We all want to live and work in communities that are clean, green and attractive. Delivering this against challenging social and budgetary pressures requires increasingly innovative approaches.

Improving citizens’ lives also extends into the provision of high quality housing for those in more disadvantaged neighborhoods. This is especially relevant now that clearly defined standards for council housing are in place, with the introduction of the Government’s decent homes initiative.   

What we do

Encouraging sustainability. Our recycling and waste management solutions create long term benefits for the environment and citizens’ enjoyment of a local area. For example, by helping Breckland Council enforce a ‘carrot and stick system’ to encourage recycling, the council saved on landfill costs and the community were rewarded with children’s play areas.

Preserving public places.  At Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council, we enlisted the help of residents to identify local ‘grot spots’ and report them to clean-up teams through hand-held technology. 

Environmental best practice. We work with local authorities to reduce their ‘ecological footprint’. Our ‘One Pass’ project, in partnership with Restormel Borough Council, is easing traffic congestion and air pollution by reducing the number of journeys by municipal vehicles, through collecting refuse and recycling waste at the same time. 

Improving housing standards. We are helping local authorities ‘close the gap’ between the worst neighbourhoods and more prosperous areas through our housing services. Our innovative approach to managing these contracts has resulted in a vastly improved service to tenants. At the same time, more efficient working practices have significantly reduced the volume and cost of repairs. Serco's relationship with Canterbury City Council has been cited by the Audit Commission as an example of best practice in public private partnership in the housing services space.

The value Serco brings

Innovation in action. We are constantly searching out more innovative ways of working, never remaining static in our methods of delivering improved services to citizens. Whether this is the introduction of a mobile repairs centre, which visits estates with high maintenance demands to carry out preventative housing repairs by appointment, or designing a new waste collection vechicle that is specially adapted to suit the unique local geography.

Experienced hands. Serco's deep understanding of the local government environment, built over 15 years, and our sheer breadth of services enable us to provide completely integrated solutions across the local community.
 
Real citizen outcomes.  We believe service providers should only be paid if Council Taxpayers are satisfied with the service. Serco has staked £220m on making residents happy. At Woking BC, our environmental services contract is assessed on performance payment regime based on a sliding scale of customer satisfaction recorded.