Report by Contracts Delivery Manager (attached).

The Committee considered a report by the Contracts Delivery Manager (circulated previously) regarding the Grounds Maintenance Service.

The Contracts Delivery Manager highlghted the following:

·         The Council’s Grounds Maintenance Contract ended on 31 March 2021.  The contract allowed for an extension of two years at the end of the initial contract term and the Council had agreed to an extension with the contractor.  In July 2020 the contractor advised the Council that it could no longer agree to a contract extension and would not be signing an extension agreement as previously agreed.

·         There was now insufficient time to prepare and tender the grounds maintenance contract before the current contract end date.

·         Officers had started to explore the possibility of running the contract in house and it was intended that this could be delivered within the constraints of the existing base budget.

·         Running the contract in house will bring certain benefits such as greater control of the service and increased flexibility. For example, officers can manage grass cutting more effectively, cutting when it’s needed, rather than being tied rigidly to a certain number of annual cuts, as is the case with the existing contract.  There was also scope to align grounds maintenance more closely to NDC’s corporate objectives, particularly “cherishing and protecting the environment”.  There were also opportunities to generate an income by delivering grounds maintenance services on behalf of other agencies.

In response to questions, the Contracts Delivery Manager advised the following:

·         Bringing the contract in-house would enable the Council to experiment with alternative methods of powering vehicles and equipment.  The Council was currently working on the TUPE of staff across to the Council and the hiring of vehicles to enable the service to be up and running by 1 April 2021.  Officers would look to incorporate the fleet within the corporate procurement of fleet vehicles in the future which would be considered with the corporate contract in October 2021.

·         The Council currently used sub-contractors for work such as tree works, clear up after fly tipping and would continue to use sub-contractors as and when required.

·         The service would be managed by the Contracts Delivery Manager.

·         The current supervisor for the contractor would transfer across and had good ideas for making the service more efficient.

·         Discussions had already taken place with the Works and Recycling team regarding working across both services.  Unfortunately the Works and Recylcing team would not be able to provide any assistance during the summer months as it was their busiest time, however there may be other opportunities to share resources within both teams.  Grounds maintenance staff would not hold a HGV licence, therefore would not be able to assist Waste and Recycling with driving.

·         Prior to undertaking grass cutting, a litter pick should take place in accordance with the contract.

·         All required training would be provided to staff.

·         The current contractor used seasonal staff, however these were used on a regular basis and should therefore be aware of the requirements of the contract.