Decision details

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport seeking approval for the proposed programme of work required to complete an options appraisal to determine the optimal approach for delivering our statutory duties for waste disposal beyond the expiry of the current shared arrangements with Hampshire County Council and Portsmouth City Council post December 2030.

(i)  To approve the proposed programme and governance arrangements to jointly undertake the initial project appraisal to inform and direct the arrangements for managing waste disposal beyond expiry of the current contract after December 2030.

(ii)  To delegate authority to the Director - Environment, through their role on the Strategic Tripartite Board, following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport within the approvals set out below to progress the options appraisal work set out in the Appendix 1.

(iii)  To approve and commit to supporting the resource requirements to deliver the programme set out in the Appendix 1.

(iv)  To approve in principle the proposed programme budget set out in the Appendix 1.

(v)  To approve the procurement of external expertise and resources to provide the necessary technical input to the options appraisal.

(vi)  To delegate authority to Director - Environment to approve any minor amendments that may be required to the Tripartite Agreement to support the programme set out in the Appendix 1.

1.  This programme of work is a critical one due to the financial and reputational risks to the council associated with delivering the waste disposal service for Southampton.

2.  There has been significant change in the waste sector affecting local authorities over the recent years and this programme provides the council with the opportunity to best position ourselves to ensure our waste services deliver the optimal operational and environmental outcomes beyond 2030 whilst also ensuring value for money.

3.  The future waste disposal arrangement post 2030 will form part of the council’s Strategic Procurement Programme (SPP). SPP projects will result in the council setting a long-term strategic direction regarding services, contracts and arrangements and once this direction is set it will be challenging, time-consuming and expensive to reverse or significantly alter. To address this, the council has adopted a “delivery model assessment” (DMA) approach to improve the pre-procurement planning stage, which, where the agreed delivery model is to outsource, should result in more fit for purpose arrangements, resulting in less time and cost spent managing issues and disputes, contract changes, unacceptable service levels and re-procurements.

4.  A DMA will inform a recommendation on how services should be delivered moving forward - i.e. whether the council should deliver a service(s) – or part of service(s) itself, procure from the market, through a combination of in-house and outsourced delivery or alternative commercial vehicles such as frameworks, joint ventures or shared service or partnership models.

5.  The options appraisal recommended in this paper aligns with the SPP approach to assessing delivery models and bring the benefit of efficiencies resulting from a collaborative assessment undertaken by the Tripartite.

1.  The option to delay commencement of this options appraisal activity has been considered and rejected as it would leave the council unprepared for the future and/or with insufficient time to plan service delivery for post 2030.

2.  The option to not undertake the options analysis has been considered and rejected. Due to both the significant cost and risks associated with the waste disposal service it is critical that a robust options appraisal is undertaken to determine the optimal and most efficient way forward for delivering these services for residents post 2030.

3.  Further detailed consideration of the alternative options under consideration are set out in Appendix 1.