Agenda and minutes

There were apologies for absence from:

Councillor Patsy Ellis

Councillor Philip Knowles

Councillor Rhea Rayside

Minutes of the meeting held on 12 March 2024.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 12 March 2024 were approved as a correct record.

The Leader of the Council then made a short statement commenting on a question received at the previous meeting of Cabinet on 12 March 2024 from Councillor Max Sawyer (the Leader’s response to Cllr Sawyer’s question is appended to these minutes).

There were no disclosures of interests.

The Leader of the Council welcomed Paul Sutton, who had recently been engaged as the Interim Head of Finance and Deputy Section 151 Officer.

The purpose of the report is to seek approval to enter into a contract for the supply of electricity for Council operated assets.

Purpose of report

To seek approval to enter into a contract for the supply of electricity for Council operated assets.

Decision

That Cabinet approves up to a four-year contract to Total Energies Gas and Power Ltd incorporating a fixed 12 month tariff utilising the ESPO Framework for the supply of electricity commencing on 30th September 2024.

Alternative options considered and rejected

The report confirmed that alternative frameworks had been considered but none offered the Council the most economically advantageous solution that met the Council’s requirements. Council could have chosen not to enter into a 12 month contract but this would have left the Council financially exposed to price uncertainty during the period.

Reasons for decision

The Framework consisted of a single supplier (Total Energies) with a proven and successful track record of delivering electricity, for various public sector organisations including South Kesteven District Council (SKDC).

As well as the supply of electricity, this framework provided a number of key features including:

• Automated Meter Reading (AMR);

• New meter connection, changes to existing connections/disconnections and upgrades; and;

• A dedicated account manager for ESPO Customers.

Additionally, ESPO also provided comprehensive support encompassing:

• Account management;

• Supply point administration;

• Portfolio management

• Price validation

• General queries and advice related to the contract and supply and market intelligence.

The framework was based on fully transparent pricing, with the supplier margin fixed for the full duration of the framework. Individual customer rates would however change based on changes to ‘Regulated Charges’ and the ‘Wholesale commodity price’, typically on an annual basis from 1 October. Customers were notified in advance of any price changes.

As the price of energy was extremely volatile, ESPO had adopted a flexible, aggregated risk management approach to energy procurement. The two ‘Price Risk Strategies’ currently used by ESPO under the flexible procurement option were:

·       Pricing in Advance (PIA) – in which 100% of the total forecast volume requirement was purchased before commencement of the supply period for electricity (October to the following September).

·       Pricing within Period (PWP) – in which an agreed portion of the total forecast volume requirement for the supply period (April to March) was purchased before the commencement of the supply period, with the balance purchased closer to the point of consumption, but before it was required.

These strategies allowed the price risk to be spread over an extended period of time, rather than purchasing 100% of the volume on a single day.

The principle behind the two options was that with PIA the price was known before the supply period commenced, whilst the PWP price was only partially fixed before supply period and was not completely known until the supply period ended.

The PWP option therefore represented a higher risk as a proportion of the cost was subject to fluctuation, depending on market price movement during the supply period, with reward partly based on the premise that the risk premium inherent in market prices reduces as the point of purchase and consumption  ...  view the full minutes text for item 107.

This report sets out the procurement that has been undertaken in order to award the contract to the successful contractor for the construction of the new Waste Depot, Turnpike Close Grantham.

Purpose of report

This report set out the procurement that had been undertaken in order to award the contract to the successful contractor for the construction of the new Waste Depot at Turnpike Close Grantham.

Decision

That Cabinet:

1. Approves the outcome of the tender process and appoints Lindum Group Ltd as the preferred contractor for the construction of the Turnpike Close construction contract.

2. Delegates to the Deputy Chief Executive in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Property and Public Engagement to enter into a NEC4 Professional Services Contract with Lindum Group Ltd in order to develop the submitted design to Stage 4 supported by a Value Engineering process in order to align the overall contract price with the approved budget.

3. Following the conclusion of the Value Engineering, delegation be granted to the Deputy Chief Executive in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Property and Public Engagement to enter into the construction contract to enable the commencement of the works.

Alternative options considered and rejected

No other options were available as the decision to award the contract was essential to enable the project to continue to the construction stage.

Reasons for decision

This report set out the background behind the project. The procurement process that had been undertaken since the decision was taken by Council to allocate funding for this project. The awarding of the contract would enable the project to continue in accordance with the timeline.

The business case for the Waste Depot was approved by Cabinet in September 2023, and the funding for the project was approved by Full Council in September 2023 and February 2024.

