I would like to apologise to those residents of Brighton and Hove who have suffered by not having their waste collected at the agreed time since the beginning of August.

As the Argus has reported, our contractor, SITA, carried out a radical review of the existing arrangements aimed at improving both the waste collection and street cleansing services.

It was always anticipated some disruption would occur, but the time taken for the new arrangements to settle down is wholly unacceptable.

Brighton and Hove Council appreciates the impact this is having on SITA's workforce, as expressed by Gary Smith, the GMB officer (Opinion, August 12). However, it really is time the company's management, working with its employees, resolves all outstanding problems getting in the way of delivering a reliable service to the people of Brighton and Hove, who, after all, are paying for this new contract through their council tax.

This council has invested considerable money and effort on the new contract with SITA and I am determined it will be successful.

I am assured by the council's chief officers the council will be using all means available to it, within the contract, to ensure SITA is left in no doubt about the need to resolve these problems as a matter of urgency.

I will be seeking a meeting with SITA management to assure myself they are determined to get things right.

-Coun John Ballance, executive councillor - environment