First 20 Pages of Wirral Council’s Colas Contract (Highways and Engineering Services Term Maintenance Contract)

                            

For some reason people seem to like reading about Colas on this blog so here is another blog post about Wirral Council’s relationship with Colas. Wirral Council have a really long contract with Colas (called the Highway and Engineering Services Term Maintenance Contract), that’s over five hundred pages long. Currently the contract (which runs to 2014) is out to tender with Wirral Council’s Cabinet expected to reach a decision on a new contractor (or to bring it in-house) by the end of the year. Colas have already stated they won’t bid for the new contract.

The contract itself is in A5 format, but the version I’ve been given is a copy in A4. As usual you can click-through for more readable versions of each page.

This is a cover page for volume one of the contract, which detail the sections in volume one (forms and certificates, general data and optional statements, additional conditions of contract (Z Clauses), Local Labour, Freedom of Information and TUPE information).

This is the start of the contract. Although the contract ran from the 1st April 2009, the agreement with Colas is dated 17th March 2010. In order to protect itself shouldn’t Wirral Council have made sure they a signed contract in place before work was started?

This is just a cover page for section 1.1 (forms and certificates).

These contain the signature of Colas’ Chief Executive Officer dated the 4th September 2008. These pages are reassurances from Colas made as part of the tendering process to carry out the work if they win the tender and that before the returnable date for the tender that they’ll keep various aspects of their tender confidential.

This is Colas’ tax certificate information and the cover page for section 1.2 (General Data and Optional Statements).

This page details various terms used in the contract even going so far as to define the language of the contract as English and the currency of the contract as pounds sterling!

This deals with risks and insurance, optional statements, Y(UK)2 (please leave a comment if you know what that means) and how prices are to be adjusted for inflation with reference to Baxter indices and Gershon Efficiency Savings.

This has the Baxter (nothing to do with soup) index in the form of a table and sections on performance bond, retention, limitations of liability, key performance indicators and a reference to Y(UK)3 (again if you know what this means please leave a comment).

This is a cover page for section 1.3 (additional conditions of contract – Z clauses).

This has sections on intellectual property rights, corrupt practices, principal contractor, confidentiality, partnering, quality statement, quality management system, named key persons and named sub-contractors.

This part has sections on accidents on site, recovery of sums due from contractor, special requirements of statutory bodies, Construction Industry Scheme, Value engineering, TUPE, Pension Scheme, Two Tier Workforce, Freedom of Information and Provision of Information on Contractor’s Employees for the Purposes of the Transfer of Undertaking (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2008.

This continues the additional contract conditions with sections on audit and ECC Option B Clause 63.13. It also has the cover page for a section on local labour.

The section on local labour is just a blank page, but this also has the cover page for a section on employment and training in the construction industry.

This is the code of practice signed by Colas which includes a signed statement of intent by Colas to “use their best endeavours to ensure that not less than 90% (including those directly employed by us and those sub-contracted to ourselves) will be established residents of the Wirral Borough”. Councillors have asked previously if local labour clauses can be included in other Wirral Council contracts to be told by officers they can’t because it’s “illegal”, the fact it’s in this contract shows it’s not and is a good way that Wirral Council can ensure the money it spends remains within the local economy.

This is the statement of support signed by Colas for the Code of Practice for Employment and Training in the Construction Industry and for its role in “the objective of reducing local long-term unemployment to be publicised in an appropriate manner”. It’s also the cover page for a section on Freedom of Information.

This contains a short, but interesting section on Freedom of Information copied below followed by the cover page for TUPE information:

“FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

STATEMENT OF INTENT

The Council undertakes to use its best endeavours to hold confidential any commercially sensitive information provided in the tender submitted, subject to the Council’s obligations under law, including the Freedom of Information Act 2000. If a tenderer considers that any of the information submitted in the tender should not be disclosed because of its commercial sensitivity or confidentiality, then this should be stated with the reasons for considering the information confidential or likely to prejudice commercial interests if disclosed to the public. The Council will then consult with the tenderer in considering any request received under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 before replying to such a request.”

This just states:

“TUPE INFORMATION

The Information on both the HESPE TUPE list schedule and CD (enclosed with hard copy of this contract) relate to current conditions of employment.”

This is the cover page for Volume 2 (Contract Data Part One (ii) Works Information) detailing sections on general description, specification, performance management and standard details as well as the cover page for section 2.1 (general description).

This is a description of the works to be carried out under the contract which are in two packages (package A and B). Package B is minor repairs to coast protection structures, package A is highway works. It has sections on drawings, specifications and method of measurement, indicative annual expenditure by Wirral Council for various types of work, a section on the Contractor’s responsibilities and on working hours.

This continues the section on working hours and starts a section on administration of the contract. This has subsections on existing IT systems, Highways (Field Service Overview) and Street Lighting (HiLight Horizon Street Lighting System).

If you’d like me to publish more of the Colas contract than this please leave a comment.

Continues at Exclusive: Next 20 Pages of Wirral Council’s Colas Contract (Highways and Engineering Services Term Maintenance Contract).

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