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Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

A frisson of excitement (or is it trepidation?) at the Community Volunteer news desk as we learn that council waste contractors, Enterprise, are to be replaced by Veolia beginning in mid-April.

The company was chosen from a final shortlist of two at a meeting of the council’s cabinet on Tuesday, January 25 and the contract between Haringey council and Veolia, who will deliver recycling, refuse, and street cleansing services for the next 14 years, is now being finalised. 

 

 

Tags for Forum Posts: Enterprise, recycling, refuse collection, street cleaning, veolia, waste contractors

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Matt, that's inaccurate and unfair.

Currently Mr Bolger is still the director.

On Parking Charges, I've probably been more critical than any other councillor about this decision and raised serious questions about the basis on which it was made. But the decision to raise Parking Charges was made by the Council's "cabinet" councillors after it was debated by the Labour Group - including me.

Please let's avoid personal remarks about an officer who can't answer back.

He can answer back here Alan, as you know full well.

 

Let us know when he's off to pastures new won't you Alan.

 

Point is his appointment has been made.

I don't know anything of the kind, Matt. Because, real point is, elected local councillors took this decision.

It was perfectly legitimate to raise questions and make criticisms about the reports written by officers (and signed by Mr Bolger as director). Several councillors - from both parties - did so. There was also a Call-in by the LibDems about the Pay & Display charges in Crouch End, Green Lanes and Muswell Hill.

But the officers' reports made recommendations, not decisions. Councillors could have rejected those recommendations; or postponed decisions while better information was provided.

Matt, you asked me to tell you when Niall Bolger was leaving. His last day is Friday 11 March.

Today Kevin Crompton the Chief Executive emailed all councillors that Anne Lippitt will join us as Interim Director of "Place & Sustainability". The new fancy-schmancy name for the Directorate.

Matt, as a postscript, you may be interested to see the Freedom of Information Act request made on 20 March by Doug Wright.

He asks several questions about the recruitment to the new post of Director of Space, Time & Entropy  Place and Sustainability.

This Department was previously known as Environmental Services. Which unfortunately, nobody understood.  To make things clearer, it was renamed Urban Environment. Which was helpful for residents under the mistaken impression they'd moved to Harrogate.

Very plainly the new name will make its functions crystal clear.

I sent this email on 6th February. As of today, St. Valentine's day, I have not yet received a response,
As a comparison, the current system in place for answering councillors' enquiries allows for up to ten working days. Though I assume you've had at least a formal acknowledgement from Mr Bolger's office.
My street had uninterrupted rubbish and recycling collections all through the snow and over Christmas. The worst interruption for quite some time now was a bag of garden compost not collected on a Friday but on the following Tuesday. Well done Enterprise.

I think there is a deeper issue here - the only companies which can conform with the ludicrous tender requirements for council contracts are frerking ginormous multinationals with a proven track record of having carried out (and probably fouled up) similar contracts in the past. If the stuff about contraventions of the Geneva Convention is true Haringey really should be ashamed. I think cost effective and ethical are not mutually contradictory
As has been stated earlier in this posting, Haringey Council are responsible for the recycling, not Enterprise. Well done Haringey Council.
Does any one know any of the details? A search for Veolia using the Haringey website finds some stuff about water in cold weather, but nothing useful. Are all the details kept secret for reasons of commercial confidentiality?
When I asked about this, I was told the details would be made available shortly. I imagine that contract negotiation means that they do not yet have sufficient detail of what Veolia will be responsible for to publish it.
And yet, is the devil not in the detail. Is not knowing what you're talking about a good basis for making a decision? Or have they actually made a decision? In the news item Veolia is still only the "preferred bidder" for a contract to begin in April. Is the "somewhat unpopular bidder" still in the running? I can picture the Veolia execs rubbing their hands with glee - LBH have announced a decision, politicians are embarrassed by u-turns, Veolia now dictate the detail to LBH? I bet this will be one of those contracts it costs more to cancel than it does to fulfil.

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