Agenda item

The current Brent highway framework agreements end on 31st March 2013.  This report requests that the Executive grants authority to award a call-off contract to Conway AECOM with total anticipated value of £7.8m per annum to deliver highways maintenance and related services on and around the London Borough of Brent Road Network from 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2021, as required by Contract Standing Order 88. The proposed contract is a call off from one of the London Highways Alliance Contract (LoHAC) framework agreements, the product of a collaborative procurement which will be accessible to all London Boroughs and Transport for London (TfL). The report also sets out the financial savings and other benefits associated with the contract and the next steps to ensure successful mobilisation and on-going contract management.

(i)         that agreement be given to the adoption of Transport for London’s London Highways Alliance Contract as the Council’s method of delivery for highways maintenance services from 1 April 2013;

(ii)        that approval be given to the award of a call-off contract with Conway AECOM for core highways maintenance services and improvement schemes as set out in paragraph 4.1 for 8 years for the services listed in paragraph 3.7.2 of the report from the Director of Environment and Neighbourhood Services;

(iii)       that it be acknowledged that the value of the contract for the provision of highways maintenance services is estimated to be circa £62.4m over the duration of the contract;

(iv)       that the Director of Environment and Neighbourhood Services be authorised, in consultation with the Lead Member for Highways and Transportation, the authority to finalise the terms of the call off contract and to agree any additional payment required under the contract to the contractor named above as a result of legal obligations on TUPE and pension protection.

Note the TUPE implications set out in section 7;

(v)        that authority be delegated to the Director of Environment and Neighbourhood Services, in consultation with the lead member, to finalise the terms of the call off contract and to agree any additional payment required under the contract to the contractor named above as a result of legal obligations on TUPE and pension protection and more exceptionally, payments that might be made for severance.

Councillor Powney (Lead Member, Environment and Neighbourhoods) introduced the report from the Director of Environment and Neighbourhood Services which advised that the current Brent highway framework agreements ended on 31 March 2013 and requested that authority be granted to award a call-off contract to Conway AECOM with total anticipated value of £7.8m per annum to deliver highways maintenance and related services on and around the London Borough of Brent Road Network from 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2021, as required by Contract Standing Order 88. Councillor Powney advised that the proposed contract was a call off from one of the London Highways Alliance Contract (LoHAC) framework agreements, the product of a collaborative procurement which would be accessible to all London Boroughs and Transport for London (TfL). The report also set out the financial savings of £485,000 a year and other benefits associated with the contract.

Referring to the deputation earlier in the evening from George Fraser (GMB) Councillor Powney drew members’ attention to the recommendations in the report and to the opportunities that would come from having a common specification to compare prices and achieve savings by challenging contractors. He also referred to the TUPE implications set out in the report and additional payments that may be necessary. Redundancies were not anticipated at this stage. The Director of Environment and Neighbourhood Services clarified that the contract was wider than just highway services currently provided in-house and drew attention to the financial tables in the report which set out the services to be procured and from where savings were expected. The Director stated that many services were already on the framework with better rates through economies of scale, confirmed that redundancies were not expected and the Sign Shop would be included.

The Chair, Councillor Butt (Leader of the Council) assured members of staff present from the Highways Services team that their concerns were being taken seriously, that dialogue with trade unions should continue and time made available for further discussions.

The Executive also had before them an appendix to the report which was not for publication as it contained the following category of exempt information as specified in Schedule 12 of the Local Government (Access to Information Act) 1972: 

Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

RESOLVED:

(i)         that agreement be given to the adoption of Transport for London’s London Highways Alliance Contract as the Council’s method of delivery for highways maintenance services from 1 April 2013;

(ii)        that approval be given to the award of a call-off contract with Conway AECOM for core highways maintenance services and improvement schemes as set out in paragraph 4.1 for 8 years for the services listed in paragraph 3.7.2 of the report from the Director of Environment and Neighbourhood Services;

(iii)       that it be acknowledged that the value of the contract for the provision of highways maintenance services is estimated to be circa £62.4m over the duration of the contract;

(iv)       that the Director of Environment and Neighbourhood Services be authorised, in consultation with the Lead Member for Highways and Transportation, to finalise the terms of the call off contract and to agree any additional payment required under the contract to the contractor named above as a result of legal obligations on TUPE and pension protection;

(v)        that the TUPE implications set out in section 7 of the Director’s report be noted;

(vi)       that authority be delegated to the Director of Environment and Neighbourhood Services, in consultation with the lead member, to finalise the terms of the call off contract and to agree any additional payment required under the contract to the contractor named above as a result of legal obligations on TUPE and pension protection and more exceptionally, payments that might be made for severance.