Decision Maker: Director for Economy, Infrastructure and Skills
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Is Key decision?: No
Is subject to call in?: No
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.
Publication date: 17/03/2023
Date of decision: 14/03/2023