A hot debate took place at last week’s full council on what, on paper at least, was a purely administrative process.
A motion was presented to delegate authority to the Wokingham Borough Council’s director for place and growth, in consultation with the executive member for the environment and climate emergency and the council’s section 151 officer, to carry out the procurement process to deliver best value for waste collection and street cleansing procurement.
This will enable the tender to be advertised in August 2024,, with commencement of the new contract in late spring or early summer of 2026.
The agenda noted that the final decision to award the contract will be presented once the procurement process has concluded.
Cllr Jordan Montgomery, executive member for the environment and climate emergency, said: “Every household will utilise this service, and quickly form a view on the new service, and the performance of the contract will represent, in parts, the entire council.
He added that the contract will be one of the highest value awarded by the council, and it is working thoroughly to ensure there is sufficient procurement resources and support.
Cllr Pauline Jorgensen, leader of the Conservative group, argued that the motion should be referred to the council’s overview and scrutiny committee before being taken forward.
Mentioning last year’s ‘litter bin debacle’, she said: “We can’t support this proposal.
“The project has not been to the scrutiny committee as was originally proposed, because of the general election, and I feel it’s premature to delegate authority proceed without such a review.
“The council has previously admitted that the list of litter bits and streets they have is not complete, and had promised to do a survey and ensure that they were accurate before the tender progressed.
“This seems not to have happened.
“It Is incredible that the council does not yet know where their litter bins are, and they do not seem to have a full list of streets, despite being responsible for their maintenance.
“Because of these emissions, I believe it’s very risky to charge off down the procurement path.
“I would request that a tender be delayed long enough to be reviewed, and reviewed by the scrutiny committee, and for a proper order of bins and streets to be completed as promised.
“I would like to propose that this item is referred to the scrutiny committee before any further tender progresses.”
Cllr Stephen Conway, leader of the council, said: “I don’t want to be rude, but I’m completely at a loss as to the Conservative group’s position on this, or their understanding of It.
Wokingham Borough Council has a waste collection contract.
“We must have a new contract ready to start when the current one ends in 2026, so I presume people understand that procuring such a contract takes time.
“The contractor needs to be appointed well before the date on which they take over, so they have time to mobilise, so we need to make a decision tonight on the procurement route for that contract.
“This has been discussed previously at overview and scrutiny last November.
“I believe this item simply describes the process for procuring the contract.
“It has nothing whatsoever to do with anything relating to waste collection changes.
“Whether the list of things is correct tonight or not is really irrelevant, because you’ve got months of negotiations in which we can be sure it is correct.”
Cllr Jorgensen added: “I certainly do understand exactly what’s going on.
“I’ve tended many contracts myself, and in procurement you don’t tender for something if you don’t know what it is.
The motion to begin the procurement process was carried.
