Labour welcomes partial reversal of Westminster weekend street sweeping cuts

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Labour welcomes partial reversal of Westminster weekend street sweeping cuts

By Westminster Labour ⋅ February 22, 2012 ⋅ Post a comment
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Conservatives admit they got it wrong but many Westminster streets will still have no weekend street sweeping service.

Labour Councillors have welcomed Westminster Council’s decision to partially reverse the unpopular weekend street sweeping cuts, but say that the reinstatement of only 22 of the 70 staff sacked last year (at a cost of £224,000) does not go far enough and will still leave many parts of Westminster with un-swept and rubbish-strewn streets at the weekend.

At the Budget meeting on 7th March, Labour Councillors will be proposing that all 70 weekend street sweeping posts are reinstated across Westminster at a cost of an estimated £650,000 a year, to be funded by a similar cut in the £2.8 million a year Communications and Policy Department Budget.

A report to Councillors says;

“Weekend Sweeping – The most recent Veolia contract variation (July 2011 – £3.76m contract cost reduction) included the removal of 49% of weekend street sweepers – 70 from 144 staff (saving £643K) with the remaining staff being predominantly deployed in the West End and similar commercial streets. Although professionally and sensitively implemented, this reduction has seen an impact on the levels of cleanliness achieved, particularly in residential streets close to commercial thoroughfares. It is therefore proposed to reintroduce 22 street sweepers on each Saturday and Sunday, with their deployment being based on an analysis of complaints levels, local knowledge and the views of ward councillors.”

Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, Leader of the Labour Group, said; “While Westminster’s partial reversal of last year’s weekend street sweeping cuts is to be welcomed, there is a strong argument for reinstating the full weekend street sweeping service right across Westminster. The Council has admitted that it got it wrong last year, but these latest proposals will still leave many parts of Westminster with dirty and rubbish-strewn streets at the weekend. The Council has a basic duty to all residents, no matter where they live, to keep the streets clean.

“Reinstating the full weekend street sweeping service across Westminster would be universally popular and is a much better use of public money than spending it on more glossy Council brochures.”

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