comprise one or any combination of the following, as the Council in its absolute direction may determine.
7.35.8.1 assessment and verification of the Contractors performance based on the Contractors documentation;
7.35.8.2 a physical inspection of a sample of locations where work has been programmed to be performed by the Contractor during the day based on an independent monitoring of a random sample of locations by the Auditor. The number of locations sampled shall not be less than that required of the Contractor under clause 7.30.3 of the Specification.
7.35.9 The results of the Authorised Officer’s audit will, as soon as practicable, be given to the Contractor. If the results of any audit inspection undertaken by the Council demonstrate a lower percentage performance for a given period than the percentage performance claimed by the Contractor, the percentage performance demonstrated by the audit shall be used by the Contractor for the purpose of calculating the deductions appropriate to that period for the purposes of clause 7.30.1 and could be used by the Council for the purposes of clause 4.50.
Table 1
Performance Monitoring Valuations
Street Cleansing Service
Contractors Performance
Value of Lost Service
100-95%
Nil
94%
1% OF CONTRACT SUM
93%
2% ”
92%
3% ”
91%
4% ”
90%
5% ”
89%
6% ”
88%
7% ”
87%
8% ”
86%
9% ”
85%
10% ”
84%
11% ”
83%
12% ”
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Street Cleansing Specification
Part 7
82%
13% ”
81%
14% ”
80%
15% ”
79%
16% ”
78%
17% ”
77%
18% ”
76%
19% ”
75%
20% ”
74%
26% ”
73%
27% ”
72%
28% ”
71%
29% ”
70%
30% ”
69%
31% ”
68%
32% ”
67%
33% ”
66%
34% ”
And thereafter the Value of Lost Service shall increase by 1% for every decrease of 1% in the Contractor’s performance figure so that if the Contractor’s performance figure falls to 1%, the value of Lost Service figure shall be 99%.
1%
99% ”
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Wirral Council take over 19 months to respond to FOI request on Birkenhead Park and other matters
Wirral Council take over 19 months to respond to FOI request on Birkenhead Park and other matters
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I’m beginning to think I should look for sponsorship from a black marker pen manufacturer as even the minutes they have supplied have been heavily redacted. Below is an example of set of minutes I’ve finally received, which is the minutes of the Birkenhead Park Advisory Committee meeting of the 17th October 2012. I think over 19 months is a record by Wirral Council for responding to one of my FOI requests.
Birkenhead Park Advisory Committee Minutes of meeting 17th October 2012
Attendance Chair: Cllr George Davies Councillors: Cllr Denise Roberts, Cllr David Elderton, Cllr Cherry Povall, Cllr Stuart Kelly, Cllr Jean Stapleton, Cllr Alan Brighouse Members:XXXXXXXXXXXX Wirral Council Officers: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Item 1 Apologies
Cllr Brian Kenny, Insp Roy McGregor, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Item 2 Minutes of previous meeting
The minutes were accepted as a true record.
Item 3 Matters arising
Cllr Elderton raised an issue over traffic calming measures. XXXXXXXXXXXX confirmed signage for the advisory speed limit had been approved by the Conservation Officer.
There was then a question over funding for the above and a request for legal advice on how this advisory speed limit could be made enforceable.
Item 4 Park Manager’s Report XXXXXXXXXXXX reported the fall in the number of school visits and suggested possible reasons for it, including poor weather and the closure of two schools which regularly visited the park.
Cllr Stapleton asked why such small numbers from University Academy. XXXXXXXXXXXX suggested the loss of the education officer has affected contact. XXXXXXXXXXXX suggested a possible role for a volunteer to contact schools and encourage visits.
XXXXXXXXXXXX reported that the work experience programme was a real success as was the Physical Activities programme. XXXXXXXXXXXX suggested that income from commercial activities could help with finances. XXXXXXXXXXXX said an increase was required in commercial operations. XXXXXXXXXXXX predicted that this will increase.
XXXXXXXXXXXX reported to the group regarding the park’s drainage.
It was agreed by all that exceptional weather this year had caused flooding and was unavoidable.
XXXXXXXXXXXX the Events Arena could take surplus water which will also enhance biodiversity.
XXXXXXXXXXXX referred to the increase in concreting over gardens which doesn’t allow the water to drain and thereby causes increased flooding.
XXXXXXXXXXXX reported on underground water tank proposed by United Utilities because of flooding to basements in Park Road South. XXXXXXXXXXXX said there was a potential revenue asset from development of remaining plots in the park, and the United Utilities proposal to build a storage tank on the plot by Gothic Lodge would make this asset difficult to sell.
Cllr George Davies reported that the ESWA club was closing down and the building was for sale. XXXXXXXXXXXX asked if the park could make use of the area.
