Agenda item

Report from the Strategic Director for Regeneration and Environment.

Recommendations:

That Cabinet:

1.    Approves the approach to fleet replacement, which refreshes 35% of the current fleet by 2025/26 that works towards the Council’s strategic objective of achieving ‘Net Zero’ status by 2030, and Borough wide by 2040.

2.    Notes the intention to strengthen centralised fleet management, including Council-wide requests for additional vehicles, acquisition, disposal, maintenance and redeployment of assets to ensure best utilisation and value.

3.    Delegates authority to the Strategic Director of Regeneration and Environment, in consultation with the S.151 Officer, and Cabinet Member for Transport and the Environment to enter into the necessary procurement agreements to effect the delivery of the report objectives.

Consideration was given to the report which considered options to implement a long-term phased approach to the procurement, operation, maintenance, replacement, and disposal of Council fleet vehicles, which were essential tools in delivering services across the Borough.

The report detailed the current vehicle assets owned or leased by the Council and proposed a Fleet Replacement Plan to make best use of the available Capital funding, with a view to supporting the Council’s commitment to net zero by 2030.

It was a significant report due to the amount of investment in replacing, modernising and renewing just over a third of the council’s fleet. The council operated and ran around 337 vehicles and through the report it was proposing to replace 119 of those, 64 of which were proposed to be electric vehicles. 

The two main ways this had been approached was replace many of the vehicles that were leased or hired along with purchasing 16 bin lorries that the council leased.

The proposal supported the Council’s climate change agenda and it wanted to embrace all different types of renewable options available.

A huge amount of work had been undertaken with colleagues in procurement in finance had been undertaken during the development of these proposals.

This report had been considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board as part of the pre-decision scrutiny process. The Board was pleased to see the significant investment that would benefit everyone in the borough. The Board fully supported the recommendations.

Resolved: That Cabinet:

1. Approved the approach to fleet replacement, which refreshes 35% of the current fleet by 2025/26 that works towards the Council’s strategic objective of achieving ‘Net Zero’ status by 2030, and Borough wide by 2040.

2. Noted the intention to strengthen centralised fleet management, including Council-wide requests for additional vehicles, acquisition, disposal, maintenance, and redeployment of assets to ensure best utilisation and value.

3. Delegated authority to the Strategic Director of Regeneration and Environment, in consultation with the S.151 Officer, and Cabinet Member for Transport and the Environment to enter into the necessary procurement agreements to effect the delivery of the report objectives.