The Performance Monitoring Panel were scheduled to meet on 15 July 2025 to discuss the South and East Lincolnshire Crowdfunding scheme, the Sustainable Products Policy, and the refuse and recycling sack delivery service. Also on the agenda was the use of Section 113 Agreements¹ to share council staff, and the panel's work programme.

Refuse and Recycling Sack Delivery Service

The panel were scheduled to discuss the refuse and recycling sack delivery service, following a request at the meeting of 20 May 2025 for a report examining the current service, identifying shortcomings and making suggestions for a more foolproof service.

The report set out the current service position alongside future opportunities for improvement. According to the report, the council's policy for providing refuse and recycling sacks is published on its website. The policy provides households with 52 black sacks and 80 recycling sacks, delivered in batches twice yearly. The service is delivered by one full time employee, using a van, who completes around 90,174 deliveries of 5.95 million sacks each year, at an annual cost of £355,355.

The report stated that the current sack delivery service is in place to facilitate the current waste collection model, but that the Environment Act 2021 sets out the requirements for councils to have in place an efficient and effective waste service, and the current model is not efficient and effective.

The report noted that Cabinet had recently decided to move from sacks to wheeled bins, and made recommendations to Council to amend the capital programme to facilitate this model. The new model would meet the requirements of the Environment Act and eliminate the current sack delivery service. Sack deliveries would continue until the transition is complete.

South and East Lincolnshire Crowdfunding Scheme

The Performance Monitoring Panel were scheduled to receive an overview of the first two years of the South and East Lincolnshire Crowdfunding Scheme.

The South and East Lincolnshire Crowd Fund launched in Spring 2023, and by July 2025 had run four funding windows, supporting ten projects totalling £105,497 across the sub-region.

The scheme is operated and maintained through an annual contract with Spacehive Ltd of £34,000, split equally between Boston Borough Council, East Lindsey District Council and South Holland District Council.

The report stated that the leverage on the council's investment from the funding pot is 1.58, meaning that for every £1 the council pledges to a crowdfunding project, the crowd contributes an additional £5.80.

The report included a review document, which stated that 10 projects had been supported, with 395 backers and a 90% success rate.

The report also included details of projects that had been supported, including:

• Tydd Dog Paddock Play Area, which received a South Holland pledge pot contribution of £2,000 and a crowd contribution of £3,520.
• Young Farmers Gardening Club, which received a Boston pledge pot contribution of £3,000 and a crowd contribution of £3,062.
• Crafty Cabin, which received an East Lindsey pledge pot contribution of £5,000, a UK Shared Prosperity Fund pledge pot contribution of £3,000, and a crowd contribution of £5,019.
• Rural Friendship Group, which received an East Lindsey Pledge Pot contribution of £2,400, a UKSPF pledge pot contribution of £3,000, and a crowd contribution of £2,928.

The report also included a climate change and environment impact assessment, which gave the scheme a positive score on 'influence' due to the work being undertaken to encourage behavioural change around purchasing and arising waste, and the council's role as a community leader.

Sustainable Products Policy

The Performance Monitoring Panel were scheduled to receive an update in regard to monitoring progress of the Sustainable Products Policy.

The report provided an update following the benchmarking of procurement and purchasing practices across the Partnership and the adoption of improvements in the procurement framework.

The report stated that since the Sustainable Products Policy was approved, the council has adopted a Net Zero by 2040 carbon reduction target, and that all items procured by the council have an impact on the overall emissions of the authority and should be carefully considered.

The report stated that audits of 'single use products' purchasing and procurement practices had been completed for South Holland District Council, East Lindsey District Council and Boston Borough Council, identifying the top ten suppliers for single use items across the Partnership, which included hand towels, cleaning products, plastic refuse bags, personal protective equipment (PPE) and stationery, based on spend.

The report stated that a list of 'single use products' was developed as part of this work, which identified circa 170 consumable products within the scope of the audit across the three councils. This has established a baseline from which it will be possible to identify reductions in the purchase of consumable products over time, through the future analysis of spend data.

The report also detailed further actions delivered to date since completion of the single use products audit, including:

• Bi-monthly meetings between the Head of Procurement and Contracts and the Climate Change and Environment Officer to transform purchasing habits and transition away from the purchase of single use products.
• Services have been required to enter better product descriptions when making purchases of 'single use product' items through the Councils' purchasing systems.
• A new corporate contract for the supply of PPE has been introduced.
• Procurement have begun exploring centralised contracts for other single use products such as stationery and cleansing materials.
• A new social value measuring and monitoring software system (Social Value Engine) has been introduced by Procurement.

Use of Section 113 Agreements

The Performance Monitoring Panel were scheduled to receive information regarding the use of Section 113 Agreements across the Partnership. Section 113 is part of the Local Government Act 1972 that provides a provision for councils to share officers.

The briefing note stated that there are presently 144 Section 113 agreements in place across the Partnership Councils, and included a list of the posts along with the employing council.

The briefing note stated that the number of posts shared through permanent Section 113 Agreements will increase as recently approved services reviews are taken forward.

Performance Monitoring Panel Work Programme

The Performance Monitoring Panel were scheduled to set out the work programme of the panel. The report set out the dates of future panel meetings along with proposed items for consideration.