Agenda item

Award of Contract for Highway Professional Services to WSP UK Limited

Decision:

RESOLVED

KEY DECISION

The Executive approved a direct award to WSP under the Crown Commercial Services (CCS) Construction Professional Services framework Lot 1: Built Environment.

Reasons for Recommendation

· The proposed direct award to WSP is for the continuation of technical support on projects which WSP have already commenced work on and built up a working knowledge and experience. Changing service provider at this stage would result in delays as a new service provider becomes acquainted with the work as well as additional costs for reviewing WSP’s prior work and possible re-working.

· Council officers have reviewed the intended scope of any direct award to ensure that WSP are only retained on those service activities and projects where to not retain WSP is considered likely to result in reputational and financial risk to the Authority. It is not intended to use this award to commission new work with WSP and officers will be working to hand work over to the new highways service provider as soon as practicable.

· The CCS Construction Professional Services framework was assessed as being available for use by the Council and offering the most advantageous route to a direct award based on WSP’s rates and fee percentage; offering better value for money than the alternative available frameworks.

Alternative Options Considered: The Council has a number of options regarding how to manage these projects namely:

· Passing them onto the new Highways Services Contract provider, Kier, to pick up the remaining work and continue it until it is completed.

· Procuring a new supplier to pick up the remaining work and continue it until it is completed.

· Procuring a contract with WSP to continue with the work until it is completed or at a suitable stage to hand over to another supplier.

Either of the first two options would result in additional risks and cost to the Council. This is because a new supplier who had not previously worked on the projects would need to satisfy themselves as to the adequacy of any previous work undertaken by others prior to taking on liability, if indeed they were willing to do so. They would also result in delays to projects while this process took place and whilst the new supplier became acquainted with all relevant aspects of the project.

The third option in awarding a contract to WSP to continue delivering these service activities and projects would not result in either of these risks.

Whilst other suppliers could pick up the work currently being undertaken by WSP under the now expired KierWSP Highways Services Contract, there are significant financial and reputational risks to the Council due to delays, if we are not to retain the existing WSP resources to complete their current commissions. On this basis, the alternative options considered primarily relate to procurement routes available to enable a direct award to WSP, as follows:-

ESPO – ESPO is a public sector owned framework which the Council has access to. WSP are approved suppliers on the ESPO framework. The ESPO terms and conditions vary between direct award and award following mini competition. WSP confirmed that they would not be able to agree to the terms and conditions for a direct award under ESPO and this option was therefore discounted.

PAGABO – PAGABO is a commercially owned and managed framework, as opposed to being publicly managed. It is open for use by any employing organisation, including the private sector. WSP are approved suppliers to the PAGABO framework and, whilst their rates are comparable to the CCS framework, WSP’s fee percentage or margin was approximately three times higher under PAGABO than under the CCS framework. This route has therefore been discounted on the basis of not providing value for money.

Minutes:

The Chair invited Cllr Graham Lawman, Executive Member for Highways, Travel and Assets to present a report that sought approval to award a contract to WSP to deliver Highways service activities and projects until they reached a suitable stage to transition to the new Highways Services Contract provider (Kier), or be delivered by another specialist provider through a separate procurement process.

It was heard that on 12^th September 2022, the new Highways Contract with Kier had commenced. The previous contract had been with KierWSP, with WSP being their design partner, but not being a part of the new contract.

WSP were still undertaking significant and important work for the Council at the time the new contract commenced, and additional costs, re-working and delays could occur were any new contractor required to familiarise themselves with the projects, were that work not to be progressed to a point where it could be handed over to Kier, a new designer, or completed.

Works referred to above included responding to planning applications, managing the Council’s Strategic Transport Model, capital projects and Completion of the Local Cycling & Walking Improvement Plans for Corby and Kettering.

Cllr Lawman requested that Executive approve the award of a contract to deliver such activities outlined above, noting that an award was within the current budget envelope, that no new work would be commissioned through the award and that officers would seek to achieve handover at the earliest practical time.

Cllrs Harrison, Pentland, Howes and Brackenbury welcomed the recommendation and the continuity that an award of contract to WSP would bring to a number of important programmes and designs.