Purpose

In February 2020 a contract was signed (by the
Chief Executive) with CityFibre for the provision of 90 PSN (Public
Service Network) connections through a West Sussex framework.
Similar contracts were taken out by other councils across the
county at around the same time. The terms of the contract stated
that until 90% of these connections to council selected locations
were completed, there were no monies payable. The contracted works
were due for completion by 31st March 2023, however, at that point
in time, none had been fully delivered.

The supplier and the council have agreed to cancel the contract as
neither party has any interest in seeing it delivered. PSN
connections are no longer a requirement for local authorities (in
fact government advice is to not commission further PSN
connections) and so would be a waste of public funds.

The funding for this contract came from a rates pool allocated to
'digital connectivity' across West Sussex and so were due to be at no cost to the
Council.

This contract is entirely separate from
CityFibre’s own commercial roll out of fibre to residential
and business properties across the borough.

Content

Approve the cancellation of the PSN Contract with
CityFibre with immediate effect.

The decision has been taken following full consultation with the
Cabinet Member for Resources and the Leader, who gave approval by
email on 28th August 2024.