Lead Member – Councillor Simon Jones – Portfolio Holder for Highways and Transportation

Report of the Director of Place and Enterprise, TO FOLLOW

Contact: George Candler   Tel: 01743 255003

RESOLVED:

                      i.        That the re-procurement of the Highways and Environmental Maintenance Services using a Term Service Model be approved as set out in this report

                    ii.        That authority be delegated to the Head of Infrastructure and Communities, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Highways and Transport to undertake the procurement process, including approving the terms of the contract, service specification documentation and associated decisions necessary to undertake the entire procurement process, prior to a final award report to appoint a Contractor being presented to Cabinet in 2017.

                   iii.        That authority be delegated to the Head of Infra structure and Communities in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Highways and Transport to assess and implement future reductions in standards, volumes or specification, a possible cessation of some service requests will be required in order to meet the financial savings within the current Financial Strategy (revenue and capital), with their undoubted impact on Asset Condition and Satisfaction indicators.

                   iv.        That authority be delegated to the Head of Infrastructure and Communities, in consultation with the appropriate Portfolio Holder(s), to discuss with Town and Parish Councils grounds maintenance responsibilities in respect of public open spaces, amenity land, play areas and where appropriate highway land, and further to those discussions, to amend the ground maintenance arrangements for inclusion in the procurement process as appropriate.

The Portfolio Holder for Highways and Transportation presented a report from the Director of Place and Enterprise on the re-procurement of the Highways and Environment Term Maintenance Contract [HMTC].  He stated that a delivery model using a Team service approach was being proposed with the appointment of a single contractor delivering highways and environmental maintenance services and the rationale for this approach and the influences behind it were documented within the report. 

Responding to a Member’s comments on the lack of cross party working and involvement in this matter, the Leader advised that he had an open door policy and welcomed the input of any Member at any time. Another Member stated that he made no apology for making a political point that cuts being imposed by Central Government would see no end to the ongoing decline in services; less litter being collected, grass verges mown less frequently. Another Member added that the Ringway contract had resulted in a sharp learning curve but workmanship and timeliness had seen improvements in recent months.  In bringing the debate to a conclusion the Leader commented that it was easy to criticise without having any budget responsibility.

RESOLVED:

                      i.        That the re-procurement of the Highways and Environmental Maintenance Services using a Term Service Model be approved as set out in this report

                    ii.        That authority be delegated to the Head of Infrastructure and Communities, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Highways and Transport to undertake the procurement process, including approving the terms of the contract, service specification documentation and associated decisions necessary to undertake the entire procurement process, prior to a final award report to appoint a Contractor being presented to Cabinet in 2017.

                   iii.        That authority be delegated to the Head of Infra structure and Communities in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Highways and Transport to assess and implement future reductions in standards, volumes or specification, a possible cessation of some service requests will be required in order to meet the financial savings within the current Financial Strategy (revenue and capital), with their undoubted impact on Asset Condition and Satisfaction indicators.

                   iv.        That authority be delegated to the Head of Infrastructure and Communities, in consultation with the appropriate Portfolio Holder(s), to discuss with Town and Parish Councils grounds maintenance responsibilities in respect of public open spaces, amenity land, play areas and where appropriate highway land, and further to those discussions, to amend the ground maintenance arrangements for inclusion in the procurement process as appropriate.