An ‘expression of interest’ notice was published and presented to a list of approved contractors; from this, five contractors confirmed their interest in the project and were invited to tender for the work. This list of five contractors reduced to 2 for a number of reasons; the two remaining contractors formally submitted tenders and these were scored by a panel of experts using agreed criteria.

The contractors were interviewed on 19 March 2024 and the bids were scrutinised; Lindum Group emerged from this process with the successful tender.

The design of the Waste Depot would be reviewed in order to reduce the projected costs of the tender – a process known as ‘value engineering’. Once this process was complete, the construction contract could be entered into.

It was hoped that works would commence no later than September 2024, with a completion by July 2025.

The following points were highlighted during debate:

·       Officers were working with Lindum Group on bringing the costs of the tender down whilst not compromising the delivery or the quality of the project.

·       The ‘fit out’ of the depot could not be costed at the moment because investigations were still ongoing regarding the potential transfer of equipment from the existing site.

·       Whilst officers were confident of a start date of September 2024, the date was not definite because a value engineering exercise needed to be undertaken.

·       The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 108.

To seek approval for stakeholder consultation in respect to the draft Economic Development Strategy 2024 – 2028 and accompanying action plan.

Purpose of report

To seek approval for stakeholder consultation in respect of the draft Economic Development Strategy 2024 – 2028 and accompanying action plan.

Decision

That Cabinet approves a four week public consultation exercise on the draft Economic Development Strategy and accompanying action plan set out in Appendix A of the report.

Alternative options considered and rejected

The option to not provide an Economic Development Strategy may risk loss of focus on achieving the aims of the Council within the quickest practicable timescales.

An alternative to not consult on the Economic Development Strategy may risk the loss of critical engagement with the public, partners and delivery agencies who would be vital in achieving the aims of the draft strategy.

Reasons for decision

The public consultation would enable stakeholders to consider and recommend changes and additions to the draft Economic Development Strategy.

An Economic Development Strategy would help to deliver a vibrant economy in the District, promoting health, wealth and prosperity. The previous Strategy ran to 2021.

On 20 February 2024 the Finance and Economic Overview and Scrutiny Committee received a significantly evolved version of the Strategy. This Strategy was also seen at a Cabinet Member Workshop in March 2024 where it was further refined prior to public consultation. The next stage was to take the Strategy to partners in the community, such as members of the public and business delivery bodies.

The consultation would run for a four-week period and would be published online. Comments would be captured using the Opus software system, which was also being used for the Local Plan consultation. This system enabled members of the public to comment directly on each proposal within the Economic Development Strategy.

This report provides an overview of decisions taken by individual Cabinet Members since the last meeting of the Cabinet on 12 March 2024.

Decisions taken since the previous meeting of Cabinet were noted.

This report highlights matters on the Cabinet’s Forward Plan.

The Forward Plan ran to June 2024 currently, but this plan would be expanded in the coming weeks as essential items for the year ahead, such as the Budget would be added.

The item on Car Parking Orders was to move back to June 2024.

The remainder of the Forward Plan was noted.

The Leader of the Council gave Members the opportunity to ask questions of the Cabinet:

Councillor Phil Gadd asked when the refurbishment works in Grantham marketplace were due to commence.

Councillor Richard Cleaver promised to respond informally to Councillor Gadd.

The meeting closed at 2:54pm.

Dear Max,

You accurately point out that the Council receives from parking services must be ringfenced for purposes which are clearly specified by the 1984 and 2004 Road Traffic.

These purposes include meeting the costs of the provision and enforcement of parking services as well as “environmental improvements”. These improvements may include:

i)               the reduction of environmental pollution;

ii)              improving and maintaining the appearance or amenity of roads and open land to which the general public has access

iii)            the provision of outdoor recreational facilities available to the general public without charge.

The income and expenditure of parking services in recent years is summarised below:

Unfortunately, while our spending of the surplus in recent years has been compliant with the law, the capital and revenue expenditure on the council’s car parks has been much less than has been necessary to maintain them in good condition. Consequently, in the current financial year and in years to come, we need to catch-up on the backlog left by the previous Conservative administration. This requires spending of hundreds of thousands of pounds on our car parks, including the Welham Street and Wharf Road car parks in Grantham.

As you know, the Council has undertaken a parking capacity study which has been reviewed by the Finance and Economic OSC and as a result we intends to consult residents on a new Parking Order. Furthermore, we intend to invest in expanding the capacity of the Cattle Market car park in Stamford by around 100 spaces in order to increase the supply of parking in response to demand from tourists, shoppers and visitors to that historic town.

I hope this provides clarification and reassurance that the Council is not only abiding by the law regarding parking income but also managing the service in ways which benefit everyone in our towns and wider district.

Best wishes,

Ashley Baxter

Leader

South Kesteven District Council