Cllr George Davies suggested keeping eye on developments.
XXXXXXXXXXXX reported the launch of the Park Watch scheme, adding that members were being recruited before calling the first (inaugural) meeting.
XXXXXXXXXXXX gave a report on IRIMS Incident Reporting and Management System, saying there were some “glitches” remaining but it should be up and running in a couple of months.
XXXXXXXXXXXX reported on the new Dog Control Order being proposed to exclude dogs from all children’s play areas in Wirral. He also reported on the possibility of a further Dog Control Order requiring an owner to put a dog on lead if requested, currently the byelaws state only that the dog must be under control.
Cllr Elderton suggested publicising the result of any further action after the event be recorded. XXXXXXXXXXXX expressed his concern at the nature and number of dog related incidents, suggesting the voluntary code of conduct was no good.
XXXXXXXXXXXX updated the group on the success of the Forest Schools initiative.
Item 5 Membership of Birkenhead Park Advisory Committee
Cllr George Davies requested to expand group to take in the councillor with cabinet responsibility for Cultural Services. This was agreed by all.
Item 6 Any Other Business XXXXXXXXXXXX suggested an opportunity for external funding for restoration of the Jackson Memorial, Bandstand, Conservatory and Horticultural Training. XXXXXXXXXXXX suggested that the Friends of Birkenhead Park be invited to submit a report to a future meeting.
Item 7 Date of Next Meeting
It was agreed to meet in Mid April 2013.
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Expense claim forms for Councillor George Davies (Wirral Council) 2013 (continued)
Expense claim forms for Councillor George Davies (Wirral Council) 2013 (continued)
Wirral Council have provided a further four pages of expenses returns for Councillor George Davies. Cllr George Davies is a Labour councillor for Claughton ward. His expenses return are for car mileage, tunnel tolls (cash and Fast Tag), car parking and tickets. These four pages cover the period of 11th July 2013 to 13th November 2013.
The tunnel toll of £3.20 on 1st August 2013 is a return trip through the Mersey Tunnel using cash. However on 11th September 2013 (£2.60) and 18th September 2013 (£2.60) these other trips are return trips using a Fast Tag. Cash tolls were £1.60 (each way) during this period and Fast Tag was £1.30 (each way).
There is an entry for £2.50 for two tickets for the 29th October 2013 which relates to the Child Poverty Working Group. I’m not sure exactly what it’s for as it’s written in the “tolls and parking” group and appears to not relate to tunnel tolls.
On the mileage side thankfully Cllr George Davies has provided mileometer readings.
For example on a trip to visit Chief Officers on the 29th July 2013, his start mileage is 53960, his finish mileage is either 53970 or 53974 (as both figures were written here although it looks like 53974 is the later figure) and mileage claimed is 14 miles.
Cllr George Davies expenses claim 2013 page 1 of 4Cllr George Davies expenses claim 2013 page 2 of 4Cllr George Davies expenses claim 2013 page 3 of 4Cllr George Davies expenses claim 2013 page 4 of 4
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Isn’t it time Cllr Phil Davies remembered his 2009 U-turn on closure of Ridgeway and did the same now on Lyndale?
Isn’t it time Cllr Phil Davies remembered his 2009 U-turn on closure of Ridgeway and did the same now on Lyndale?
Councillor Tony Smith (Cabinet Member for Children and Family Services) at the Special Cabinet Meeting of 4th September 2014 to discuss Lyndale School L to R Cllr Stuart Whittingham, Cllr Tony Smith (Cabinet Member for Children and Family Services), Cllr Bernie Mooney and Lyndzay Roberts
Last year, Wirral Council wanted to introduce a banding system for the extra costs at special schools. However at the last-minute they withdraw their application to the Secretary of State to do this.
Despite the fact it actually couldn’t be implemented in 2013-14, the policy was agreed by a close 8:7 vote at a call in meeting back in February 2014, so if it gets implemented next year for band 5 children at Wirral Schools the top up element for band 5 children is capped at £16,000 (this is in addition to the £10,000 each school receives per a child).
If however a child with special needs based on the Wirral is at a school outside Wirral or at an independent special school (such as West Kirby Residential School) on the Wirral this £16,000 upper limit at least by my reading of the policy doesn’t apply.
When questioned at the Coordinating Committee meeting on October 2nd 2014 and asked to explain this unfairness, David Armstrong (Assistant Chief Executive) explained that because independent schools are run as a business, Wirral Council pay more to independent schools because such businesses are run to make a profit.
I used to go to an independent school, called St. Anselm’s College. Between the ages of 12 and 14 the school complained bitterly at people like myself whose places were funded by Wirral Council because we were all told many times that the school got (if memory serves me correct nearly 20 years later so I may be a little rusty on the figure) £100 per a term less than this was actually costing them and this meant in effect they had to cross subsidise the education of people like myself by putting fees up. Across about 35 pupils, this was a deficit of about £10,000 a year at 1992 prices.
