Agenda item

Purpose of report

To provide Cabinet with information on the work undertaken to develop a new specification, outline possible options and seek agreement for Officers to commence a procurement exercise to assess the future delivery for the Council’s grounds maintenance service.

Decision

Cabinet:

1.    Approves the commencement of a procurement process in order to seek proposals from providers of the grounds maintenance service, to assess the future delivery options.

2.    Approves the commencement of a full appraisal of alternative delivery models of the grounds maintenance service in order that a final option can be presented to Cabinet that delivers the right quality for the best value to the Council and its housing tenants.

Alternative options considered and rejected

The options contained within the body of the report formed the basis of the options appraisal work the Council had undertaken.

Reason for decision

Councillor Adam Stokes wished it noting that he currently held the position of Chairman of EnvironmentSK Limited.

Since 1 March 2019 the Council’s grounds maintenance service had been provided by EnvironmentSK Limited, a wholly owned Council company. The Council was responsible for the grounds maintenance of Council-owned land, including General Fund and Housing Revenue Account land. Being predominantly a rural district, 3% of the land being maintained was in urban areas and 97% being in rural locations.

It was reported that other areas were maintained, including 21 closed churchyards, three parks in Grantham, Grantham Cemetery and maintenance of sports fields, including white lining. The total amount of land maintained equated to 1.5 million square metres across the district, with the total cost to the Authority being £1.016 million.

Taking into consideration the significant amount of land required to be maintained as part of the contract, together with their varying locations across the district, a review of the specification had been undertaken. As part of this, all areas and sites across the district that required maintenance had been visited, measured and were mapped on a new Geographic Information System. This had provided the Council with the ability to accurately plan and cost out those areas requiring maintenance across the whole of South Kesteven.

A review of the specification provided an opportunity to address anomalies between General Fund land and Housing Revenue Account land, which currently received varying levels of service in respect of grounds maintenance and respective cost efficiencies. Having reviewed and updated the specification, it was considered an appropriate time to reconsider the provision of the service. As part of an options appraisal to facilitate how the service could be provided in the future, the following options were noted:

·       Retention of the services of EnvironmentSK Limited

·       Accessing the grounds maintenance supplier market

·       Insourcing the service

It was emphasised that there was no preferred option at this stage as it would be necessary to assess the outcome of the options appraisal process.

A joint meeting of the Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee and Rural and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee considered this report at its meeting on 27 June 2022 and supported the recommendations contained within it.

A vote of thanks was given to Officers and the Cabinet Member for undertaking the comprehensive options appraisal and associated work. The two Overview and Scrutiny Committees were also thanked for their in-depth scrutiny of the proposition.