Purpose

To seek permission to progress with procurement of contract over
£500k per annum.

Content

RESOLVED

 

KEY DECISION

 

That the Executive:

 

a)      
Approved the procurement of
contracted services, being a key decision, over
£500,000.

 

b)      
Approved the procurement of
Internal Combustion Engine powered vehicles to satisfy the fleet
requirement, including the assessment of lease or purchase as
outlined in option 2(a).

 

c)       
Delegated authority to procure and
sign the necessary documents as part of the procurement process, to
the Assistant Director for Assets and Environment in consultation
with the Executive Member for Assets, Waste and Environmental
Services and Executive Director of Finance and Performance (s151
Officer).

 

d)      
Approved the submission of a
further report to the Executive detailing the findings of first
stage of the procurement process to provide the necessary
information to guide the future configuration of the corporate
Fleet.

 

 

Reason for
Recommendations:

 

•          
The procurement of vehicles to
replace the expiring leased fleet is essential to provide
uninterrupted services across the Authority. There is no further
option to extend the current lease arrangement beyond September
2027. The current owned fleet, identified for renewal, is not
expected to be sufficiently suitable for continuous service
provision far beyond September 2027. It is anticipated that the
continued maintenance costs and interim rentals for the associated
vehicles will increase pressure on revenue budgets.

 

•          
The infrastructure requirement for
EV (detailed within Appendix
A) increases financial
pressures alongside increased initial purchase and lease costs for
comparable vehicles. ICE continues to provide best value for money
whilst the utilisation of Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (HVO) provides
a suitable medium-term reduction in Carbon emissions resulting from
operational delivery. Indicative cost comparisons obtained from
Arling Close and a panel of lessors, show significant increased
pressures associated with EV options to fulfil any fleet
requirement. 

 

Alternative Options Considered
– The following options have been considered

 

•          
Extend the current lease beyond
September 2027 – this is not possible, and no legal or
compliant option remains to extend the contract further.

•          
Only replace the 247 leased
vehicles and defer replacement of the current owned fleet –
the risk of catastrophic vehicle failure increases with age and
continued use of the vehicles beyond the standard commercial life
span of the vehicles. Risk to service provision, budgets and
reputational damage increase with deferment of
replacements.

•          
Do nothing – this would risk
delivery of statutory and non-statutory services across the
county.

•          
Procure EV fleet replacements
– the indicative costings provided by the treasury department
present additional pressures associated with the procurement of EV
vehicle requirements.