'Deeply disappointing' level of waste collection, says Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council leader

The Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council leader has blasted its waste contractor Serco for an “unsatisfactory” level of service, saying he was “deeply disappointed”.

Simon Bound (Con, Sherborne St John and Rooksdown) said the collection service, which has been beset by problems for months, had been poor enough to activate penalty clauses in the contract.

Serco was awarded a £44m eight-year joint contract in 2018 with Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and Hart District Council, replacing previous contractor Veolia.

The contract is valued at £5.5m a year.

It has, however, run into numerous problems over the last two years, during and in the aftermath of the pandemic.

In July 2021, the garden waste collection was suspended temporarily during the ‘pingdemic’, when staff were informed they had been in contact with someone who had tested positive for coronavirus and forced to self-isolate.

In October last year, the service was suspended for more than six weeks due to a lack of HGV drivers, and the service was suspended yet again in January for a fortnight due to bin crew staff absences.

Serco continues to struggle to complete all its collections due to a lack of drivers, and in June it was forced to apologise for delayed waste, recycling and garden waste collections.

Mr Bound, who replaced former council leader Ken Rhatigan in February, said: “I’m deeply disappointed by Serco and the level of service they’re currently delivering.

“It’s certainly not what we’re paying for as council tax payers – they’re not delivering what they have promised to deliver us.”

Mr Bound said Serco had been calling in drivers from different contracts around the country to help it complete its rounds, but that had a “frustrating knock-on impact” of drivers missing bins because “they don’t know the patch”.

He continued: “If I’ve been waiting for my bin to be collected for a couple of days, and then everybody apart from mine is collected in the road, it’s very unsatisfactory.

“That’s been made abundantly clear to Serco.”

He revealed there was a penalty process built into the contract which operated retrospectively due to data analysis, and Serco paid £10 to the taxpayer for every missed bin.

Mr Bound added that “penalties are in place” due to Serco’s “poor enough performance”.

The contract is up for renewal in 2026, with a possible eight-year extension.

Asked whether the borough council was considering ending the contract early, Mr Bound said the local authority was considering every option, and that a decision would be made based on Serco’s recovery from the current level of service.

Regional director for Serco environmental services, Katy Bassett, said: “We would like to apologise to any residents who may be experiencing delays with their collections.

“We currently have a number of LGV driver vacancies which we are actively trying to fill in what remains a very challenging environment for recruitment.”