Agenda item

To consider the Head of Community and Environmental Services’ Report No. COMM1704 (copy attached), which seeks approval to award the Council’s contract(s) in respect of waste and recycling collections, street cleansing, grounds maintenance and the cleaning of public toilets.

The Cabinet considered the Head of Community and Environmental Services’ Report No. COMM1704 and confidential appendix, which sought approval to award the Council’s contracts in respect of waste and recycling collections, street cleansing, grounds maintenance and the cleaning of public toilets.

Members were informed of the sensitive nature of the information contained in the confidential appendix and, subsequently, discussed at the meeting. It was stressed that the details of the contractors involved and any financial details could not be disclosed at that stage, to prevent jeopardising the legally prescribed procurement process.

The Cabinet was reminded that bidders had submitted expressions of interest in respect of three lots:

·                    Lot 1 – Waste collection and street cleansing

·                    Lot 2 – Grounds maintenance and toilet cleaning

·                    Lot 3 – Combination of Lots 1 & 2

Members were informed that some bidders had pulled out of the process prior to the Competitive Dialogue stage and another had pulled out afterwards. The bids for the first stage had been received in November, 2015 and had been assessed on quality and price, with separate evaluation teams considering each element independently. At that stage, the evaluation had been weighted 60:40 in favour of quality over price. This had had the effect of identifying and eliminating any poor quality bids at an early stage. At subsequent stages, the weighting had been equalised. This process had produced a short list of three bidders for each of the three lots, including some companies that had been shortlisted for more than one lot.

Stage 2 submissions had been received from the remaining bidders in March, 2016 and, overall, these had been of a better quality than the submissions received previously. Prices had been keen and had demonstrated potential savings for the Council. It was felt that this improvement in quality had been brought about, in part, by the use of the Competitive Dialogue process. At that stage, one further bidder on each lot had been eliminated, leaving two bidders in respect of each lot.

It was reported that a further two and a half weeks of Competitive Dialogue had been carried out with bidders in October, 2016 and final tenders had been received during December, 2016. These had been evaluated and moderated during January, 2017, using a scoring system set up to identify the arrangement that would be the most economically advantageous for the Council. The system had involved the independent scoring of each of the submitted Method Statements in terms of price and quality, followed by the ranking of the bids accordingly to the combined score. The confidential appendix set out the scores and the final ranking.

The Cabinet was informed that the Future Contracts Member Working Group had continued to meet regularly throughout the process. The Group had carried out scrutiny and had supported the process in many ways. Members of the Group had been directly involved at various stages, including carrying out visits to the premises of bidders and assisting with the evaluation of the final tenders. The Group had met on Monday 30th January, 2017 and had endorsed the recommendations set out in the Report. A member of the Group, Cr. C.P. Grattan, was invited to address the meeting. Cr. Grattan expressed disappointment that the Council had not decided to pursue a Joint Venture with Norse, rather than procure a new contract. He was, however, pleased to offer his support to the outcome of the procurement exercise.

The Cabinet discussed the contents of the Report and confidential appendix and asked questions to seek clarification in many areas, including recycling rates, weed treatment and the removal of chewing gum and other detritus. In particular, Members welcomed the financial savings and numerous service improvements that were offered by the proposed new contract.

The Cabinet RESOLVED that

(i)           the award of the Waste, Recycling, Street Cleansing, Grounds and Public Convenience contract(s) to the contractor(s) set out in the confidential appendix to the Head of Community and Environmental Services’ Report No. COMM1704 be approved;

(ii)          a supplementary estimate of £22,000 for 2017/18 onwards, to cover the annual costs of the residents’ survey and the visual inspection of street cleansing, be approved; and

(iii)         the provision of £155,000 from the flexible use of capital receipts, to cover the additional mobilisation and IT costs, be approved (the formal authorisation of the flexible use of capital receipts was included within the Capital Programme 2017/18, which would be submitted to the Cabinet on 7th February, 2017 for recommendation to the Council on 23rd February, 2017).