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Parks and green spaces contract set to be
taken over by Council company
THE contract to maintain Liverpool's parks and green
spaces is set to be handed to the Council owned company which operates the
refuse, recycling and street cleansing service.
A report to the Cabinet, on Friday, 27 October 2017, recommend that Liverpool
Street Scene Services Limited; a wholly owned Local Authority Trading Company (LATco); takes over the ₤6.8 million annual parks and grounds maintenance arrangement.
The work includes:- the development, management and maintenance of parks, trees,
playgrounds, outdoor sports and leisure facilities, cemeteries, crematoria
gardens and playgrounds. The contract is currently run by a joint venture
between the City Council and
Glendale, Glendale Liverpool Ltd. which is due to end in October 2018.
It is estimated that the proposed 10 year deal could save up to ₤7 million by
doing away with management fees, integrating management and supervisory
functions and making efficiencies on the purchase and hire of equipment.
Following a soft market testing exercise, the City Council has decided against
holding a competitive tender process, because it is not believed it would
deliver a better or timelier outcome. This is allowed under a rule known as the
'Teckal Exemption,' which enables public authorities to enter into service
contracts with wholly owned companies without going out to the market.
Councillor Steve Munby, Cabinet member for City Services, said:- "We've
taken a long hard look at whether we should go out to tender on this, but
believe that that the time and cost of doing so would wipe out any efficiency
savings and not deliver anything better.
Liverpool Street Scene Services Limited has already delivered efficiency savings
in in refuse, recycling and street cleansing and because it is owned by the
Council and not shareholders we are able to reinvest the cash and make our money
go further, such as by clearing fly tipping or increasing street cleansing.
We believe we can do the same with the grounds maintenance contract, and deliver
efficiencies ourselves better than the private sector could do. We already face
finding huge savings across the Council in the next few years due to reductions
in Government funding, so it is vital we make the most of every single penny
that we have."
A separate report to the Cabinet is recommending that the City Council extends
its existing contracts with Liverpool Street Scene Services Limited for refuse,
recycling and street cleansing to 10 years.
It follows improvements in refuse and recycling such as:- Bank Holiday working,
increased productivity due to the introduction of new vehicles and a rise in
recycling rates.
Street cleansing has seen similar improvements, including new working patterns
which have increased peak time working along with additional cleansing in the
City Centre and a drop in staff absenteeism.
The extended contract will see the implementation of 7 day working across the
City and investment in vehicles, infrastructure and premises.
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