One of the first Strategic Service Delivery Partnerships to be established in the UK, it will see Herefordshire “bundling” a wide range of services under one contract to simplify arrangements, reduce overheads and realise economies of scale.
Jarvis was chosen as preferred bidder for the contract in April 2003, a contract now thought to be worth 270 million over a 20-year period.
Working as Herefordshire Jarvis Services, the contract will cover highways and traffic services, civic and schools catering, grounds maintenance, street and building cleaning, recycling facilities, building management and maintenance and other support services.
A total of 521 staff from the council's Commercial Services organisation have now become Jarvis employees under the new arrangements.
Graham Dunhill, Herefordshire's director of environment said: “We are delighted that this new partnership is now underway. Jarvis has a strong reputation not only for technical expertise in respect of the services involved but also for its work ethic and this deal, together with our partnership is good news for the people of Herefordshire.”
Before the Herefordshire contract, Jarvis already managed 112 schools, provided 65,000 school meals every day and maintained nearly 7,000 miles of highways across the country.
Kevin Hyde, chief executive of Jarvis, said: “We see local authority outsourcing as an area of significant growth in Jarvis's future development and are currently pursuing opportunities worth in excess of 3 billion. Strategic partnerships of the kind we have concluded in Herefordshire and elsewhere allow us to mobilise the combined strength of the entire Jarvis Group.”
He added: “This blend of skills, together with the unique technologies we can bring to bear, positions us perfectly to work with local authorities in this emerging market, helping them to deliver better value to the communities they serve.”
Optimistic
Herefordshire's head of environmental health and trading standards, Andrew Tector, said: “We're quite optimistic about the Jarvis contract, it will mean completely revamping our bring banks, and we're also talking about some kind of trade waste service.”
Mr Tector said that the Jarvis contract will cover the management of 74 bring bank sites, but would not affect the existing 25-year PFI collection and disposal contract the council has in partnership with Worcestershire county council and Severn Waste Services.
The Severn Waste contract, run through subsidiary Mercia Waste and with Focsa Services (UK), has already surpassed Herefordshire's 2003-04 recycling target of 14% and is now aiming for a target of 21% by 2005-06. A new materials recycling facility at Rotherwas came online in June 2003, designed to process 8,000 tonnes of material each year from new kerbside collections of paper and cardboard, textiles, cans and plastics.
Subscribe for free