Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received from Cllr Baroness Scott of Bybrook O.B.E

To confirm and sign as a correct record the minutes of the Cabinet (Capital Assets) Committee meeting held on 10 November 2015.

The minutes of the previous meeting, held on the 10 November 2015, were presented.

Resolved

To approve as a correct record and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 10 November 2015.

There were no Leader’s announcements.

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public. This meeting is open to the public , who may ask a question or make a statement. Questions can also be asked by members of the Council. Written notice of questions or statements should be given to Will Oulton of Democratic Services by 12.00 noon on Thursday 14 January 2016. Anyone wishing to ask a question or make a statement should contact the officer named above.

Councillor Tony Trotman asked the following question, on behalf of Calne Town Council, relating to the possibility of this Capital Assets Committee of Wiltshire Council making a prompt decision, on transferring the Old Fire and Ambulance building, attached to Calne Town Hall, into the ownership of Calne Town Council.

He went on to state that when Calne surrendered its Borough status in 1974 the building in question was lost, to the District and now more recently, to this Unitary Council. This listed, unused building had been “at risk” for many years, and it was known that to make it waterproof, and serviceable for community use will cost the owners at least £250k.

He informed the meeting that, Calne Town Council had considered, and were now prepared to undertake works to reinstate this building, by linking it to a Heritage Lottery bid, drawn up enabling works to enhance the Town Hall and its listed curtilage.

Finally, he asked: could the Committee give him an assurance that the matter would dealt with, and that a decision to transfer this building at no cost is considered urgently, so that he could refer a timely date to the Town Clerk and the Council so that a successful bid can go forward. 

In response, Councillor Dick Tonge stated that, providing it was at no cost to Wiltshire Council, then he could envisage no impediment to the transfer. He went on to state that this should be considered outside any possible wider devolution package so that it may be expedited. He asked that the Clerk for Calne Town Council write to him so that the matter may be progressed.

This is to give further notice in accordance with paragraph 5 (4) and 5 (5) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 of the intention to take the following item in private.

To consider passing the following resolution:

To agree that in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the public from the meeting for the business specified in Item Numbers 12,13,14, 15 and 16 because it is likely that if members of the public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in  paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Act and the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information to the public.

Reason for taking item in private:

Paragraph 3 - information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

The Deputy Leader, in the Chair, asked that as there were no members of the public present that the decision to move into closed decision be brought forward.

There being no objections, the meeting;

Resolved

To agree that in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the public from the meeting for the following items of business because it is likely that if members of the public were present there would disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Act and the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information to the public.

Reason for taking the item in private:

Paragraph 3 – information relating to the financial information or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

No representations have been received as to why this item should not be held in private.

 Report by Carlton Brand, Corporate Director.

 Cllr Fleur de Rhé-Philipe, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Skills and Strategic Transport, presented the report which sought a commitment from the Cabinet Capital Assets Committee to the timing and process for the delivery of the Digital Corsham project. In response to a request from Councillor Alan Macrae, it was agreed that a presentation be made to the Corsham Area Board to give more details of the project.

Proposals

That:

(i)            Cabinet considers and approves the suggested delivery programme for the refurbishment and redevelopment of the Mansion House property.

(ii)          Cabinet delegates authority to the Associate Director for Economic Development and Planning, in consultation with the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Skills and Strategic Transport and with agreement from the SWLEP Board, to implement the delivery programme and ensure the wider vision for Corsham is realised.

Reason for Decision:

To ensure that the Corsham Mansion House project, as proposed and developed by Wiltshire Council in collaboration with the SWLEP, is delivered on time and on cost and that the future development of the site is brought forward through a phased and controlled process.

 Report by Carlton Brand, Corporate Director.

 Councillor Dick Tonge, Cabinet Member for Finance, presented the report which described the procurement approach followed, and requested authority from members of the committee for the execution of contracts on this basis.

Resolved

That the Lots should be awarded to the following Contractors

(i)            Lot 1: Company B

(ii)          Lot 2: Company C

(iii)         Lot 3: Company A

(iv)         Lot 4: Company C

(v)          Lot 5: Company D

(vi)         That the Corporate Director be authorised, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance & Procurement, to satisfy themselves as to the details regarding the contracts, and then to take all necessary steps to enter into the new Strategic Assets and Facilities Management (SA&FM) Contracts.

(vii)       That the Corporate Director be authorised, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance & Procurement, to award a lot to the next contractor, in the event that a successful contractors bid has been withdrawn.

Reason for Decision:

There is a need to ensure the continued delivery of legal compliance and maintenance services across the entire council-owned property portfolio including hubs, leisure centres (including those currently managed and operated by the private provider), depots, campuses, and LA schools when the existing contracts expire on 31^st March 2016.

Following a procurement exercise in accordance with the Restricted Procedure, tenders have been submitted for all 5 contract lots which have been assessed in terms of price and quality.

The most advantageous tenders, taking into account quality and price, should be accepted in accordance with the procurement procedures. The detailed scoring and financial information is contained in a confidential report to be considered in Part 2 of this meeting.

 Report by Maggie Rae, Corporate Director.

