An Ealing Liberal Democrat-led call-in has challenged Labour-run Ealing Council’s decision to extend its Greener Ealing Limited contract until 2035, raising concerns over a deal potentially worth £150 million, future costs to taxpayers and the company’s performance.
All 13 Ealing Liberal Democrat councillors have backed the challenge, alongside five Ealing Conservative councillors. It will be considered by the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Thursday (22 October 2026), which can either allow the Cabinet decision to stand or refer it back for reconsideration.
The council’s Cabinet agreed earlier this month (7 October 2026) to extend Greener Ealing’s contract by five years, from July 2030 to July 2035. The council-owned company has been responsible for rubbish collection, recycling, street cleaning and grounds maintenance across the borough since 2020.
The 18 councillors estimate the extension could be worth £150 million, taking the contract’s total value over 15 years to around £450 million. They want to know why the council is pressing ahead without putting the work out to competitive tender.
In their call-in, they say: “It is highly unusual for an extension of this size to be non-competitive and warrants further scrutiny.”
One of the biggest questions is who will pay to replace Greener Ealing’s ageing fleet of vehicles. The councillors want more detail about the investment needed and whether bringing in a private contractor could reduce the cost to the council.
They also ask whether there is a break clause in the contract should Greener Ealing’s finances worsen or its performance fall before 2035.
The call-in also takes issue with the standard of street cleaning and rubbish collections.
Greener Ealing had 38 additional sweepers clearing fallen leaves when it took over in 2020, according to the councillors.
The opposition councillors say the number of additional sweepers has fallen significantly since 2020, with fallen leaves left to accumulate on streets and block drains during autumn.
They are also concerned about missed assisted rubbish collections for disabled and elderly residents, with the call-in stating that Greener Ealing has repeatedly failed to meet its target of zero missed collections.
The councillors believe complaints figures may not reflect the problems residents experience, with some people no longer reporting missed collections or poor service because earlier complaints have gone unresolved.
Fly-tipping, recycling rates and rubbish collections from flats above shops are also mentioned.
The call-in refers to Broadway Living, the council-owned housing company being wound down, as a reason to look more closely at Greener Ealing’s finances before agreeing to another five years.
Ealing Council has defended the extension, pointing to an independent assessment which examined Greener Ealing’s costs, performance and alternatives to the existing arrangements.
An Ealing Council spokesperson previously told EALING.NEWS: “The council commissioned an independent value-for-money assessment following the recommendation of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.”
The spokesperson added: “It did not find a compelling value-for-money or service case for replacing the existing arrangements and found insufficient evidence that a competitive procurement exercise would deliver benefits sufficient to outweigh the associated costs, disruption and delivery risks.”
The independent assessment has not been made public. As EALING.NEWS previously reported, the council did not answer questions about who carried it out, how much it cost or whether a copy could be released with commercially sensitive information removed.
