Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence

An apology for absence was submitted from Councillor Simon Weeks.

To receive any declarations of interest

There were no declarations of interest received.

To answer any public questions

A period of 30 minutes will be allowed for members of the public to ask questions submitted under notice.

The Council welcomes questions from members of the public relating to the item on the agenda only.

For full details of the procedure for submitting questions please contact the Democratic Services Section on the numbers given below or go to www.wokingham.gov.uk/publicquestions

There were no public questions received.

To answer any member questions

A period of 20 minutes will be allowed for Members to ask questions submitted under Notice relating to the item on the agenda only,

Any questions not dealt with within the allotted time will be dealt with in a written reply.

There were no Member questions received.

That:

1)        the procurement process which commenced with stakeholder engagement in 2016, soft market engagement with potential suppliers during 2017 be noted;

2)        the formal procurement process which has been underway since January 2018 and proposals for mobilisation be noted;

3)        Full Council be recommended to award the Professional Services Consultancy Contract to the organisation named in the Part 2 papers to be operational from 1 April 2019, for an initial term of seven years, extendable by a further period of up to three years, subject to satisfactory performance;

4)        Full Council be recommended to award the Maintenance and Construction Contract to the organisation named in the Part 2 papers to be operational from 1 April 2019, for an initial term of seven years, extendable by a further period of up to three years, subject to satisfactory performance.

The Executive considered a report relating to the results of the procurement process that had been carried out for the renewal of the Highways and Transportation Terms Service Contracts i.e. the Professional Services Consultancy Contract (PSCC) and the Maintenance and Construction Contractor (MCC) which would deliver highways and transportation services to Wokingham with effect from 1 April 2019.

The Executive Member for Highways and Transport highlighted that previously externalised highways maintenance operatives and specialists would be brought back in-house and because the recommended company had other local contracts this would provide greater resilience, particularly if an emergency arose. 

Councillor Pollock went on to emphasise the benefits of the new contract which in addition to providing a better quality service would also result in more roads resurfaced and more pot holes filled.  A new mapping system would also be introduced which would enable residents and Councillors to log into the system and report issues and then track their progress.

In response to a query from Councillor Norman Jorgensen about whether, if the contract was successful, additional items could be added in the future it was confirmed that this would be feasible as would the possibility of other councils being offered the opportunity to take advantage of services provided by the contract.

The Leader of Council wanted gave her thanks to the Officers involved in the contract negotiations for all their hard work and highlighted the stakeholder involvement that had taken place and the cross-party working.

Councillor Haitham Taylor reminded Members that due to the Alcatel period the name of the contractor must remain confidential until 3 October 2018.

RESOLVED that:

1)        the procurement process which commenced with stakeholder engagement in 2016, soft market engagement with potential suppliers during 2017 be noted;

2)        the formal procurement process which has been underway since January 2018 and proposals for mobilisation be noted;

3)        Full Council be recommended to award the Professional Services Consultancy Contract to the organisation named in the Part 2 papers to be operational from 1 April 2019, for an initial term of seven years, extendable by a further period of up to three years, subject to satisfactory performance;

4)        Full Council be recommended to award the Maintenance and Construction Contract to the organisation named in the Part 2 papers to be operational from 1 April 2019, for an initial term of seven years, extendable by a further period of up to three years, subject to satisfactory performance.