The Director of Technical Services advised Cabinet of the outcome of the recent Parks & Countryside Services Procurement Exercise (PACSPE). The PACSPE timetable envisaged a contract being let to commence on 2 January 2012. This was the culmination of a process that was instigated by a Cabinet decision in June 2008.

The tenders submitted had been evaluated against a combination of price and quality and a preferred external provider identified based on the results of the tender evaluation exercise.

Following the July 2010 Cabinet decision that no in-house bid should be submitted as part of the PACSPE process, Cabinet had no in-house bid to compare with the proposals from the external tenderers. However, it would be appropriate for Cabinet to consider the possibility of not accepting any tender and Members would need to consider all the risks of awarding, or not awarding, the contract and the report set out those risks.

The key issues for Members to consider when taking this decision were:

• Service quality; and the deliverability of service quality improvement over the proposed 10-year contract period.
• Cost and affordability having regard to the proposed 10-year contract period; and the likely effects of inflation.
• The financial climate in which the Council would be operating over future years and the identified need to save in excess of  £85 million over the next 3 years.
• The comments of the External Auditor on value for money in relation to PACSPE, following their analysis of the benefits delivered by the Highways and Engineering Services Procurement Exercise (‘HESPE’).
• The risks associated with either letting or not letting a contract and the overarching legal obligation on a local authority to act reasonably.
• If a contract is to be let, the selection of the winning tender.

The details of the tender evaluation and options set out in the Appendices to the report contained legal advice and commercially sensitive information relating to the Council and the tenderers. The Director of Law, HR and Asset Management had advised that this should be classed as Exempt Information in accordance with paragraphs 3 and 5 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

Councillor C Meaden thanked everyone from the Parks and Countryside Services who were in attendance at the meeting. The Leader of the Council added his thanks and expressed his appreciation and faith in the Council’s workforce in the Parks and Countryside Service. He remarked that the parks and open spaces within the Borough were highly valued by the public.

On a motion by Councillor Meaden, seconded by the Leader, it was -

Resolved - This Cabinet notes that:

(1)  The District Auditor has recently stated his intention to qualify the Value for Money statement in the Council’s Annual Governance Report, which is due to be published shortly, drawing attention to “weaknesses identified in the arrangements for securing value for money in respect of the HESPE contract”.

(2)  A qualification of this kind is highly unusual and significant.

(3)  This was because the Council was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 117