Issue - meetings

Matter for Decision

Capital projects with a value of greater than £300,000 required Executive Councillor approval before further consideration for funding as part of the Budget Setting Report (BSR).

 

This project related to the Fleet replacements 2017/18.

 

The Capital Programme Board have reviewed this project and consider it properly planned and ready for implementation, subject to Executive Councillor and funding approval.

 

Decision of Executive Councillor for Environmental Services and City Centre

       i.          Approved the Fleet Replacements 2017/18 project, as detailed in the attached appendices, which has been properly planned and ready for implementation.

     ii.          Delegated to the Director of Commercial Services to call-off and award a specific contract or specific contracts from appropriate framework agreements of The Procurement Partnership Limited (TPPL), Crown Commercial Service (CCS) or Eastern Shires Purchasing Organization (ESPO) for the purchase of vehicles as set out in the Project Control Document.

 

Reason for the Decision

As set out in the Officer’s report.

 

Any Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

Not applicable.

 

Scrutiny Considerations

The Committee received a report from the Fleet Manager.

 

Councillor Bick made the following comments in response to the report:

       i.          The availability, functionality and cost of vehicles would determine the choice of vehicle selected.

     ii.          Agreed with the details of the report, but the vehicle selection decision was of sufficient importance to require public scrutiny. He proposed to make an amendment to the Officer’s recommendation requiring this.

 

The Fleet Manager said the following in response to Councillor Bick’s questions:

       i.          It was hard to get data on electric vehicles as they were new to the market.

     ii.          Changing the criteria would impact on the number of vehicles required and so affect costs.

   iii.          Joint procurement by the City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council would be undertaken between April 2017 and March 2018. The City Council were interested in a mix of electric and non-electric vehicles. SCDC were interested in non-electric vehicles.

 

The Executive Councillor for Environmental Services and City Centre responded:

       i.          The number of electric vehicles in the fleet had increased from 0 to 9 over the last 3 years.

     ii.          The City Council was on the cusp of turning a corner in comparison with other authorities as it proposed to implement charging points.

   iii.          Electric vehicles would be used where appropriate, along with non-electric ones.

   iv.          How many vehicles to use and where to generate savings were under consideration.

    v.          Suggested that general details about vehicle selection criteria and other background information could be brought to the next committee (March proposed).

   vi.          The fleet would be reviewed each year regarding carrying capacity and running costs.

 

Councillors requested a change to the recommendations. Councillor Bick formally proposed to add the following recommendations from the Officer’s report:

·       New (2): To request a report via this committee, seeking the Executive Councillor’s approval of the criteria against which vehicles will either be electric or otherwise, together with a reasoned recommendation following the application of these criteria to each of the vehicles to be replaced, such to occur prior to procurement taking place.

 

The additional recommendation was lost by 3 votes to 2.

 

The Committee unanimously resolved to endorse the recommendations.

 

The Executive Councillor approved the recommendations.

 

Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Executive Councillor (and any Dispensations Granted)

No conflicts of interest were declared by the Executive Councillor.