2016

SCOT0053 - Drink options provided for primary school lunches

This member authority would like to know what drink options other local authorities provide for their primary school lunches?

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SCOT0052 - Arrangements regarding external funding secured by community groups for new facilities

In these times of budget reductions and reduced manpower resources this local authority would like to know, what arrangements other member Local Authorities (LAs) are putting in place when community groups approach their respective Councils with external funding monies they have managed to secure for proposals to add new facilities that will be available to their community e.g., Multi-Use- Games-Areas (MUGAs), play areas, outdoor exercise equipment items etc. on Council held land?

· Are you automatically absorbing the ownership and all responsibilities of these new and additional facilities/assets. Taking the financial ‘hit’ to both revenue and future capital replacement budgets?

· Are you absorbing the ownership and responsibilities of these new and additional facilities/assets but with the community groups financing the additional associated resource costs (both revenue & capital) from their external funding streams?

· Are you setting up leases with the respective community groups where these new and additional facilities/assets are being installed to pass over the future responsibilities and associated inspection, maintenance, and public liability insurance costs to the community groups?

· Any other arrangement? (if so, please elaborate)

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SCOT0051 - Processing time sheets for Facilities Management Staff 08.11.16

1) How are timesheets processed for the payment of overtime for Cleaning Staff, Catering Staff, Janitors and Caretakers.

2) Who authorises overtime payments

3) Who processes the payment

4) Who checks for accuracy to ensure that overpayments do not happen.

5) Any other information that could help in modernising and streamlining the process.

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SCOT0050 - New Build Projects 28.10.16

A member authority would be grateful if you could provide information on any new build projects, specifically:-

1. Minimum space standards for 1, 2, 3, 4 bedroom houses, cottage flats & tenement flats

2. Average total project cost for the above house types

3. Average grant provide for the above house types

4. Current cost per m2 to deliver new social rented units

5. The year the project was completed

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SCOT0049 - Fuel and Vehicle Strategies 24.10.16

A member authority is interested to hear from others in terms of their fuel and vehicle strategies, specifically:-

1. Do you have a fuel strategy on petroleum or diesel fuelled vehicles? Please provide a copy if willing to share.

2. Do you have a strategy on electric vehicles and alternative fuelled vehicles? Please provide a copy if willing to share.

3. Do you have a strategy in relation to carbon reduction? Please provide a copy if willing to share.

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SCOT0048 - Roads Maintenance capitalisation ofrevenue budgets 21.10.16

A member authority would like to ask others, from your Road Maintenance budget, how much, in monetary or proportion/percentage terms, capitalisation of the revenue budget have you undertaken in your council in recent years together with any proposals for further capitalisation in the 2017/18 budget?

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SCOT0047 - Soft FM staff – PVG status (ProtectingVulnerable Groups) 12.10.16

A member authority would like find out from other local authorities what staff are PVG’d (Protecting Vulnerable Groups scheme.

The staff groups are:
1. Janitors
2. Catering
3. School Crossers
4. Caretakers
5. Centre Supervisors

If you can include what staff groups are PVG’d for (ie children only, adults only or both), this would be appreciated.

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SCOT0046 - New Fencing Tender 11.10.16

This local authority is currently working on a new fencing tender (specifically for Council housing and environmental works relating to Council housing) to be implemented for a specified period (possibly annual but likely to be 2 or 3 years with future extensions thereafter). They would be grateful for any information on the following:-

1. Would you be able to provide a contact (name, number, email) for the person who could assist with copies of any documentation and/or support that would help towards the formation of this tender?

2. What specific input does your Procurement function within your authority / business have to this tender creation / award / administration?

3. Could you highlight any specific issues that you have encountered in the day to day running of your current contract?

4. Do you use the Standard Method of Measurement (SMM7) or similar methodologies and issue specific Schedule of Rates or do you accept non-priced items e.g. dayworks codes or similar?

5. Do you use framework agreements and if so, do you find specific benefits or have you had any issues because of this?

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SCOT0045a - Commercial Waste Collection Model 08.09.16

Following the implementation of the Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012, it has proven to be challenging for this member authority to provide an efficient and effective commercial waste delivery model.

They would be interested in hearing from other local authorities who have experienced similar challenges and how they have been able to overcome these?

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SCOT0045 - Contractual overtime for janitors 30.08.16

This member authority would be grateful for any information which can be provided in relation to the following:-

1. Do you still pay contractual overtime to janitors?

2. If no, could you please provide information as to how this was removed?

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SCOT0044 - School meal uptake - the effects of changing to a 4.5 day week 25.08.16

This local authority would like to hear from other member authorities in relation to the effects changing to a 4.5 day week has had on school meal uptake, specifically:-

1. Has your local authority reduced their secondary school week to 4.5 days i.e. half day Friday?

2. What effect has this had on school meal uptake?

3. What do you offer at a lunchtime on the half day i.e. packed lunch?

4. What do pupils entitled to free school meals receive?

5. What is the meal uptake on the half day?

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SCOT0043 - School Meal Price Increases 2017/18 25.08.16

This local authority would like to ask if colleagues could share their proposed 2017/18 price increases for primary and secondary full meal (free school meal price) equivalents.
1. Primary:
2. Secondary:

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SCOT0042 - Network Query Dining Room Supervision Arrangements 09.08.16

A member authority recently contacted APSE to ask the following questions about dining room supervision arrangements.
1. Do you have appointed staff to undertake dining room supervision at lunchtime?
2. If so, please provide your allocation standard
3. Do you offer free meals as a reward for staff undertaking dining room supervision?
4. If so, is this restricted to volunteers as opposed to those undertaking duties during paid time?
5. Do you offer free meals/other rewards to pupils for supporting supervision arrangements?

