Issue - meetings

Report of the Head of Highways and Public Protection

The Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Highways and Public Protection in relation to the procurement of the Annual Service Contracts for Highways Maintenance Works.

Decision Made:      That:

(1)           the procurement of the Annual Service Contracts for Highway Maintenance Work be agreed based on the specifications referred to in paragraph 2.6 of the report;

(2)           the Head of Highways & Public Protection be authorised to approve the Short List of Tenderers for each Contract subject to the appropriate review of the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire;

(3)           the tenders be evaluated using the evaluation criteria set out in paragraph 2.4 of the report;

(4)            the Head of Highways & Public Protection be authorised, in consultation with Legal Services and Cabinet Member Locality Services, to award the Contracts to the highest scoring Tenderer; and

(5)           it be noted that the proposal was a Key Decision but had not been included in the Council's Forward Plan of Key Decisions.  Consequently, the Leader of the Council and the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Regeneration and Skills) had been consulted under Rule 27 of the Access to Information Procedure Rules of the Constitution, to the decision being made by Cabinet as a matter of urgency on the basis that it was impracticable to defer the decision until the commencement of the next Forward Plan in order that the most cost effective method of extending the contract could be utilised without further delay.

Reasons for the Decisions:

The existing Annual Service Contracts for a number of Highway Maintenance Works are due to expire in July 2022. The Anticipated Scope of Works that are likely to be delivered under the Contracts are of sufficient value that Cabinet approval is required.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

There are optional annual extensions, for up to four years beyond the core contract period, built into each of the existing contracts. The Council could decide to grant the extensions however this would result in price increases in-line with the provisions set out in the contract, whereas testing the market may produce savings and/or innovation.