Issue - meetings

This report presents the final report for part A of the remit of the Highways PFI Ad-hoc Scrutiny Sub Committee in regard to Highways Maintenance and the recent Private Finance Initiative (PFI) bid.

RESOLVED:             That the scrutiny report be noted and the issues raised and principles identified for procuring highways maintenance for the future be taken into account by the Executive when the outcome of the PFI Expression of Interest was known and consequently when it determined the Council’s future highways maintenance procurement arrangements.

REASON:                  To ensure that the Executive takes into account the Scrutiny Sub-Committee’s recommendations at the right time when it determines the Council’s highways maintenance procurement arrangements.

Members received a report which presented the final report for part A of the remit of the Highways PFI Ad-Hoc Scrutiny Sub-Committee in regard to Highways Maintenance and the recent Private Finance Initiative (PFI) bid.

The main findings from the Sub-Committee’s work were set out at paragraph 2 of the report.  The options available to Members were to approve the recommendations arising from the scrutiny review in full or part, or to reject the proposed recommendations and outline alternative proposals, where applicable.

Members noted that the work of scrutiny members in Part A of this review had led them to the conclusion that the Council’s expression of interest in PFI had been submitted against a background of financial constraint and a need to improve the overall condition of the local highway network to meet Government targets by 2014/5.   They acknowledged further that other recommendations had been made within the scrutiny report to assist the process in determining whether the Council should proceed with PFI or some alternative approaches when the outcome of the Council’s Expression of Interest was known.  Members therefore agreed to take those principles into account when the Executive considered the arrangements for procuring highways maintenance in the near future.

RESOLVED:             That the scrutiny report be noted and the issues raised and principles identified for procuring highways maintenance for the future be taken into account by the Executive when the outcome of the PFI Expression of Interest was known and consequently when it determined the Council’s future highways maintenance procurement arrangements.

REASON:                  To ensure that the Executive takes into account the Scrutiny Sub-Committee’s recommendations at the right time when it determines the Council’s highways maintenance procurement arrangements.