Issue - meetings

Report No:   CAB/SE/15/045

Cabinet Member: Peter Stevens      Lead Officer: Mark Walsh

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL: That

(1)     the contents of Report No: CAB/SE/15/045 be noted;

(2)     approval is given to establish a Joint Venture Company with Eastern Facilities Management Services (EFMS) Ltd for the delivery of Facilities Management services at Forest Heath District Council and St Edmundsbury Borough Council; and

(3)    delegated authority be given to the Head of Operations, in consultation with the Head of Resources and Performance, the Service Manager (Legal) and respective Portfolio Holders for Operations to finalise and confirm the outstanding legal and governance matters outlined herein at 3.11 to 3.15 and 3.21 of Report No: CAB/SE/15/045, before signing contracts to establish the new Joint Venture company with EFMS.

The Cabinet considered Report No: CAB/SE/15/045 (previously circulated), which sought approval for establishing a joint venture (JV) company with Eastern Facilities Management Services (EFMS) Ltd.

Councillor Peter Stevens, Portfolio Holder for Operations, drew relevant issues to the attention of the Cabinet, including that a review of Facilities Management (FM) services at Forest Heath District Council (FHDC) and St Edmundsbury Borough Council (SEBC) had been undertaken, which had highlighted an opportunity to standardise FM services into a single arrangement across West Suffolk. Four options had been considered to bring the FM arrangements together, as outlined in section 2.3 of the report. Option four had been recommended as the preferred way forward and the report provided details of the implications should this option be adopted. 

The following appendices were attached the report:

Appendix A:                    West Suffolk sites where FM services were delivered

Appendix B:                    Advantages and disadvantages of options considered

Appendix C:                             EFMS Capability Statement

Exempt Appendix D:       Costs and savings

Exempt Appendix E:        EFMS Credit reference

The specific content of Exempt Appendices D and E were not discussed in public, therefore there was no requirement to move into private session at this stage.

Following due consideration, the Cabinet considered Option four should be progressed as recommended.  The proposal would not only enable potential savings of 12.6% against the current costs of FM services across FHDC and SEBC but also provided an exciting opportunity for the West Suffolk councils to deliver their FM services through this commercial enterprise. 

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL: That

(1)    the contents of Report No: CAB/SE/15/045 be noted;

(2)    approval is given to establish a Joint Venture Company with Eastern Facilities Management Services (EFMS) Ltd for the delivery of Facilities Management services at Forest Heath District Council and St Edmundsbury Borough Council; and

(3)    delegated authority be given to the Head of Operations, in consultation with the Head of Resources and Performance, the Service Manager (Legal) and respective Portfolio Holders for Operations to finalise and confirm the outstanding legal and governance matters outlined herein at 3.11 to 3.15 and 3.21 of Report No: CAB/SE/15/045, before signing contracts to establish the new Joint Venture company with EFMS.