Issue - meetings

Report of the Executive Director - Corporate Services and Commercial?

The Cabinet considered the report of the Executive Director - Corporate Services and Commercial that detailed the background to the Council’s current Corporate Internet and Wide Area Network connectivity contract, providing details of the current set up and also the proposed changes to the delivery model. The report also detailed the associated procurement route required to make this change.

Decisions Made:

That

(1)      the Executive Director - Corporate Services and Commercial be authorised to conduct a procurement exercise for a new corporate internet and wide area network provision for a period of 5 years, with the option to extend for a further two periods of 12 months; and

(2)      the Executive Director - Corporate Services and Commercial, in consultation with the Cabinet Member - Corporate Services, be granted delegated authority to award a Contract resulting from the procurement exercise and any extension to the contract.

Reasons for the Decisions:

The current WAN contract would end on 8 December 2026. In the event that the recommendations contained within the report were accepted and approved, the next steps would be to begin a procurement exercise (further competition) under the Crown Commercial Services Framework RM6116 Network Services 3. The proposed term of a new contract would be for an initial period of 5 years, followed by two optional 12-month extension periods.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

A direct award route for a new contract could have been explored by the Council. However, given that the Council was seeking to change its network model (namely to SD-WAN), it was more appropriate to run a competition-based procurement. Running a further competition and inviting suppliers to tender should also ensure that the market was tested and value for money was ensured.