Agenda item

To consider a report by Councillor Brian Jones, Lead Member for Waste, Transport and the Environment (copy enclosed) seeking Cabinet approval to the proposed tendering exercise to procure a new vehicle fleet for the new waste model.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)       approve the proposed tendering exercise as detailed in the report;

(b)       confirms it has read, understood and taken account of the Well-being Impact Assessment (Appendix 1 to the report), Fleet Commissioning Form (Appendix 2 to the report) and Timeline (Appendix 3 to the report) as part of its consideration;

(c)        confirms that the decision be implemented immediately in view of the need for the Invitation to Tender to commence early December 2021 to ensure the goods are received in time for launch of the new service model.  This is due to the current long lead time of these vehicles, and

(d)       notes a further report will be brought back to Cabinet in January 2022 for approval of the subsequent Contract Award following the tendering exercise, which will also confirm contract management arrangements, tendered costs, and contract details.

Councillor Brian Jones presented the report seeking Cabinet approval to the proposed tendering exercise to identify a main contractor to deliver fleet vehicles to support the Waste Model for household, trades and communal waste collections.

The proposed tendering exercise would help deliver the planned service change for a new Waste Model and details of the tendering process had been included in the report together with timescales and an estimated contract value for a diesel fleet with the potential to consider up to 20% of electric vehicles subject to funding from other sources to cover the cost difference between diesel and electric vehicles – discussions were ongoing with the Welsh Government in that regard.  Given the tight timescales involved to ensure the fleet was ready for the new service the tender needed to be advertised as soon as possible and Cabinet had been asked that a decision to approve the tendering exercise be implemented immediately.

Cabinet’s attention was drawn to the latest indicative costs for the fleet vehicles which had been made available since publication of the report.  The fleet budget was £2.554m and the updated cost estimates suggested a pressure of £770k with the latest indicative costs suggesting the fleet may cost up to £3.325m – the actual costs would not be known until receipt of the tenders in January.  The pressure had been due to around a 25% increase in the price of vehicles for reasons beyond the Council’s control.  The pressure on fleet costs would be met from the £2m risk and contingency sum within the overall waste project budget although there would be other calls on that sum going forward with a pressure expected when tendering for phase 2 of the depot construction due to the increasing costs of materials.  A tender cost for that element was expected by spring 2022 and Cabinet would be updated at that time on the latest position.  Discussions were also ongoing with the Welsh Government to explore options to access additional funding to address those pressures.  At this stage Cabinet’s approval was sought to start the procurement process to enable the fleet to be procured in time for the service change.

Main points of debate focused on the following –

·         in the event that the projected cost estimates for the fleet were realised there would be no specific issue with this particular contract award given that the £2m risk and contingency fund could be used to meet that pressure – however if the entire projected amount was required it would leave just over £1.2m remaining in the risk and contingency fund for the overall project

·         given the potential for further cost increases in other elements of the project there may become a point where pressures exceeded the £2m risk and contingency fund –  to mitigate against that outcome work was ongoing to explore both external and internal funding solutions

·         it would be difficult to predict the financial implications on other elements of the project given the uncertainties around the potential for future cost increases

·         the Lead Member and officers confirmed that they were comfortable with the overall position of the project and provided assurances regarding the robust governance and monitoring arrangements in overseeing the financial elements of the project and Cabinet would be updated on any developments with further detail on the outcome of the tender for the new fleet in January

·         the impact on the provision of electric vehicles as part of the new fleet was highlighted in light of the financial pressures and officers reiterated the Council’s commitment to electric vehicles if it remained a viable option with best efforts to maximise the number of electric vehicles on fleet – a further update on that element would be included as part of the report back to Cabinet in January.

Cabinet noted the financial implications for the overall project as highlighted together with the tight timescales involved in tender process for the new fleet.  It was noted that the outcome of the tender process and recommendation for the contract award would be brought back before Cabinet in January which would provide certainty on the financial element as it related to the new vehicle fleet.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)       approve the proposed tendering exercise as detailed in the report;

(b)       confirms it has read, understood and taken account of the Well-being Impact Assessment (Appendix 1 to the report), Fleet Commissioning Form (Appendix 2 to the report) and Timeline (Appendix 3 to the report) as part of its consideration;

(c)        confirms that the decision be implemented immediately in view of the need for the Invitation to Tender to commence early December 2021 to ensure the goods are received in time for launch of the new service model.  This is due to the current long lead time of these vehicles, and

(d)       notes a further report will be brought back to Cabinet in January 2022 for approval of the subsequent Contract Award following the tendering exercise, which will also confirm contract management arrangements, tendered costs, and contract details.