Questions from the Public under Standing Order No. 19
A period of up to 15 minutes will be set aside to deal with questions to the Committee from members of the public.
Details of questions should be notified to the Assistant Chief Executive at least three working days prior to the meeting. Further information and a copy of the procedure are available from Member Services (01392 265107) also on the Council web site.
Minutes:
With regard to Standing Order No. 19, the following question was read out by the Chair on behalf of Mr Roberts, a member of the public.
“Unfortunately management still seems to be unable to grasp the nub of the problem. It is not just about uncollected waste in bad weather but about management’s inability to plan, manage and communicate the situation. It has taken the local newspaper to recommend simple, yet productive measures, for future policy yet the Council Leader still centres his arguments on the bad weather, unfair criticism and bin men working hard.
The former is accepted and the latter has never been under question. The wider issues of this matter are that specific training in management, planning and good communication seems to be a must to restore credibility. Managers can no longer regard the serving of a long apprenticeship and having a comforting mastery of the issues as if they are a qualification but rather a disqualification.
What specifically is to be done in this respect please and when?”
The Head of Environmental Health Services responded that managers had fully grasped the nub of the problem and that his presentation would illustrate the logistics, constraints, contingency and action taken and lessons learnt for future action.