Cabinet considered an urgent report on the procurement of new vehicles for the Meals-on-Wheels service, seeking to exempt Contract Standing Orders and award the contract to Apetito to ensure that the Council is able to provide continuation of services with a fit for purpose fleet of vehicles.
The report was urgent because the lead in time to instruct Apetito to order new vehicles for delivery by 14 January 2019, had only recently been confirmed as 16 weeks. This meant the order must be placed by no later than 1 September 2018 which is before the next scheduled meeting of Cabinet.
Alternative options considered and rejected:
To undertake a tender exercise to see whether any other providers are able to provide the vehicles required.
Cabinet requested further details of the contract and leasing arrangements to be circulated before making its decision.
Resolved:
1. that subject to further details of the current arrangements being circulated to Cabinet,
2. to delegate approval of an exemption to Contract Standing Orders to the Portfolio Holder for Community Wellbeing, in consultation with the Leader or the Portfolio Holder for Finance, to enable officers to make an order for specialised vehicles for the Meals-on-Wheels contract with Apetito.
Reason for decision
The specification required for this service is considered quite niche to Apetito as the Council requires meals that can be cooked whilst in transportation due to lack of kitchen facilities.