Agenda item

To authorise delegations under the Sustainable Oldham Strategic Partnership Agreement.

The Cabinet considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place), which sought to delegate authority to the Deputy Chief Executive (Place), in consultation with the Leader of the Council, to award the Sustainable Oldham Strategic Partnership Agreement (SOSPA) and a Reserve Supplier Agreement as a mechanism for delivery of key capital programmes across Oldham of up to £35m. The report also sought to delegate authority to the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) and Director of Economy, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhoods, to award the individual call off orders for individual projects, due to the urgency to deliver a programme of works in accordance with the funding timeline constraints and to delegate low value Call Off Orders (less than £50,000) under a direct award via the Head of Highways in consultation with Budget Holder and Finance Officer.

The Strategic Transport and Planning Team in collaboration with the Highways and Engineering service had successfully bid for several capital funded multi-disciplinary highway improvement programmes of work in recent years. The most recent of these is the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS). Oldham Council’s Highways and Engineering and Strategic Transport and Planning Teams were currently preparing to deliver up to £35m of highways work in the borough over the next 4 years using funding secured through a joint bid for GM via Transport for Greater Manchester, who bid to the Department for Transport (DfT) on behalf of the city-region.

In addition, Oldham Council had been awarded Levelling Up 2 Funding (LUF2), of which £4.79m has been identified for delivery via the SOSPA Contract.

For Oldham Council to deliver this ambitious programme of work it was considered necessary to seek a new Strategic Partner (Contractor) to work alongside the Delivery Team at key stages of the design and construction process. The current method of delivery of highway construction work can take 12-16 weeks from tender stage to commencement on site. To deliver the CRSTS and LUF2 programmes within the set timeframes, a more streamlined method of procuring construction work is required. The intention is that individual projects will be procured via a Call Off procedure under the Strategic Partnership Agreement. This will require Director sign off (in liaison with the Directors of Finance and Legal Services) rather than an individual Cabinet report for each element of work.

The Sustainable Oldham Strategic Partnership Agreement had been advertised by the Procurement Team in September 2023, and it was expected to be available for use in early 2024.

The single supplier delivery model currently exists namely the ‘Accessible Oldham Strategic Partnership Agreement.’ This method has proven extremely successful and afforded Oldham Council a robust vehicle to deliver a large and diverse programme of civil engineering projects efficiently and effectively.

Alternatives/options considered:

Option 1 - Delegated authority be given to:

·         the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) and Economic Growth in consultation with the Leader to award the Strategic Partnership Agreement and Reserve Supplier Agreement. 

·         the Director of Economy in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhoods, to award the individual Call Off Contracts for the works packages under the Strategic Partnership Agreement and Reserve Supplier Agreement if necessary.

·         the Director of Legal Services to affix the Council’s seal to the Strategic Partnership Agreement and Reserve Supplier Agreement, any incidental and ancillary documentation and to the individual Call Off Contracts under the Strategic Partnership Agreement and Reserve Supplier Agreement.

·         The Head of Highways & Engineering award low value Call Off Orders (less than £50,000) in line with Head of Service financial approval limits and in consultation with Budget Holder and Finance Officer.

            Option 2 – Competitive Tender process for individual Call Off Orders:

·         On completion of the individual design packages, adopt a competitive tendering opportunity and present to the market via The Chest to invite submissions in the conventional manner.

·         This would involve an extensive process to procure a suitable Contractor for each project featured across the programmes which in turn would increase the number of Cabinet reports requiring approval and drastically increases the timeframe associated with delivery.

·         This process increases risk and limits opportunities to maximise seasonal windows of opportunity conducive to certain elements of the construction process.

Resolved:

That delegated authority be granted to:

1.    The Deputy Chief Executive (Place), in consultation with the Leader of the Council, to award the Sustainable Oldham Strategic Partnership Agreement (SOSPA) and Reserve Supplier Agreement, in consultation with the Director of Finance and Director of Legal Services 

2.    The Directors of Economy/Environment in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhoods to award the individual call off contracts for the separate works packages under the Strategic Partnership Agreement and Reserve Supplier Agreement.

3.    The Director of Legal Services to affix the Council’s seal to the Strategic Partnership Agreements and Reserve Supplier Agreements, any incidental and ancillary documentation, and to the individual call off contracts under the Strategic Partnership Agreements and Reserve Supplier Agreements.

4.    The Head of Highways & Engineering to award low value Call Off Orders (less than £50,000) in line with Head of Service financial approval limits and in consultation with Budget Holder and Finance Officer.