 Councillor Jonathon Seed, Cabinet Member for Housing, Leisure, Libraries and Flooding, presented the report which sought approval for approval to use the sites, mentioned in the report, for extra care housing; to gain approval to commit a maximum of £25,000 per site to de-risking work; and to delegate authority to the relevant Associate Directors and Cabinet Members to dispose of the sites to Providers on terms to be agreed, commit the HCA funding secured for these schemes and commit Local Authority (LA) funding required to support the delivery of the schemes which is already allocated to the delivery of extra care housing.

In giving his presentation, Cllr Seed proposed that Committee consider additionally to delegate authority to three Corporate Directors, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and the Cabinet member for Housing, Leisure, Libraries and Flooding to conduct further modelling confirming financial benefits of extra care housing, alternative sites and capital land values; and to agree the report resulting from the modelling, use of alternative sites and capital land values.

There being no further debate, the Committee;

Resolved

1)     To approve commitment of the sites at Appendix 1 for the delivery of extra care housing

2)     To approve entering contracts for professional services to enable the de-risking of the sites in preparation for disposal in accordance with the Corporate Procurement & Commissioning Board approach up to a maximum value of £25,000 per site.

3)    To delegate authority to the Associate Directors responsible for housing, finance, procurement, legal and assets  in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing, Leisure, Libraries and Flooding, the Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning, Development Management, Strategic Housing, Property and Waste and the Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance, Risk, Procurement and Welfare Reform to approve;

a)    following a tender process the transfer of the sites to a Provider or Providers, identified by the tender process, for the delivery of extra care housing, on terms determined as part of the tender process

b)    The commitment of some of the external HCA funding to a Registered Provider for the delivery of extra care

c)    Entering into funding agreements with HCA, as required, to secure the grant funding.

d)    Commitment of Local Authority (LA) funding required to support the delivery of the schemes which has already been allocated to the delivery of the extra care programme;

e)    The general authority to enter into such documents and authorise such processes as are required to give effect to sub-headings a) to d) above.

4)    Delegate authority to three Corporate Directors, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and the Cabinet member for Housing, Leisure, Libraries and Flooding to:

                      i.          Conduct further modelling confirming financial benefits of extra care housing, alternative sites and capital land values; and

                    ii.          Agree the report resulting from the modelling, use of alternative sites and capital land values.

Reason for Decision:

Since the Older People’s Accommodation Strategy was first approved in 2011 work has been ongoing to identify sites that would be suitable for the delivery  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

 Report by Carlton Brand, Corporate Director.

 Councillor Dick Tonge, Cabinet Member for Finance, presented the report which set out the recommended energy purchasing strategy for the council from 2017 – 2022 in order to support achievement of value for money and continued resource efficiency.

In response to a question raised by Cllr Toby Sturgis, Cllr Tonge agreed to send a response to all Cabinet members regarding the percentage of council’s energy purchased would be derived from renewable sources.

There being no further debate, the meeting;

Resolved

1. That the council takes advantage of flexible in-period purchasing with a risk cap. This will provide an opportunity for greater savings to be achieved, by placing a limited sum at risk.

2. That the council enters into a longer contract after 2017 and takes advantage of current market conditions as well as an extended purchasing window.  A five year contract length is recommended.

3. That the council stay with the current provider, West Mercia Energy.

4.    An appropriate contractual arrangement is put in place with schools wishing to access the contract and the council recovers the ongoing cost of administration.

Reason for Decision:

The proposals are made to address existing risks and provide optimum value for money from April 2017 when the existing electricity and gas contract ends.

Report by Carolyn Godfrey, Corporate Director.

Councillor Stuart Wheeler, Member for Hubs, Governance (including information management), Support Services (HR, Legal, ICT, Business Services, Democratic Services), Heritage & Arts and Customer Care, presented the report which provided an update on the current position,  and asked the Committee to consider an agreement with the PFI Company and the Council to fund remedial works on the playing fields at the three PFI schools.

Resolved

To approve option 2 below, as set out in the report, which allowed officers to agree Capital expenditure of between £0.2 million and £0.3 million as part of a commercial negotiation with the PFI contractor, White Horse Education Partnership (WHEP). 

Reason for Decision:

To provide a workable solution to the challenges encountered; fundamentally to ensure the provision of good quality Playing Fields for the three PFI Schools.

 Report by Carlton Brand, Corporate Director.

 Councillor Dick Tonge, Cabinet Member for Finance, presented the report which asked the Committee to agree to the procurement of cleaning and security services in council buildings within the operational estate managed by Strategic Assets and Facilities Management (SA&FM), with effect from 1^st September 2016.

Resolved

1.    To use the OJEU procurement procedure for the re-tendering of cleaning services, with a new contract to commence on 1^st September 2016. Contract term for 5 years with the option to extend by two further one year periods.

2.    To delegate authority to enter into contracts, following the procurement and tender evaluation process, to the Cabinet Member for Finance, and the Associate Director for People and Business.

Reason for Decision:

Existing cleaning contract is due to expire on 31^st August 2016 and cannot be extended any further.  Options to extend have been exhausted.

Procuring independently through the OJEU process is considered the most cost effective and flexible approach, and the best option for delivering the most competitive outcome for this type of service.

There were no urgent items.