Agenda item

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure, which discussed the arrangements for acceptance of tenders for ongoing works and services required for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) in advance of the main construction works.

By way of background the report advised that in April 2003, Scottish Ministers announced that the AWPR would be promoted by the Scottish Executive (now Scottish Government) as a trunk road within a funding partnership of the Executive, Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council.   Under the terms of Section 4 of the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984, Aberdeen City Council was the Appointed Agent for the Scottish Ministers.  The Agency Agreement required the Council to procure all necessary contracts and services required to deliver the AWPR in co-operation and consultation with Aberdeenshire Council.  Previously the award of contracts and services related to the design process of the AWPR had been subject to dispensation approved by Council at its meeting on 9 March 2009. However, as the AWPR moved towards the next phase of project development there would be a need to procure further services and advance works in preparation for the main construction contract.   These could be considered as advanced works and services related to the main construction (rather than design), and accordingly there was a need to have an appropriate approval system in place.   At present Scottish Ministers were currently considering the Reporter’s report prior to making announcement on the proposed scheme.   An outcome in favour of the preferred route would allow the Scottish Ministers to make the Orders which would then be laid before the Scottish Parliament for final approval.  

In order to avoid delays in the procurement process, it was recommended that powers were delegated to the Corporate Directors of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure and Corporate Governance, with the consent of the City Solicitor and City Chamberlain and in consultation with the Conveners of the Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure and Finance and Resources Committees, to accept the most economically advantageous tenders for various advanced works and services required for the AWPR, subject to the receipt of approvals from other funding partners.   Delegation of the powers recommended would require the suspension of Standing Orders 75 and 76 to the extent necessary to permit the delegation of powers.  

Members were also asked to authorise the use of external Framework Agreements, if appropriate, by delegating powers to the same officers to award a contract via a Framework Agreement.  This was subject to the caveat that the use of a Framework would require to be preceded by an assessment of its suitability, the robustness of the procurement process undertaken by the procuring organisation, and full due diligence of the standard contractual terms and conditions applicable to the Framework by the City Solicitor.   This would ensure that the Council was not exposed to any legal risk arising from the procurement process or contractual terms, or alternatively, would identify any such risks thereby enabling an informed decision to be made in terms of whether the risk could be managed.   The recommendations were necessary to ensure that the project was being developed within a delivery timescale to meet the stated aim of the Scottish Ministers.   To achieve this timetable, officers would strive to ensure, where possible within the constraints in which they operated, that the potential for delays to the project was minimised.  The standard procedure of reporting each contract to the appropriate Committee would invariably lead to delays in the approval process which could then have an impact upon the overall programme. 

In the event where the estimated value of the works or services exceeded the EU procurement threshold for local authorities, the works or services would be procured in accordance with the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2006, with advertisement in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU).  The anticipated works or services were as follows:-

Different arrangements would be necessary for the procurement and award of the main construction contract and this would be the subject of further reports to the relevant committee.

In the course of discussions, Councillor Boulton proposed the following addendum to the recommendations detailed above, namely, “that there be no further tender for works until final approval for the AWPR had been announced by the Scottish Ministers”.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the suspension of Standing Orders 75 and 76 to the extent necessary to permit the delegation of powers;

(ii)        to delegate the power to accept the most economically advantageous tenders for various advanced works and services required for the AWPR to the Corporate Directors of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure and Corporate Governance, with the consent of the City Solicitor and City Chamberlain and in consultation with the Conveners of the Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure and Finance and Resources Committees, subject to the receipt of approvals from other funding partners;

(iii)       to delegate power to the Corporate Directors of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure and Corporate Governance, with the consent of the City Solicitor and City Chamberlain, to utilise Framework Agreements where appropriate, subject to consultation with the Conveners of the Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure and Finance and Resources Committees, and to the receipt of approvals from other funding partners;  and

(iv)       that there would be no further tender for works until final approval for the AWPR had been announced by the Scottish Ministers.