TAUNTON Town Council will soon directly employ staff to clean public toilets as the third-party contract comes to an end.

The cleaning is currently contracted to idverde via Somerset Council but will be shortly brought in house and two electric vehicles will be purchased to undertake the role.

A spokesperson for the town council said: “Taunton Town Council will not be renewing the contract for the cleaning of the public toilets under our management.

“We will instead be bringing this function in house and the existing cleaning staff will transfer to Taunton Town Council under TUPE regulations in early September 2024.”

The spokesperson also said: “Taunton Town Council will shortly bring the cleaning of public toilets, currently contracted to a third party, in house, directly employing staff to undertake this job.

“We are purchasing two compact electric vehicles to meet our sustainability goals and to support the staff in undertaking this role and recently trialled some, as shown in the picture.”

The contract, the spokesperson also said, "has been brought to an end with all parties agreement early and with no additional costs to us.

"With these two staff members now to be under our direct control, there are a range of benefits in terms of controlling the standard of cleanliness, materials, additional works e.g. small repairs, quicker response to issues reported and more frequent visits to each location.

"The electric vehicles for this purpose are being funded from the devolution budget set aside to pick up contracts and services coming to us from Somerset Council."

A document published on the Taunton Town Council (TTC) website after the Operations and Assets Committee meeting held on July 11 read: “Cleaning services are currently with idverde, via Somerset Council.

“There is an agreement for TTC to migrate the cleaning service to TTC as soon as the depot can accommodate this, with parks and open spaces staff, currently employed by Somerset Council to follow.

“Staff will move under TUPE, but without vehicles or equipment.

"In order to deliver this service to anticipated timescales and to contribute towards meeting our environmental and ecological targets, it is proposed that rechargeable electric vehicles be purchased in place of petrol or diesel vehicles.

“Suitable charging infrastructure would be incorporated into the design of the depot to support this.

“These vehicles are available in a variety of formats to suit the requirements of each service.”

The Somerset County Gazette contacted idverde for a comment.