Decision details

The Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Strategic Support that set out the approach for the procurement of Liquid Fuels via an external supply framework with effect from 1 October 2019.

Decision Made: That

(1)      approval be given to the Council sourcing its supply of Liquid Fuels via the new Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation (YPO) Liquid Fuels supply framework and that the contract be established with effect from 23 November 2019, for a maximum period of 4 years, subject to re-competition within the framework after 2 years;

(2)      approval be given to an extension of the current supply arrangement with Standard Fuel Oils, via the existing YPO Liquid Fuels supply framework, for the 8 week bridging period of 1 October 2019 to 22 November 2019 in order to align the procurement timescales; and

(3)      the Head of Strategic Support be granted delegated authority in consultation with the Cabinet Member – Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services to approve and implement the resulting supply arrangements to ensure uninterrupted service.

Reasons for the Recommendations:

The Council must procure quantities of liquid fuels to operate its daily business. Under the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules the level of expenditure involved (approximately £1.168m per annum) requires that pre-procurement approval is sought from Cabinet.

It is considered that the Council can best be assured of value for money, in terms of price and security of supply, by continued procurement through an external framework contract that is able to offer considerably more collaborative usage volume to the market than Sefton Council alone can offer.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

The Council could decide not to continue procuring Liquid Fuels through an external framework and instead undertake its own procurement process. This process would need to be a procurement process compliant with the Public Contract Regulations, and would take approximately 6 months to complete.

The significant risk is that it is considered that the separate procurement of lower volumes of fuel (i.e. Sefton Council procuring fuel alone) would be  certain to result in much higher unit prices, potentially greater fluctuation in price, and potentially less reliable supply, than if the Council pools its requirement with a significantly wider user group.