Birmingham City Council has been criticised for blaming 'rogue crews' for failures in bin collections by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
The ombudsman has issued a third critical report about Birmingham’s bin collections after it failed to improve services.
The latest report focuses on three residents who receive assisted collections as they unable to collect and return their bins by themselves.
The council has agreed to monitor collections after the three women complained to the ombudsman. However, in all three cases problems persisted and they felt targeted by the collection crews for making a complaint.
Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: 'While there may be issues on the ground, it is not enough for the council to blame rogue crews and then fail to tackle these issues at a more senior level. We are concerned the situation the three women have faced is echoed across the city, particularly because they are served by different council depots, rather than there being a rotten culture at a single location.
'This continued failure to address public concerns effectively is as much a matter of corporate leadership as it is of day-to-day service delivery. I am pleased the council has agreed to my recommendations to tackle the issues at its most senior level and hope the oversight of both the chief executive and leader will ensure issues are tackled in a more proactive manner.'
The council has agreed to review its waste collection monitoring arrangements and will produce an action plan to identify ways of improving staff performance. It will also pay each of the women £200 in compensation.
Cllr Majid Mahmood, cabinet member for environment at Birmingham City Council, said: 'We take these findings very seriously – and unreservedly apologise that the standard of service was not what it should have been in these cases.
'A comprehensive action plan has been drawn up in response, and we will fully address and action all the findings and recommendations that have been made. This includes further staff training, the utilisation of technology that will better inform crews about information on assisted collections on their rounds and wagon cameras that enable the monitoring of services on a regular basis.'
