This meeting was to make a decision about whether to award a contract for the installation of fibre optic cables in Newham. The decision was made under delegated powers by the Corporate Director of Inclusive Economy & Housing, and did not involve a meeting of elected councillors.

Fibre Upgrade Project: Approval to Award Contract

The Corporate Director of Inclusive Economy & Housing was asked to approve the awarding of a contract to ITS Technology Group to install dark fibre¹ optic cables across Newham. If the Council decides to proceed with the project, ITS would begin work in September 2024 and would take a year to complete the project.

The report to the Corporate Director set out the arguments for awarding the contract to ITS.

The report explained that the £942,000 cost of the project would be met by a grant that Newham Council had already successfully applied for from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).

The report also described how the project would support the Council's objective [t]o build a fairer Newham by improving digital connectivity in the borough. The report claimed that:

Business success is increasingly reliant upon access to a high-quality internet connection and prospective businesses looking to locate in Newham will consider this key.

The report identified the lack of high quality digital infrastructure as a potential barrier to businesses locating in Newham, and claimed that the project would address this and deliver economic growth.

The report also considered and rejected an alternative option in which the Council would not proceed with the project. The report argued that this option should be rejected because the Council would have to return the £222,000 DLUHC grant.