Councillor Janette Williamson introduced a report which informed that, in accordance with the Council’s updated Executive Decision Making process, approval was sought to appoint external resource to provide technical support in the Commercial Management Service for the delivery of the Council’s Highways and Transport Capital Programme and overall regeneration/growth objectives.

This matter was not a Key Decision.

The Cabinet noted that the option of doing nothing had been considered by officers and rejected because failing to progress and establish a professional services civil engineering services support contract would compromise the Council’s ability to meet its statutory obligations, to deliver Capital Programmes, to support the Council Plan, the City Region Network Development Plans and the aspirations of the Wirral Growth Company.

Councillor Janette Williamson informed that the contract provided various specialist services to help the Council to deliver its Highways Capital Programme and other infrastructure needed to drive the agenda forward on regeneration and growth. There would be complete flexibility around the services that the Council would request from the contract which would be mainly financed through the Capital Programme and grants. It was not possible to carry out this work without external support and expertise. 

The supplier was a large national company and the service would be run from their Liverpool office and the Council had a good working relationship with the company which provided similar services across the Liverpool City Region.  The supplier had offered the Council a very good deal and would provide very good value for money compared to the current market.  It had pledged to deliver on significant social value outcomes to the Borough. The social value would be monitored to establish whether or not it was being delivered.

Councillor Stuart Whittingham informed that he was fully in support of providing this additional civil engineering capacity.  This would provide a vital resource which the Council could dip in and out of as and when needed.

RESOLVED:

That the appointment of a specialist civil engineering services supplier via the Merseytravel Consultancy Services Multi Party Framework Agreement 2019, subject to completion of Contract Procedure Rules, to provide ad-hoc support services in highways-related civil engineering services up to a value of £400,000 as set out in the proposal below be approved:

Proposal

(1)  Procurement of a specialist Civil Engineering services provider be via the Merseytravel Consultancy Services Multi-Party Framework Lot 4. The hourly rates offered through this framework are considered to represent very good value for money in the present market. The framework has been successfully used by the Council’s Commercial Management Service for civil engineering services over the past 14 months, and it is likely to offer better value than any alternative procurement routes. At this stage it is envisaged that the services may be required up to a maximum total fee value of £400,000 between October 2019 and October 2020, extendable by a further 12 months, subject to performance and at the Council’s sole discretion, but there will be no guarantee of the type, timing, quantity or  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40