Overview and Scrutiny Committee - Thursday, 11th December, 2025 7.00 pm - Agenda and draft minutes

To confirm the Minutes of the Meeting held on 23rd October, 2025 (copy attached).

The minutes of the meetings held on 23rd October, 2025 were agreed as a correct record.

Following discussions at the Committee meeting in June 2025 regarding the working arrangements of the Registered Providers Task and Finish Group and a subsequent meeting of the Group, the Committee are being asked to:

·         agree a change of name for the Group from the “Registered Providers Task and Finish Group” to the “Housing Oversight Group”, and

·         agree the new Terms of Reference (copy attached), for the Housing Oversight Group.

The Committee welcomed Zoe Paine, Strategy and Enabling Officer who was in attendance to advise the Committee of the work undertaken to review the Terms of Reference and working arrangements of the Registered Providers Task and Finish Group since the meeting in June 2025.

The Committee were being asked to agree a name change for the Group to the Housing Oversight Group and agree new Terms of Reference.

The Committee discussed the Terms of Reference and agreed both changes, subject to the following additions/changes to the Terms of Reference:

• An increase in the regularity of meetings, three a year wasn’t considered enough

• Inclusion of a process for the Portfolio Holder to report back to the Committee

• A greater number of Members on the Group, which currently had five Members, seven was suggested and political balance would need to be considered

• Confirmation that Private Rented Housing would be included in the Group’s remit

• Inclusion of a mechanism in the Terms of Reference to ensure that the widening of the Group did not affect the ability to hold Registered Providers to account - this was considered a priority.

Mrs Paine, agreed to rework the Terms of Reference to incorporate the changes/additions. The revised Terms of Reference would then be shared via email with Members for agreement.

The Chair thanked Mrs Paine for her time.

To receive the 2024/25 Annual Report (copy attached) from SERCO on their activities during the year. The report will cover SERCO’s performance in the key areas of refuse and recycling and management of street cleansing and grounds maintenance.

The item will be introduced by Rushmoor’s Environmental Contracts Service Manager, Ruth Whaymand and representatives from SERCO, Harry Oakley, Senior Contract Manager – West Region and Aaron Straker, Contract Manager.

The Portfolio Holder for Pride in Place and Neighbourhood Services, Cllr Christine Guinness will also be in attendance.

The Committee welcomed Ruth Whaymand, Environmental Contracts Manager and Aaron Straker, Serco Contracts Manager, who were both in attendance to report on the Serco Annual Report 2024/25.

The Committee received a presentation from Ms Whaymand which provided an overview of the Serco contract, including a background to the procurement, how the contract was audited, service changes, new legislation timetables and the introduction of ‘Simpler Recycling’. Mr Straker then gave a presentation which covered details on the workforce, the services delivered in Rushmoor (Collections, Street Cleansing and Grounds Maintenance), contract management and compliance, whitespace, Supatrak and onboard CCTV, health and safety and wellbeing, recycling, innovation, added value and the future.

The Committee discussed the presentations and raised the following issues:

·         Street Cleansing changes in some areas were considered to not be successful, in particular in the North Camp area, and as a gateway into the Borough for the forthcoming 2026 Airshow and Armed Forces Day, a request was made for attention to be given to all gateways into the Borough to ensure all were well maintained and clear of rubbish for these important events.

·         Food waste KPIs and what targets were considered realistic? - Mr Straker advised that work was underway to set realistic targets for food waste collections and advised he hoped these would be fairer in the future.

·         Simpler Recycling – how would residents understand what could and could not be recycled? – it was noted that the new recycling rules aimed to make it easier for residents, as all counties would be aligned with the same recycling requirements. It was reported that metals, plastics and glass would be co-collected, and paper and card would be collected separately to avoid co-contamination. Consideration was being given, by the Working Group, to the receptacle to collect paper and card, and a wheeled bin was thought to be most appropriate to avoid any cross contamination or manual handing issues. Members requested that the Group thought about space for wheeled bins, from a residents’ point of view, when deliberating the matter.

