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Albert Light – Case Study 2
Interim Support to Wirral MBC – August 2010 to June 2011
Was commissioned as an interim manager to provide maternity cover, managing the
council’s £29 million/annum waste and environmental services.
Working only three days a week, successfully managed the Council’s Waste
Services. Was able to meet and exceed all the key objectives that were set.
A key task was to support the ongoing development of the Council’s waste strategy
working in conjunction with other waste authorities as part of the joint waste
partnership for the region.
During the period of the appointment the Council’s waste recycling performance
increased from around 35% to just over 40%. As well as providing strategic input and
guidance, was able to use his experience to make recommendations on system
changes to provide improved waste modelling projections for the authority. This
allowed for better in year projection of recycling performance and associated
budgets, along with a facility to easily run scenarios based around the introduction of
new or improvements to existing waste collection/recycling services.
Another key area was to take forward and further develop service value engineering
projects working in partnership with the Council’s waste services provider. Initiatives
included the introduction of a new weekend street cleansing shift and a move
towards an area based approach to cleansing. This resulted in measurable
improvements to street cleansing performance
The winter of 2010/11 proved to be one of the worst in living memory, resulting in
considerable disruptions to waste collection services during the December and early
January period. Prior to and during the period, was responsible for introducing,
further developing and leading on the Council’s waste services severe weather
working plan.
This initiative was a key factor in helping to minimise service disruption during the
period and ensure a return to normal service within a prompt time scale. A ‘lessons
learnt’ exercise was subsequently undertaken by the interim and a review report
produced. This in turn led to recommendations being produced and accepted by the
Council, around the use of winter tyres for vehicles and safety footwear for
operatives. This facilitated more work to be completed during any future periods of
severe winter weather and lead to further improvements in service delivery.
As well as developing and introducing service improvements, was also able to
introduce improvements to budget monitoring and control. This lead to savings in the
region of £200,000 for the year in question.
Working in conjunction with key budget holders and the Council’s accountants, the
budget was restructured with the aim of improving understanding and accountability
at all levels. Was also able to directly identify a contract saving in the region of
£130,000, arising from potential overpayments linked to deferred payments of annual
RPI increases in contract rates.