Agenda item

To consider the chronology of events in the lead up to revocation of Operator’s Licence.  

Members discussed the chronology of events that had led up to revocation of the Operator’s Licence and questions arose as to whether enough urgency had been given to the situation. In response, officers highlighted that a number of actions had been taken between the resignation of the Fleet and Operations Manager, who held the Transport Manager Certificate of Professional Competence qualification, and the revocation of the Operator’s Licence. This included applying for the grace period with the Office of the Traffic Commissioner (OTC), interviewing potential interim Transport Managers and the Director of Environmental Services undertaking the relevant qualification. In addition, a number of alternative options were explored such as a shared manager with BDC and Colchester and putting Councillor Driscoll, who holds the qualification, on the licence as a figurehead. However, they acknowledged that not enough had been done, otherwise the licence wouldn’t have been revoked.

The Director of Environmental Services apologised for overlooking the 17^th January email which stated the period of grace had ended. He thanked the Leader and the Chief Executive but said that this was ultimately his mistake.

In response to a question from Councillor Sell, he said that not all of the relevant correspondence from the OTC had been forwarded to the Chief Executive, Leader or Portfolio Holder until the Operator’s Licence was at the point of revocation. However, he had been in regular discussions with all three to update them on progress. Councillor Reeve said that he regretted not seeing the correspondence, as he may have had a different attitude to the matters.

The Leader added that she had requested a spreadsheet on all mandatory documentation be brought to ICB for monitoring whilst there were ongoing operational issues.

In response to further questions from members, the following was clarified:

·         It was noted that, whilst meetings were taking place during the grace period, the potential revocation of the Operator’s Licence was not on either the Corporate or Service-Level Risk Registers.

·         The Director of Environmental Services had decided to undertake the Transport Manager CPC qualification in order to gain further knowledge and be able to challenge any risks or working practices around the management of the fleet in future. The intention was not for him to become the named Transport Manager on the Operator’s Licence.

·         Following the immediate resignation of the Fleet and Operations Manager, the Council had 28 days to report that the Transport Manager CPC holder had left, however it was best practice to do this sooner and the Council had done so within nine days. During this period, the Licence was still valid.

·         An acknowledgment had been sent to the email received on 17^th January from the OTC stating that the period of grace had expired. However, there was not a formal reply. 

·         Officers had got the deadline for the grace period wrong, believing it to be 31st January rather than 13th January. It was not known why the OTC had chosen 13th, as the Transport Manager had left on 31st.

·         The recruitment of a Transport Manager, with waste management experience and a progressive approach to creating an inclusive working culture had proven difficult to find.