Agenda item

1.       That the Strategic Director be authorised to award the contract in accordance with the published evaluation criteria to the company identified as Tenderer 2 in Exempt Appendices B and C of CAB3431.

The contract is for a 5-year period commencing April 2024 using Euro VI vehicles fuelled with HVO.

2.       That the Strategic Director be authorised to enter into all necessary agreements with Tenderer 2.

3.       That delegated authority be granted to the Service Lead, Legal to execute and enter into all necessary legal documentation.

4.       That it be noted that external funding will be sought to enable a replacement zero emission bus contract in line with its ambitions to be carbon neutral and that the contract allows for termination with a 6-month notice period after the initial 36 months (3 years) to allow the City Council to procure a zero carbon service subject to funding availability.

Councillor Learney introduced the report highlighting that the proposed tender price had come in under budget and also would reduce emissions through the use of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) as an alternative fuel.

At the invitation of the Leader, Councillors Wallace and Godfrey addressed the meeting as summarised briefly below.

Councillor Wallace

He raised concerns about the wider environmental impacts of the proposal to use HVO in terms of potential for increased deforestation, reduction in land available for growing food and the cost of shipping the required oils into the country.  He asked why the decision to tender on the basis that the bus service would operate on HVO only had been made prior to the report being considered at Cabinet?  He believed that the long term solution should be to operate an electric bus service and that steps should be taken to address the infrastructure issues involved.

Councillor Godfrey

He also raised concerns about the wider environmental impact of using HVO and believed that it would not offer significant reductions in polluting gases.  He queried why it would be necessary for a future increase in subsidy from the council in operating the park and ride services and also why Appendix A to the report was regarded as exempt.  He asked why the report did not give detail comparing the use of HVO, Euro 6 diesel and hydrogen operated vehicles? 

Councillor Learney responded to the comments made including emphasising that the proposed approach was a pragmatic decision given the ongoing uncertainty regarding government funding for electric buses.  The Strategic Director explained the reasoning behind the approach to tendering and highlighted that indicative prices for diesel and electric alternatives had been requested and were provided in exempt Appendix B of the report.  The Head of Programme confirmed that the tender required that the HVO be supplied from certifiable sources and this would be carefully monitored.

The Monitoring Officer explained the reasons for Appendix A being classed as exempt and it was noted that this classification would be reviewed in due course as part of the council’s commitment to make information public as soon as legally possible.

Cabinet Members confirmed that they did not wish to go into exempt session to consider further the contents of the exempt appendices.

Cabinet agreed to the following for the reasons set out in the report and outlined above.

RESOLVED:

1.                That the Strategic Director be authorised to award the contract in accordance with the published evaluation criteria to the company identified as Tenderer 2 in Exempt Appendices B and C of CAB3431. The contract is for a 5-year period commencing April 2024 using Euro VI vehicles fuelled with HVO.

2.                That the Strategic Director be authorised to enter into all necessary agreements with Tenderer 2.

3.                That delegated authority be granted to the Service Lead, Legal to execute and enter into all necessary legal documentation.

4.                That it be noted that external funding will be sought to enable a replacement zero emission bus contract in line with its ambitions to be carbon neutral and that the contract allows for termination with a 6-month notice period after the initial 36 months (3 years) to allow the City Council to procure a zero carbon service subject to funding availability.