Purpose

Report of the Cabinet Member for Environment and Net Zero detailing the future options for the waste disposal service contract.

Decision

(i)  That Cabinet recommend to Council approval of an extension of the current WDSC with Veolia until 31 March 2036 (both Portsmouth City Council and Hampshire County Council have already approved the proposal as the other two partner authorities)

(ii)  That Cabinet recommend to Council the approval of delegated authority is given to the Executive Director of Resident Services, following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment & Net Zero, to act on behalf of the Council in concluding the negotiations with Veolia in collaboration with other Tripartite Authorities and in line with the overall offer set out in the supporting report.

(iii)  That Cabinet recommend to Council that delegated authority is given to the Executive Director of Resident Services, in consultation with the Director of Legal and Governance to agree on behalf of the Council the contract variation to the WDSC required for the above contract extension.

(iv)  That Cabinet recommend to Council that delegated authority is given to the Executive Director of Resident Services, in consultation with the Director of Legal and Governance, to approve on behalf of the Council any amendments that may be required to the existing Tripartite Agreement to support this programme.

Reasons for the decision

The proposed contract extension offer from Veolia provides continuity of service, supports operational resilience and risk management, and secures additional non-financial benefits to strengthen contract management and performance. The financial and commercial assessment that supports the proposal is contained in Exempt Appendix 1.

Alternative options considered

An alternative option not to extend the existing WDSC and instead to go out to the market and procure new arrangements was considered by the Tripartite Authorities. This was informed by a counterfactual model commissioned from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which assessed the likely implications of a procurement exercise.

The alternative option was rejected on the basis that the proposed extension offer provides continuity and certainty during a period of Local Government Reorganisation, reduces delivery and mobilisation risk compared to a future procurement, and enables the authorities to secure additional non-financial improvements within the existing contractual framework. The detailed financial comparison is provided in Exempt Appendix 1.