Decision details

The Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Commissioning Support and Business Intelligence which provided details of the proposed procurement of liquid fuels for the period from 1 January 2016 to 30 September 2017.

Decision Made:

That approval be given to the continuation of the procurement of liquid fuels through the Crown Commercial Services (CCS) Liquid Fuels Supply Framework for the period 1 January 2016 to 30 September 2017.

Reasons for Decision:

Sefton Council needs to procure substantial quantities of liquid fuels in order to operate its daily business and the level of expenditure (approximately £0.76m- £1.12m per annum) required Cabinet approval. It was considered that the Council would be best assured of value for money in terms of price and security of supply by continued procurement through the CCS Framework.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

The Council could decide not to continue procuring Liquid Fuels through the CCS Liquid Fuels Framework and instead undertake its own procurement process. This process would need to be an EU compliant procurement process and would take approximately 6 months to complete. The main risk and the reason this option had not been recommended is it was considered that the separate procurement of lower volumes of fuel (i.e. Sefton procuring fuel alone) was likely to result in a higher price, potentially greater fluctuation in price and potentially less reliable supply. If the Council was to undertake its own procurement process, it was still recommended that procurement continues through the CCS Framework whilst that procurement is undertaken, for the reasons stated above.