BOROUGH chiefs have been given the all clear to bring Cheshire West’s waste management service back into the public sector.

Cheshire West and Chester Council will launch a local authority trading organisation to run the service from March 29, 2020, when the current contract with Kier comes to an end.

The move was given the thumbs up from cabinet members on Wednesday, with Cllr Karen Shore moving to reassure residents that standards will be kept up.

She said: “What was really important was that on day one there was a seamless transfer for our residents because this is a service that affects every household in the borough.

Northwich Guardian:

“It is a good service and we want to maintain that quality.”

Cllr Shore told cabinet that the local authority trading organisation will be a company limited by guarantee – with any profits made reinvested into the waste service – and it will focus on sustainability, tackling the climate emergency and improving recycling rates.

It will be run as a co-operative with a ‘community ethos’ – with feedback from residents and staff set to be listened to and prioritised, while hiring local employees and using the borough’s supply chain.

The move will also see staff signed up to permanent contracts on at least the local living wage, with a guarantee of no redundancies as a result of the switch from Kier, and employees will have the chance to sit on the company’s board alongside the council.

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Cllr Shore added: “We have fully considered all of the risks that might present themselves during the course of this – it has been a very long process.

“This is about looking at the resources that are available to councils and doing the best that we can with those resources available.”

Bringing the waste contract in-house was a key policy in Labour’s election manifesto in May, and cabinet members were unanimous in their support.

Cllr Nicole Meardon, cabinet member for children and families, said: “We’ve seen time and time again nationally that when services are delivered by the private sector, for profit, that is the bottom line – how much money it can make.”

Northwich Guardian:

But Kenny Cunningham, chairman of West Cheshire TUC, was more cautious and urged CWAC to bring waste back as a service directly run by the council, rather than through a trading organisation.

He said: “The history of council-owned companies is chequered, I think we can say, with the failure of CoSocius and the years of fighting for the local living wage at Edsential.

“This doesn’t seem to be the most efficient way of moving forward.”

Following the vote, Cllr Lynn Riley, Conservative shadow cabinet member for adult social care and public health, wrote on Twitter: “The [Kier] service was designed around residents and what was important to them including good value for money.

Northwich Guardian:

“CWAC Conservatives will work to ensure that this is the most important focus as the council sets up its own operation.”