Agenda, decisions and minutes

No declarations of interest were made.

No declarations of interest were made.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meetings held on 22 and 28 January 2014.

That subject to one amendment, the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The minutes of the meetings held on 22 and 28 January 2014 had been circulated with the agenda.

Minute number 58 of 22 January 2014: Forward Work Programme - Councillor Nancy Matthews clarified her remarks that issues needed to be resolved on the waste project before any decision was made on the Williams Commission proposal for the merger of Councils.

RESOLVED:

That subject to one amendment, the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

That the report be noted.

The Chief Executive presented the report to seek Members’ views on the appointment of a Preferred Bidder and to set out the stages leading to Financial Close and the award of a contract on the North Wales Residual Waste Treatment Project (NWRWTP) of which Flintshire was the lead Authority.  The officers present included the Director of Environment who represented Flintshire on the project and also the Head of Finance as Section 151 officer, the Head of Legal & Democratic Services as Monitoring Officer and the Internal Audit Manager who undertook Internal Audit work on the project on behalf of all five Councils.  Whilst it was felt important to provide an overview in the first two reports on the agenda, more commercially sensitive detail on the evaluation of the final tender was included in the final report and would therefore need to be considered in private session.

The key points of the presentation were:

§         Scope of Project

§         Latest Progress Update

§         Project Stages

§         Community Benefit Scheme

§         Partnership Management: Transfer Station Network

The Chief Executive explained that the two principal issues were (1) to consider whether the tender sufficiently demonstrated value for money in a workable solution and (2) to seek support on the Second Inter-Authority Agreement which represented a five-way binding agreement from a single client.  The aim was to provide an environmental solution for waste to avoid the continued use of landfill sites.  A funding commitment for the term of the contract had been secured from Welsh Government (WG) once the contract had been awarded, following agreement from all five partner Councils.

In response to a recent press article on the tender process, the Chief Executive pointed out that the project had attracted some major international bidders and that all but two had been de-selected: Sita UK Ltd and Wheelabrator Technologies Incorporated (WTI) which were closely matched at that stage.  Following the withdrawal of Sita from the process due to commercial reasons, WTI had been recommended as the Preferred Bidder with assurance given that there would be no difference in the quality of outcomes.  Intensive negotiations by the Council’s officers had resulted in agreement by all five partner Councils of £180K per annum of community benefits to be used for community/education projects in Deeside, which was thought to be the largest such sum for this size of project.

The Director of Environment provided explanation on the decision for partner Councils to ‘self manage’ the transfer station network which was outside the contract, as previously reported to the Committee.  This cost sharing between the partnership together with the subsidy commitment from WG would result in £50K per annum benefit to the Council.

On the decision to use road as the means of transporting waste to the facility, Councillor Ian Dunbar raised concerns about heavy vehicles using roads in the local towns which may be further affected by any closures to the Flintshire bridge.

The Chief Executive pointed out that the bridge was infrequently closed due to periods of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 65.

That it be recommended to Cabinet:

(a)       To commit to the Partnership and the Project by adopting, along with the other four councils, the principles in the 2^nd Inter-Authority Agreement which reflect the key terms of the Project Agreement to be entered into by the Lead Council with the Preferred Bidder on Contract Award;

(b)       To delegate authority to the Lead Chief Executive to:

§         finalise the 2nd Inter-Authority Agreement for signing by the constituent authorities;

§         circulate the finalised agreement to the Monitoring Officers of all five Authorities;

§         take into account the views of all constituent Authorities and to refer back to the Joint Committee for approval any material departures from the agreed principles.

(c)        To agree to sign the 2nd Inter-Authority Agreement once it has been finalised in accordance with the above procedure.

The Chief Executive presented the report to invite comments on the key principles for the second Inter-Authority Agreement for adoption by all constituent Authorities.  The main points of the presentation were:

§         Purpose of the Agreement

§         Coverage of the Second Agreement

§         The underpinning principles of the Second Agreement

§         Key Provisions of the Agreement

The Chief Executive said that the Agreement would become a legally binding document between the five Councils and was based on the principles of the first Agreement adopted for the procurement phase.  He highlighted the table in the report summarising significant issues discussed by the Joint Committee including additional recommendations.

As the Monitoring Officer, the Head of Legal & Democratic Services spoke of work currently being undertaken to finalise the draft Agreement and the need for each Council’s Monitoring Officer to be satisfied with its terms and conditions before adoption.

The Chairman said that the detail had been reported previously to the Committee and that this report was seeking comments to Cabinet.

