19 October 2001
The cash-strapped authority, which already faces a £6m overspend for the current financial year, now faces an estimated bill of around £9m to collect the city's rubbish.
Councillors decided at the end of last week to reject a bid from Serviceteam, thought to be worth £13.5m, as too expensive. After sacking another contractor, Sita, in the summer, the council was left with little option but to provide the service itself.
Its decision brings to an end a long-simmering dispute that resulted in industrial action during the summer.
However, support service positions, such as those in administrative posts, could now be under threat, although a spokeswoman for Brighton & Hove said it hoped to avoid redundancies.
'We are under huge financial pressures,' she said. Rising homelessness and social care costs in the city are exacerbating the problems.
The council will run refuse collection for the next 18 months. In the meantime, it has begun a Best Value review of how the service could be most efficiently provided.
PFoct2001