The school felt (or maybe influential parents on the board of governors felt) it was unfair to expect the well off parents to subsidise the education of other students and they chose to opt out of the local system becoming grant maintained in the mid 1990s (as grant maintained schools no longer exist it is now called an academy).
In other words even when I was actually a child in the Wirral education system (and too young to vote), I was being made aware of how angry (and let’s face it political) schools got at Wirral Council’s funding formula a whole two decades ago! This may sound awful to write like this but to a lot of large schools, each child at the school meant £x,xxx a year, which meant management trying to balance the books each year veered towards seeing children as a source of income and forgot that people prefer to be treated as people and not a line on a balance sheet. Each year children got old enough to leave, so there was the usual advertising in the local newspapers and open evenings each year to try and persuade parents to pick that particular school for their children.
That is the mistake that I sadly feel politicians and upper management at Wirral Council have made. It is very easy to just see Lyndale School as a line on a balance sheet and that there’s an underspend in the budget for closing schools and try and spend that budget. The debate has sadly got too much about money and dare I write the unthinkable “nobody really understands the full complexities of education funding anyway”?
It’s harder to look at the social fabric of what makes up a school, not just the staff and children at it but its place in the community. To give one example of this there’s the history of a school and the fond place in the hearts of people who no longer have children there but did at one stage. These are not factors that can never truly be measured by accountants at Wirral Council. Unlike other consultations, the consultation responses made to the Lyndale School closure weren’t published by Wirral Council, although you can read them as an exclusive on this blog.
In the recent past there was a move to close Ridgeway High School (a secondary school) here in Birkenhead. Ridgeway was the controversial political issue back then (I even remember speaking on TV about it), there was a large petition of thousands against closure handed in to Wirral Council and a call in meeting held in the Council Chamber which a lot of people associated with the school attended. It was controversial, but in the end in 2009 the Labour/Lib Dem Cabinet did a U-turn and Rock Ferry closed instead. The rest as they say is history.
Back then Cllr Phil Davies was the Cabinet Member for Education and was quoted as saying this about that U-turn in the Liverpool Echo, he said that it was a “pragmatic decision, based on the clear view from Ridgeway that they do not want to be part of these options” and “We are not going to force the school to close and be part of a review which they now no longer wish to be involved in.”
In the interests of balance I will point out the same article has a quote from Cllr Stuart Kelly saying he is “delighted” and this quote from Cllr Jeff Green “The Cabinet really must start thinking things through before making such critical decision on the future for Wirral residents. The anguish and alarm the decision to close Ridgeway created was wholly avoidable by a simple application of common sense, it would also have prevented this subsequent embarrassing climb down.”
Now, five years later when somebody else is Cabinet Member for Education (Cllr Tony Smith) and Cllr Phil Davies is Leader of the Council where have those fine principles of pragmatism that Cllr Phil Davies displayed back in 2009 gone? Where is the politician’s desire to actually represent the views of thousands of people that signed a petition against closure of Lyndale? Try replacing Ridgeway in those quotes with Lyndale and you will get the following two quotes (the kind of words I’m sure plenty of people wish Cllr Phil Davies would actually say):
Cllr Phil Davies that it was a “pragmatic decision, based on the clear view from Lyndale that they do not want to be part of these options” and “We are not going to force the school to close and be part of a review which they now no longer wish to be involved in.”
and Cllr Jeff Green “The Cabinet really must start thinking things through before making such critical decision on the future for Wirral residents. The anguish and alarm the decision to close Lyndale created was wholly avoidable by a simple application of common sense, it would also have prevented this subsequent embarrassing climb down.”
Certainly if those words were said today (and for the sake of everyone involved in this let’s hope something similar is said in the near future!), Cllr Jeff Green’s position would seem to be entirely consistent over time if you compare Ridgeway in 2009 to now. Ridgeway of course is and was back then a much larger school that Lyndale is, so therefore had the clout back then and political influence to make sure it was never closed.
Why does the Cllr Phil Davies of 2014 over Lyndale not display the same sense of pragmatism he showed over Ridgeway in 2009? What’s happened in the last five years? I know U-turns are embarrassing for politicians to make, but he should take a really long, hard look at one of his predecessors as Leader of the Council Cllr Steve Foulkes who refused to U-turn on library closures until the Minister launched a public inquiry and learn the lesson that that it can be disastrous for the Labour Group’s reputation to rely on the “professional” advice of Wirral Council officers and listen to those Wirral Council officers more than the views of many Wirral residents. Aren’t politicians supposed to be there to represent the public in the political process?
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