Biffa Striking
Dear Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council,
as I understand it
you pay Biffa Waste Services to clean the streets and empty the bins. They are on strike and the already unacceptably litter strewn town centre is now looking like a 3rd world country. Why are you allowing Biffa to strike??? What are Wirral council going to do to sort out this issue? Are Biffa responsible for the Wirral's clogged drainage system?
Yours faithfully,
Scott
Dear Mr Williams
Please see below our response to your recent information enquiry.
Why are you allowing Biffa to strike???
The industrial action undertaken by Biffa workforce was
legal and our contract does not prohibit lawful action.
What are Wirral council going to do to sort out this issue?
The industrial action was between Biffa and its workforce. Wirral Council
is working within the contract with Biffa to resolve the dispute and to
ensure collections and street cleansing operations return to normal as
quickly as possible.
Are Biffa responsible for the Wirral's clogged drainage system?
Biffa are responsible for sweeping the streets of litter, detritus and
leaves, but are not responsible for emptying gullies. The industrial
action of 5-9 December, followed by a week of temperatures consistently
below freezing, meant that the usual leaf clearance was not completed
before Christmas. Crews are currently catching up on this outstanding
work in areas of known flooding.
Yours sincerely
Lynette Paterson
Principal Information Management Officer
Resources – Digital and Improvement
Wirral Council
PO Box 290
Brighton Street
Wallasey
CH27 9FQ
Email: [1][Wirral Borough Council request email]
Visit our website: [2]www.wirral.gov.uk
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager.
References
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1. mailto:[Wirral Borough Council request email]
2. http://www.wirral.gov.uk/
Dear InfoMgr, FinDMT,
You state ' and street cleansing operations return to normal as quickly as possible.' As far as I can see, and I have had a good look around, in Birkenhead no street cleaning activities ever take place, are Biffa charging Wirral Council for street cleaning?
Yours sincerely,
Scott
Dear Scott
We would refer you to our email of 27 September 2022 in which we responded to your earlier enquiry confirming that Biffa undertake street cleaning services on the Council's behalf.
Yours sincerely
Lynette Paterson
Principal Information Management Officer
Resources – Digital and Improvement
Wirral Council
PO Box 290
Brighton Street
Wallasey
CH27 9FQ
Email: [Wirral Borough Council request email]
Visit our website: www.wirral.gov.uk
Dear InfoMgr, FinDMT,
can you provide evidence that the street cleaning services are actually being carried out? I suggest you take a good look around the town centre, I see no evidence of any street cleaning taking place.
Can you tell me who is responsible for the drainage system across the Wirral within this FOI, or should I post a new FOI specifically for that subject?
Yours sincerely,
Scott
Dear Scott
I would again refer you to our response of 27 September 2022, a copy of
which is provided below for your ease of reference, which states that the
drainage system is a matter for the Council's Highways service.
Your initial question seeks opinion and is therefore not considered to be
a valid request for recorded information under the legislation. If you
wish to make a complaint in relation to street cleaning, please use the
Council's corporate complaint process, at
[1]https://www.wirral.gov.uk/about-council/...
Yours sincerely
Lynette Paterson
Principal Information Management Officer
Resources – Digital and Improvement
Wirral Council
PO Box 290
Brighton Street
Wallasey
CH27 9FQ
Email: [2][Wirral Borough Council request email]
Visit our website: [3]www.wirral.gov.uk
Dear InfoMgr, FinDMT,
I asked...can you provide evidence that the street cleaning services are actually being carried out? This is a genuine question. Could you provide the evidence that street cleaning is being undertaken by Biffa in the Birkenhead area of the Wirral.
How many times per month do management from Wirral council audit/check that Biffa are honouring their contract?
I stated...can you provide evidence that the street cleaning services are actually being carried out? I suggest you take a good look around the town centre, I see no evidence of any street cleaning taking place. This may well be confused with an opinion.
I suggest you take a good look around the town centre, I see no evidence of any street cleaning taking place.
Yours sincerely,
Scott
Dear InfoMgr, FinDMT,
I disagree my original request seeks opinion. As I understand it Biffa submitted a tender for the work and are paid by Wirral council to perform the tasks the tender required. With this in mind they have no right to strike as they have agreed to a contract.
Yours sincerely,
Scott
Dear Mr Williams
Please see below our response to your recent enquiry.
Could you provide the evidence that street cleaning is being undertaken by
Biffa in the Birkenhead area of the Wirral. The Streetscene Environment
Services contract with Biffa sets a broad ‘output specification’ whereby
Biffa have a straightforward contractual obligation to keep all adopted
highway areas maintained to a Grade A/B Local Environmental Quality
standard. This is then accompanied by a series of schedules in the
contract which set out the geographical extent of the adopted highway
network to which this broad contractual obligation applies. The adopted
highway schedules included in the contract for the Birkenhead area are
carried out on a monthly basis. The secondary retail locations are
cleansed each week and the main shopping areas are serviced daily.
How many times per month do management from Wirral council audit/check
that Biffa are honouring their contract? Auditable inspections are
carried out on 15 computer generated randomly selected locations which is
taken from the street database file. These inspections are carried out 3
times per week and cover 45 randomly selected locations throughout a
defined area being cleansed. Evidence of the audit inspections is
archived for future quality reviews and data flow analysis. Because
locations are randomly selected it may not be possible to provide evidence
that a specific location has been cleansed. The audit process only
provides a snap shot of 15 locations from a given area cleansed on the day
of the audit inspection.
Yours sincerely
Lynette Paterson
Principal Information Management Officer
Resources – Digital and Improvement
Wirral Council
PO Box 290
Brighton Street
Wallasey
CH27 9FQ
Email: [1][Wirral Borough Council request email]
Visit our website: [2]www.wirral.gov.uk
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[Wirral Borough Council request email]
2. http://www.wirral.gov.uk/
Dear InfoMgr, FinDMT,
in response, I cannot and have not seen any audits being carried out anywhere on the Wirral. Please go down to Birkenhead town centre and take a good look around, there is litter everywhere. Once you have witnessed the litter strewn town centre, take a good drive around the Wirral there is litter everywhere.
I personally witnessed Biffa arrive at Moreton shore, they emptied the bins that were there and then drove away from all the litter that was not in the bins. Do I really have to travel the Wirral taking photos and then forward them to you to prove Biffa are not fulfilling their contract? Neither are your highways agency check out all the visibly blocked drains across the Wirral!
Yours sincerely,
Scott
Dear Scott
Your comments are noted. Your Freedom of Information enquiry has been
answered and as such we have nothing further to add in terms of recorded
information. Should you wish to make a complaint, please do so using the
online complaints process at [1]https://www.wirral.gov.uk/feedback
Yours sincerely
Lynette Paterson
Principal Information Management Officer
Resources – Digital and Improvement
Wirral Council
PO Box 290
Brighton Street
Wallasey
CH27 9FQ
Email: [2][Wirral Borough Council request email]
Visit our website: [3]www.wirral.gov.uk
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