Decision details

In accordance with Cabinet delegated decision (20 July 2022) to approve the details of an initial 5-year contract extension (from 1 October 2024) to the strategic partnership between the County Council and Amey within a new hybrid mixed-economy operating model that is non-exclusive and subject to annual performance review for each functional activity

In 2014 the County Council entered a long-term strategic partnership with Amey for the delivery of infrastructure services. This ground-breaking and multi award-winning arrangement is ten years old at the end of September 2024.

Approaching this contract break-point provided a timely opportunity for the County Council to review the highways future delivery model and on 20 July 2022 Cabinet approved moving to a new Hybrid Mixed Economy model to best support delivery of a renewed vision, ambition and strategic goals for the highway service.

External analysis by Future Highways Research Group (FHRG) during 2021 and benchmarking by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accounting (CIPFA) demonstrated that the existing strategic partnership is amongst the highest UK performers in terms of low cost of service delivery. FHRG also validated that a new procurement exercise would cost c£1.5M and lose months of productive time.

Consequently, Cabinet also approved in principle an initial 5-year contract extension to the strategic partnership between the County Council and Amey within the new Hybrid Mixed Economy operating model. The new arrangement is non-exclusive and subject to annual performance review of each functional activity, meaning that if performance is not acceptable the county council retains the freedom to put in place alternative delivery arrangements.

Further to the above Cabinet delegated authority to the Director of Economy, Infrastructure and Skills to agree the final details of the revised contract terms in consultation with the Director for Corporate Services, Cabinet Member for Commercial matters and the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transportation.

Prosperous Staffordshire Select Committee have been engaged since the outset in scrutinising and shaping the proposed new Hybrid Mixed Economy delivery model and contract extension option.

With external support from the Future Highways Research Group (FHRG) evaluation of the UK’s current 17 leading highway delivery models against the council’s future highway vision and key objectives has been completed. The preferred model of a Hybrid-Mixed-Economy was agreed by Cabinet on 20 July 2022.

The Hybrid Mixed Economy model retains the services of a private sector strategic delivery partner to provide the council with valuable resilience, scale of economy and commercial buying-power; together with a strong intelligent client capability that provides assurance that the right things are being done in the right way; and through function-level commissioning offers full flexibility to change delivery arrangement for any function to ensure that the greatest value, quality and customer service possible is being achieved for the residents and businesses of Staffordshire.

Within the scope of the Hybrid Mixed Economy operating model the following options have been considered:
1. To extend the Strategic Partnership with Amey subject to agreement of suitable revised terms; or

2. Procurement of a new strategic delivery partner.