The Portfolio Holder advised that the cost of any new bins and vehicle infrastructure, due to changes as a result of Simpler Recycling, were currently being discussed with Hampshire County Council, as the disposal authority. Should the County Council order local authorities to make changes, they would be responsible for the additional cost, but at present the cost would be the responsibility of the local authorities.

In response to a query regarding the income from PackUK, the Governments chosen administrator for the UK’s Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging programme, in relation to Simpler Recycling, it was estimated that the Council were expected to receive around £1m for 2025/26, however only £615k was guaranteed as it was dependent on the funds being collected from manufacturers by PackUK. The funds would be ringfenced for waste and recycling services.

·         Apprenticeships – in response to a question regarding apprenticeships leading to permanent positions, it was advised that this was not always possible but there was a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.

To receive a presentation on the Walk this Waste Pilot, from Environmental Contracts Service Manager, Ruth Whaymand. The Portfolio Holder for Pride in Place and Neighbourhood Services, Cllr Christine Guinness, will also be in attendance to report on the Pilot and respond to any Members questions.

Environmental Contracts Manager, Ruth Whaymand gave a presentation on the Walk this Waste Pilot which aimed to reduce fly-tipping in the Borough. Fly-tipping had a significant impact, especially in deprived areas, and encouraged crime and anti-social behaviour.

The Pilot, to provide a free bulky waste collection, was aimed at reducing fly-tipping in the most deprived areas and targeted residents with no access to transport or funds to dispose of their own bulky waste. A mobile collection vehicle undertook nine events, each with multiple stopping points, and was limited to collecting three items per household. It was reported that, 178 residents used the service and 333 items were collected, totalling 8.34 tonnes of waste. It was noted that the Pilot did not have the desired effect of reducing incidents of fly-tipping and overall, a slight increase was recorded. The Pilot had cost approximately £5,700.

The Portfolio Holder advised that the Pilot had been well received by residents, and the choice to use a mobile vehicle had been more positive than the original choice to use a static skip. However, despite the service not reducing incidents of fly-tipping during the pilot, it was felt that should the service be extended to include one event in each ward per year at a cost of £7,970 (7p per resident a year), an impact could be achieved. The Pilot had also had a positive impact on the communities where it had been carried out.

Cllr Harden expressed his thoughts on the Pilot, and it was noted that he felt the funds could be used in a different way by targeting vulnerable or elderly people or those with more items and no ability to dispose of them themselves. He was supportive of the community aspect of the Pilot but felt that the funds shouldn’t be spent on a scheme that had been proven not to work.

During discussion, the Committee acknowledged that the Pilot period had been short, and impacts may be seen if the Pilot were allowed to carry on for a longer period. Alternative options were also raised including, using funds from the Bulky Waste scheme to support initiatives around potential reduced rates or ward specific schemes as agreed with ward councillors. It was noted that it was important to reach those that needed the service the most and alternatives needed to be considered.

In summary, the Committee’s key observations and recommendations to the Cabinet were:

• There was no evidence that the Pilot had achieved its primary purpose of reducing fly-tipping, although it was acknowledged that this may have followed should the scheme have run over a longer period

• The Pilot clearly helped engage communities in achieving ‘Pride in Place’

• Concerns were expressed that the scheme excluded residents who were unable to carry large items to the vehicles

• The Committee requested Cabinet consider the following as alternatives to the Walk This Waste scheme:

• A review of residents’ accessibility to the bulky waste service, employing pricing incentives to encourage participation,
• bespoke ward specific measures to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.

To consider the Work Plan for the 2025/26 Municipal Year (copy attached).

The Committee noted the current Work Plan and were advised that the next meeting on 5th February, 2026, would be used to carry out pre decision scrutiny on the Farnborough Leisure Centre.