To consider the use of urgency powers in relation to the provision of workshop equipment for maintaining the Council’s vehicle fleet.   

That it be NOTED that the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Lead Members for Clean and Green Environment and Finance and Asset Management, used his urgency powers as allowed under the Constitution for the purposes of expending £44,420.60 for the purchase of workshop equipment.

14.1           The report of Head of Community Services, circulated at Pages No. 102-106, advised the Committee of an urgent decision made by the Chief Executive, in line with the powers delegated to him within the Council’s Constitution, in respect of the purchase of workshop equipment for maintaining the Council’s new vehicle fleet. Members were asked to note the information provided in respect of the decision.

14.2           The Head of Community Services explained that the Council had recently purchased a new fleet for the collection of waste and recycling etc. Unfortunately, during that procurement process, there had been no consideration or budgetary provision made for the replacement of the workshop. The decision of the Chief Executive had been made on an urgent basis as the equipment needed to be procured and installed prior to the arrival and operation of the new vehicle fleet.

14.3           During the discussion which ensued, Members raised some concerns with the way the contract the Council had with Ubico worked. In response, the Chief Executive explained that the Council paid for a service from Ubico and therefore it would always be meeting the costs of the collection of bins and grounds maintenance etc. This was confusing due to the fact that the Council was constantly increasing the number of houses it serviced due to development which in turn increased its costs to Ubico. He indicated that Members were due to have a seminar about Ubico during July and this would aim to cover a lot of the concerns that Councillors had expressed including the costs paid to Ubico; the differences in fleet sizes of the Member authorities; those decisions which were delegated and those that were not; and when, and on what basis, other partner authorities had joined Ubico. In terms of the report currently before the Committee, Members were asked to note the action that had been taken under the Council’s urgency procedures; the Council had a large vehicle fleet and had to provide the tools and space needed to service those vehicles.

14.4           In response to a query regarding decisions on the waste collection service, the Chief Executive advised that many of those decisions were made by the Council rather than being delegated to Officers in consultation with Lead Members i.e. the contract with Ubico, the vehicle purchase and the additional funding for the purchase had all been Council decisions. In addition, performance was monitored by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee so there was a lot of Member oversight which he felt was helpful. In terms of the charges for the waste service, i.e. garden waste, those had been discussed at length with the Transform Working Group and the final decisions were made by the Council as part of the budget process. In respect of the role the Council played in Ubico, the Chief Executive explained that the Council had a seat on the Board which was fulfilled by the Deputy Chief Executive and the Chief Executive was a shareholder. The Borough Council’s role was slightly different to the other partner authorities because it did not have a Cabinet and therefore the Lead Members could not have delegated authority to make decisions on behalf of the Council. This was the role that the Chief Executive took – he did, however, do this in consultation with the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council to ensure he had a mandate from the Council when he was at shareholder meetings.

14.5           Having considered the report and issues raised, it was