In what is thought to be a relatively unusual case, documents published ahead of a meeting of the Worcestershire district council this week reveal that the authority had faced a legal challenge over the contract – which resulted in a re-tendering process and a change of the recommended supplier.
In February, Wychavon district council, based in the town of Pershore, announced it had selected Serco as its preferred bidder and highlighted that this would provide around £200,000 per year in savings (see letsrecycle.com story).
But, councillors are now expected to confirm the award of the contract to FCC at a meeting on Wednesday (26 July). FCC already operates waste, recycling and street cleansing services for the council and has worked with the authority for 23 years.
Wychavon initially aimed to procure the collections contract with neighbouring district, Malvern Hills and Worcester city. However, Worcester City pulled out of the procurement following a change in administration and Malvern Hills withdrew from the joint contract after claiming that it saw ‘no financial benefit’ to outsourcing the service.
Legal challenge
The documents published ahead of Wednesday’s meeting reveal that during the 10-day standstill period after Serco had been named as the council’s preferred bidder, FCC Environment launched a legal challenge to the decision.
Following a re-tendering process, the council said that FCC Environment was able to offer a “better value and service quality contract” which if signed will begin in February for a 10 year period. FCC was favoured by ‘1.48 points’ according to the council’s tendering criteria.
In the report presented by Cllr Emma Stokes, Wychavon’s cabinet member for environment, the council stated that the delay caused by the challenge helped it “reflect on the implications of Malvern Hills District Council’s decision to not join the contract and whether contractors may be able to improve their offer in relation to the delivery of the Wychavon only service.”
“In addition, some small parts of the contract specification had been amended e.g. quality of black sacks to meet Malvern Hills requirements. So a rewind would provide an opportunity to revise the service specification again to meet our standards.”
Under the new contract, FCC proposes a number of new measures including kerbside collection of small electrical equipment, batteries and textiles for recycling.
Phil Merrick, head of economy and communities at Wychavon district council, told letsrecycle.com: “We’ve made a recommendation to councillors along with a full report which will be discussed at a council meeting next Wednesday, July 26. We’re unable to comment further until after that decision has been made.”
FCC environment declined to comment on the legal challenge or potential contract award.
A Serco spokesperson said: “We are disappointed by this recommendation and will be considering our options should it be confirmed.”
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