Decision

The Director of
Neighbourhood Services has approved the novation of an interim
contract to Forest Tree Surgery and Grounds Maintenance Ltd for a
duration of 12 months at a cost of up to £235,016 per year
for the purpose of supplying weed control services on the public
highway areas within the 22 Wards of Wirral.

Reasons for the decision

The Council requires weed control on the
public highway areas within the 22 Wards of Wirral to protect this
infrastructure from the damage that weeds may cause.
 
This service was commissioned via a contract
using the open tender procedure which was conducted in accordance
with Council’s Contract Procedure Rules and the Public
Contracts Regulations 2015 in early 2024 with the intention that it
run for 24 months (2 years) from April 2024 to April 2026.
 
The Contract was awarded, at that time to Man
Coed VM Limited. That procurement
exercise involved publishing this opportunity on The Chest, in
total five bids were received. The bids received were scored based
on:
 

Quality (Technical) – 30%
Social Value – 5%
TOMS – 5%
Price – 60%
Total – 100%

 
The award of the contract to Man Coed VM Ltd was within the approved budget and in
accordance with the Most Economically Advantageous Tender
criteria.
 
The financial value of this contract was
£235,016 per year and the contract commenced from April
2024.
 
Details of this procurement are provided in
Appendix 1 Analysis of Tender Valuation EXEMPT
 
In early January 2025 the Council was
contacted by Man Coed VM Ltd advising
the Council that Man Coed VM Ltd had
entered ‘Prepack Administration’ and that a new legal
entity Forest Tree Surgery and Grounds Maintenance Ltd had been
established, with staff and resources from Man Coed VM Ltd. Forest Tree Surgery and Grounds
Maintenance Ltd also sought agreement to ‘Novate’ the
existing Weed Control Contract, for the remaining term, to Forest
Tree Surgery and Grounds Maintenance Ltd.
 
Following discussions with the Head of
Procurement it was agreed that a 1-year contract with Forest Tree
Surgery and Grounds Maintenance Ltd would be directly awarded,
under the same terms and price agreed with Man Coed VM Ltd, by way of an exception to ensure
continuity of service, with a view that a longer term contract will be put in place from April
2026.
 
This new interim contract will begin following
approval.
 
The information in
Appendix 1 is commercially sensitive and is restricted by virtue of
Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act
1972 as it is ‘Information relating to the financial or
business affairs of any particular person (including the authority
holding the information).’

Alternative options considered

The alternative
option, of running a full competitive procurement for the remaining
12 months of the contract was considered but rejected. Given that
notification of ‘Prepack Administration’ was only
received in early January 2025 and the service needed to commence
by 1 April 2025 there was insufficient time to run a competitive
tender exercise, award the contract and for the selected supplier
to be ready to commence operations.
 
Instead, so long as
Forest Tree Surgery and Grounds Maintenance Ltd agreed to the
previous terms and pricing, which within budget and were the Most
Economically Advantageous Tender from the previous competitive
exercise, it was agreed to Novate the contract for a 12-month
period. This allows time for a competitive tender exercise to take
place for the delivery of this service in future years.