Issue - meetings

Report attached including requisition grounds and response from officers.

A requisition had been received of the recent Cabinet decision on Public Realm Transformation – New Operating Model. This had been signed by the required six Members representing at least two different groups (Councillors Ford, Hawthorn Morgon, Mugglestone, Wilkins and Wiliamson).

Councillor Dervish advised the Board that it was important to ensure that the procurement process for public realm transformation was attractive to the market. The supplier market had recovered following the pandemic and it was therefore the right time to restart the procurement. It was thought best to combine waste collection with street cleansing in the contract and hence seek a joined up approach from the contractor.

The establishment of a Local Authority Company was not considered viable. New governance arrangements would be required and the requisite skill set was not available internally. There would also not be the opportunity to learn from the contractor and the financial risk would remain with the Council. The proposed two-stage competitive dialogue procurement would offer greater flexibility.

The Council would monitor performance but would also expect the contractor to monitor its own performance. Contract officers would monitor performance on the ground and Key Performance Indicators for the contract would also be monitored. Data was also collected on the numbers of streets swept etc. The Director of Neighbourhoods added that performance was a fundamental part of the contract and would be discussed with contract bidders. It was accepted that performance under the existing contract was not where it should be and the national shortage of HGV drivers had compounded this as had the greater amounts of waste created at home during the pandemic. This did not however have any bearing on the procurement of the new contract. Issues around rectification of missed collections would be negotiated as part of the competitive dialogue process with bidders.

It was confirmed that street cleansing and waste collection would be combined within the new contract. Grass cutting services would not be included. Work was in progress with consultants to design the contract specification. This would use best practice and national standards. Targets would be included around areas such as missed collections.

Offices reiterated that a Local Authority company approach would mean no flexibility in resources. Nearby Councils who used this approach had been forced to suspend some services during the pandemic.

It was clarified that there was no London Councils Contract Framework for domestic waste. This could be discussed further with Members outside the meeting. The contract being procured would be a complex document, bespoke to Havering. The contract would include social value issues such as sustainability and community benefits. Government guidance on social value would be followed.

The new contract would aim to ensure that waste collections were completed on time and in a tidy manner as well as ensuring streets were kept to the required state. Technology would be used to ensure efficient responses to issues such as flytipping and graffiti. The forthcoming Environment Bill would require more recycling of food waste etc and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13

Cabinet:

1.    APPROVED the new operating model whereby waste and street cleansing, trunk road cleaning, recycling collection and weed control services are combined in one single integrated contract offering and the commencement of the procurement of that contract; and

2.     DELEGATED authority to the Director of Neighbourhoods, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment and Director of Legal & Governance, to take all necessary steps to award the contract post procurement at the estimated value of £10 million per year and deliver an integrated contract for street cleansing, trunk road cleaning, waste and recycling collection and weed control.  

Councillor Osman Dervish presented the report to Cabinet who were addressed by the report author Peter Gay who gave a history of this matter to Members.

In September 2019, the Council started the procurement process for an integrated public realm services contract, tendering for a single contract to include waste  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9