Purpose

A Transformation Project approved in Dec
2022 reviewed the Council’s Community Equipment Service (CES)
recommending that the Council should no longer deliver this service
and an employee owned mutual be established.  A procurement was undertaken to seek a business
partner deliver the CES and to have a minority interest on the
organisation.
Following the procurement, recommendation is to
approve the award of the contract to a delivery partner for the provision of the CES through
the delivery vehicle of an employee owned mutual over a term of
seven years with the option to extend for a further three
years.
 
 

Content

Resolved to:
 
 

2.1      
approve the award of a contract
(Partnering Agreement) to the Preferred Partner identified in Part
B of this report for a term of seven years with the option for the
Council to extend for a further three years, with a maximum
contract value of £42,971,673. The Partnering Agreement is
for the provision of CES to the Council (CES Services), business
support and development services to the Mutual (Partnering
Services), and also entry into a
framework agreement in relation to CES services (Framework
Services).  The CES Services and
Framework Services will be provided, by the Partner, through means
of a flow-down agreement (Flow Down) between the Partner and the
Mutual;

 
2.2      
note that the contract value stated above in
relation to the Partnering Agreement excludes the value of the CES
Services provided under existing contracts held by the Council with
other local authorities (including an inter-authority collaboration
agreement for the Provision and Maintenance of a Community
Equipment Shared Service Framework hosted by the Council). Such
contractual arrangements will in future be fulfilled by the Council
through the CES Services element of the Partnering Agreement;
 
2.3      
note that bid details concerning the Delivery
Partner’s minority interest in the mutual are set out in Part
B of this report;
 
2.4      
agree that subject to (i) any discussions held to ‘clarify, specify
and optimise’ the Preferred Bidder’s Final Tender or
otherwise finalise the terms of the Partnering Agreement and other
transaction documents to the satisfaction of the Council; and (ii)
there being no material alteration to either the scope of the
Preferred Bidder’s Final Tender or matters set out in this
report, the Director of Legal Services is
authorised to arrange for the execution of the Project Agreement
and other transaction documents referred to in this
report);
 
2.5      
note the establishment of the Mutual and that, as
part of the transaction, (and subject to further internal
governance approvals being obtained as applicable) a) certain
CES-related Council assets will be transferred to the Mutual
pursuant to a business transfer agreement (BTA), b) a 25-year lease
over the Council’s premises at Imperial Way will be granted
and c) seed funding of up to £500k and a loan facility of
£1.9m will be granted
 
2.6      
note that the overall savings to the Council remain
broadly in line with the details previously advised in the Strategy
Report, with some reductions as detailed in the Part B
report
 
2.7      
note that a draw-down from the transformation
project budget totalling £334k has enabled the successful
delivery of the project.