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SCOT0041 - Payment kiosks for council payments 08.08.16

This local authority would like to hear from colleagues who make use of payment kiosks to accept any and all council payments by cash or card, specifically:-

1. Which supplier did you choose?
2. How much did the kiosks cost, including annual maintenance?
3. How many transactions per day can the kiosks handle?
4. Can the kiosk dispense notes and coins as change?

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SCOT0040 - Policies relating to grass cutting of sloped embankments 20.07.16

A member authority would like to know what other local authority policies are in regards to the grass cutting of sloped embankments? The would be grateful if you could provide any information or copies of policies regarding this.

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SCOT0039 - Summer and Winter Overalls 06.07.16

This authority would like to know:
1. Do you provide summer and/or winter overalls?
2. If so, please provide a brief description of what you provide.

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SCOT0038 - School Crossing Patroller Medicals 24.05.16

This member authority would like to hear from other local authorities in relation to procedures regarding School Crossing Patroller medicals, specifically:-

1. Do your School Crossing Patrollers undergo a preemployment medical?

2. If so, do they have periodic medical checks thereafter?

3. What is the frequency of the medical checks?

All responses would be greatly appreciated and as ever with APSE network queries the responses will be shared between respondent authorities.

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SCOT0037 - Telematics fitted to vehicles 20.05.16

A member authority would be grateful if other local authorities could answer the following questions relating to telematics on vehicles:-

1. Do you have telematics fitted to your vehicles Yes/No

2. Who is the supplier and how long have you been using the system

3. If you do not have a system are you likely to be going to the market within the next year or so.

4. Is it a core system and does it cater for the Needs of Roads in gritting and gulley emptying, waste in collections missed bins route optimisation, Landscape services

5. Do you have driver behaviours incorporated and what potential saving have been made or likely to be made

6. Is the system capable of monitoring vehicle daily checks, able to tap into and download tachograph and Digi card information saving workshop and drivers time

7. Any other possible benefits.

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SCOT0035 - Changes to Scottish Water’s water and sewerage charges exemption scheme 12.04.16

As a result of Scottish Water’s changes to their water and sewerage charges exemption scheme, this member authority would like to know:

1. Have other authorities been sighted on the potential impact of these changes?

2. Have hall management committees in other authority areas been previously advised by Scottish Water on their loss of exempt status, or have recent communications been a surprise?

3. Are other authorities engaged with independent hall management committees (and other previously exempt organisations) to seek options to reduce impacts?

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SCOT0034 - Charging commercial operators to use parkse.g. boot camps 05.04.16

This local authority would like to know if other authorities or charitable trust operating parks on behalf of local authority landowners are currently charging commercial operators to use their sites and if so have they had any problems with boot camp operators etc. claiming they cannot be charged under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003.

They would also be very grateful if any authority was willing to share their pricing information for site hire and any T+C or contracts they use.

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SCOT0033 - Garden Maintenance scheme 17.03.16

A member authority is currently looking to review charges for their garden maintenance service (grass and hedge cuts). They would be grateful for information on the following:-

1. How much do you currently charge for your garden maintenance service (if possible please provide both grass and hedge breakdown)?

2. What does this include (e.g. number of cuts, months covered etc)?

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SCOT0031 - Re-use Activities in Scotland 11.03.16

The Climate Change and Zero Waste team, now part of Fife Resource Solutions LLP, a company wholly owned by Fife Council, has been asked to look at increasing reuse across the region as part of a data gathering exercise to help develop a Re-Use Strategy.

They would like to make contact with officers in other authorities to gather information about ‘who is doing what’ to support reuse. In particular they are interested in;

· whether authorities provide reuse containers or cabins at their HWRC’s, and how these are managed;

· whether anyone has established a reuse ‘shop’ (aka Warwickshire) and the procurement routes to this.

· whether respondents would be willing to be contacted for further information.

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SCOT0030 - Cemetery extensions on groundwater 04.03.16

In 2015, SEPA issued a guidance note “Guidance on assessing the impacts of cemeteries on groundwater”. This local authority is finding that its ground conditions make it hard to satisfy these new requirements without major engineering interventions. They would be grateful to hear how other APSE member authorities were finding the new guidance and hopefully learn any best practice within this area.

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SCOT0029 - Charging mechanisms for Building Cleaning for both Internal and External customers 11.02.16

This local Authority wants to know if any ex SRCs (Strathclyde Regional Council) in Scotland have changed from the Client Contract Management system (recharge) and have now updated to a new system/method of charging for Building Cleaning services. (Old system was based on square metreage divided by productivity equalled no of cleaning hours)

1. What system /company did you change to?

2. What are the benefits of this system?

3. What are the challenges of this system?