Guildford's Refuse Collection Most Expensive in Surrey

12.00.00am GMT Tue 7th Mar 2006

New figures show that the cost of collecting refuse in Guildford Borough was the highest in Surrey during 2004/5, at £61.73 per household. The costs for other councils in the county ranged from £23.51 to £58.23 per household. At last night's meeting of the borough council's Environment Scrutiny Committee, Liberal Democrat councillors called for an investigation into how the service can be made more cost-effective.

Councillor Liz Hogger, Lib Dem Environment spokesperson, said "It is of course more expensive to provide good kerbside recycling services, but that is not enough to explain this high cost in Guildford. We must look at this to see how we can get better value for money for our council tax payers."

Other figures showed how Guildford's services are slipping back compared with other councils in England. In 2002/3, when Liberal Democrats led the Council, 43% of performance indicators were in the 'top' quartile, i.e. Guildford was amongst the best councils in the country on those services. By 2004/5, under the current Conservative administration, that figure had fallen to 32%. The officer's report presented to the Scrutiny Committee recommended that 'action plans … are brought into place from April 2006 in a positive attempt to drive performance upwards.'

Cllr Hogger commented after the meeting: "It's about time the Conservatives put some action plans in place. The Lib Dems have high-lighted declining services for some time. For example, the percentage of dirty streets, which do not reach the required standard for litter and detritus, has more than doubled - 18% this year compared to 8% last year. Residents deserve better."