As Section 151 officer, the Head of Finance gave assurance that the draft Agreement was also being considered from a financial viewpoint and that this work would also feed into the finalisation of the Agreement.

The recommendations in the report were proposed and seconded.  On being put to the vote, these were carried with ten votes for and one against.

In response to Councillor Ian Dunbar’s request that Members be given more time to consider the detailed report, the Chief Executive agreed that this was a complex topic and asked that any concerns be raised with him directly.  He went on to say that it had been clarified how the risks would be managed and that as mentioned, the refinements to the draft Agreement were being made.  Councillor Dunbar indicated that he was satisfied with this response.

RESOLVED:

That it be recommended to Cabinet:

(a)       To commit to the Partnership and the Project by adopting, along with the other four councils, the principles in the 2^nd Inter-Authority Agreement which reflect the key terms of the Project Agreement to be entered into by the Lead Council with the Preferred Bidder on Contract Award;

(b)       To delegate authority to the Lead Chief Executive to:

§         finalise the 2nd Inter-Authority Agreement for signing by the constituent authorities;

§         circulate the finalised agreement to the Monitoring Officers of all five Authorities;

§         take into account the views of all constituent Authorities and to refer back to the Joint Committee for approval any material departures from the agreed principles.

(c)        To agree to sign the 2nd Inter-Authority Agreement once it has been finalised in accordance with the above procedure.

That the press and public be excluded for the following item by virtue of exempt information under paragraph 14 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

That the press and public be excluded for the following item by virtue of exempt information under paragraph 14 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

That it be recommended to Cabinet to:

(a)       Approve the award of Preferred Bidder status to Wheelabrator Technologies Inc (WTI), on the following basis:

• That following a rigorous dialogue and negotiation with WTI, the Call for Final Tender (CFT) bid submitted by WTI represents value for money for the partnership;
• Following detailed financial, legal and technical evaluation of WTI’s CFT bid, the partnership is satisfied with the risk balance proposed with the contract (‘Project Agreement’)

(b)       Grant authority to the North Wales Residual Waste Joint Committee to take all necessary steps to take the process forward with WTI from Preferred Bidder through to Financial Close, and award a contract.

The Chief Executive presented the report to recommend the appointment of the Preferred Bidder, Wheelabrator Technologies Inc (WTI) and to set out the stages leading to financial close and contract award.  During the presentation, he outlined areas on the tender evaluation process, the key issues for consideration and information on partnership management.

The Advisor of Local Partnerships UK spoke about the intensive negotiations and close working with WTI and the Welsh Government which had led to the potential for securing of a contract with an exceptionally positive outcome for the Council.

In response to a query on air quality monitoring, Councillor Cindy Hinds was told that the Joint Committee would determine appropriate levels and frequency.

Councillor Ian Dunbar raised concerns about capacity to cope with any increase in waste generated over the term of the contract if more houses were built.  The Project Director referred to elements of risk allocation and penalty clauses which were built into the contract.  Mr. John Bruce of Pinsent Masons explained that safeguards had been included in the contract so that risks were apportioned to the party best placed to manage them.  He went on to clarify areas of responsibility within the terms of the contract.

An initial modelling exercise had assessed growth levels, waste generation and recycling percentages and determined that the guaranteed minimum level of tonnes was deliverable by the overall partnership.

The recommendations in the report were proposed and seconded.  On being put to the vote, these were carried with ten votes for and two against.

RESOLVED:

That it be recommended to Cabinet to:

(a)       Approve the award of Preferred Bidder status to Wheelabrator Technologies Inc (WTI), on the following basis:

• That following a rigorous dialogue and negotiation with WTI, the Call for Final Tender (CFT) bid submitted by WTI represents value for money for the partnership;
• Following detailed financial, legal and technical evaluation of WTI’s CFT bid, the partnership is satisfied with the risk balance proposed with the contract (‘Project Agreement’)

(b)       Grant authority to the North Wales Residual Waste Joint Committee to take all necessary steps to take the process forward with WTI from Preferred Bidder through to Financial Close, and award a contract.

That the Forward Work Programme be updated accordingly.

The Member Engagement Manager presented a report to seek views on the Committee’s Forward Work Programme.

In consultation with the Chairman, it was agreed that the meeting scheduled for 19 March would be moved to 2 April 2014.  Members requested that written notification of this change be circulated.

The Member Engagement Manager advised that the Facilitator would liaise with the Chairman to schedule items for the meeting on 11 June 2014.

RESOLVED:

That the Forward Work Programme be updated accordingly.

There were two members of the press in attendance.