Issue - meetings

 Report by Dr Carlton Brand, Corporate Director.

 Councillor John Thomson presented the report which providedan updateon theprogress towards implementinga procurement solutionto deliver Ultrafast broadband; and sought Cabinet approval todelegatethe authority to deal with all contractdocumentation inrelation to the Ultrafast Broadbandproject, part ofthe Wiltshire Online programme, and to delegate the decision to enter into the Contract,sign all relevant NDA documents andenter into the BDUK GrantAgreement and SWLEP Match Funding Agreement tothe Corporate Director ofChildren's Services, andAdults’Social Services (acting) in consultation withthe DeputyLeader of the Council and CabinetMemberfor Communities, Campuses, Area Boardsand Broadband.

Issues discussed during the course of the presentation and discussion included: that central government and SWLEP grant monies had been secured without the need for match funding from Wiltshire Council;  and that there was a focus on Wiltshire industrial estates.

Councillor Simon Killane, Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee, highlighted the engagement of Scrutiny, and invited Councillor George Jeans as the project board member to speak on the matter. Councillor Jeans expressed his support and congratulations for securing the extra funding.

Councillor John Thomson thanked Cllr Jeans for his positive contribution towards the project.

Resolved

i)            To note the progress made towards deliveringthe ‘Wiltshire Online Project’.

ii)          To note the progress of the Ultrafastprocurement.

iii)         To make anin principle decision to award and enter into the Contract orcontracts for the provision of UltrafastBroadband services.

iv)        That followingthe tender process, to delegatethe authorityto enter into the Contractor Contractsfor the provision of UltrafastBroadband services to the Corporate DirectorofChildren'sServices andAdults’ SocialServices(acting),in consultation with theCabinetMemberfor Communities, Campuses,Area Boards and Broadband

v)          To delegatethe authorityto enter into and to sign allother relevantdocuments including Non-Disclosureagreements,Grant agreements and MatchFunding agreements to the CorporateDirector of Children'sServices and  Adults’Social Services (acting).

vi)   To agree thatthe CorporateDirectorofChildren's Services and Adults’ SocialServices (acting), be nominated asAuthorityRepresentativefor thepurposes of the Contract.

Reason for Decision:

Wiltshire Council has recentlysuccessfullysecured £2m fromBroadbandDeliveryUK (BDUK), Departmentof Culture,Media andSport toextendour broadbandfootprint across Wiltshire with an additional £1m match fundingfromthe SwindonWiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership.  TheInvitationto Tender(ITT) will total £3m andapproval was given toproceed on the ITT by theProcurementBoard on July19 2016.

Other reasons as per the report.