Ed Gouge from the Isle of Wight Labour party shares this latest news. Ed
The IW Labour Party is demanding answers over the Island’s controversial and ‘shambolic’ new waste contract.
The new £225 million contract, which includes the hard-up IW Council handing contractor Amey £70 million to kick-start the project, has been dogged by problems since the new arrangements came into force earlier this month.
Labour is seeking more details about the contract and asking why when the council and Amey had almost a year to prepare for the new arrangement, the launch so quickly descended into chaos.
Councillor Geoff Lumley said:
“There are always going to be teething problems with a change of this nature but the shambolic start to this contract goes beyond what could be expected and does not bode well for the future. The council and Amey had months to plan for the launch but both have failed residents dismally.
“Residents have not been provided with the correct bins or sacks, some have received nothing at all and it seems a great many residents are even unaware of the changes. And those who try to contact the council to seek clarification simply cannot get through. There has been a lack of thorough planning and a failure to get to grips with the problem once the shortcomings became evident.”
Questions need answering
At Full Council on 25th May, Labour will call on portfolio holder Cllr Paul Fuller to answer a number of questions.
These include:
- On what terms is the IW Council borrowing £70 million to find Amey’s start-up costs?
- Why was Amey not required to have a designated call centre and why was the Isle of Wight Council unprepared for the volume of calls it received at the start of the contract?
- Why, with so long to plan the launch the new arrangements, did so many properties not have the required bins and sacks?
- Is the contract specification available for public scrutiny? If not why not?
- What arrangements are in place to monitor and manage this contract?
Deb Gardiner, Island Labour’s Chair, said:
“This is a contract of high value and high importance as it affects us all as individuals and we should also be ensuring that the Island increases its recycling and reduces its landfill.
“But so far it has been a farcical exercise in poor planning and inadequate response. The IW Council needs to quickly demonstrate that it has the expertise and resources to run a contract of this nature. So far the signs are not promising.”
