Contracts between Savills and GBC
Case reference FOI2019/00634
Published 23 July 2019
Request
Please disclose how many contracts GBC has entered into in each of the discrete periods listed above ie In the period since 1 Jan 2018 From 1 Jan 2017 to 1 Jan 2018 From 1 jan 2016 to 1 jan 2017 From 1 jan 2015 to 1 Jan 2016 Please then summarise the type of contract eg annual /multi year retainer, time and materials or fixed price. Please then summarise the services supplied to be supplied. Please supply the follow information in respect of each contract between GBC and any part of the Savills plc group: 1. The parties/entities that have contracted ie the part of GBC if not the Council itself that is party to the contract and the part of Savills ie the branch or subsidiary if not Savills' top company.
2. The date on which each contact was signed
3. A copy of the main contracts
4. The timescale over which the contract was to be performed
5. The product or service that Savills is /was contracted to supply.
6. The value of any invoices paid by GBC to any part of Savills
7. Details of any review undertaken by GBC to consider potential conflicts of interest prior to entering into the contract.
8. Details of any governance procedures / scrutiny undertaken prior to making these contracts
Response
In the period since 1 Jan 2018
From 1 Jan 2017 to 1 Jan 2018
From 1 jan 2016 to 1 jan 2017
From 1 jan 2015 to 1 Jan 2016
During the specific periods listed the Council has entered into one contract with Savills.
- Please then summarise the type of contract eg annual /multi year retainer, time and materials or fixed price.
It is a fixed term contract with a start and end date.
- Please then summarise the services supplied.
The services to be supplied relate to estate management consultancy (valuation and assessment of development potential). A full summary of the work is as follows:
(i) Land Services - identifying potential land parcels required to deliver the bridge development, looking at potential development delivery options, providing indicative land values and assisting AECOM prepare a planning application related to the development. This was the original instruction
(ii) The contract was then varied to include detailed work on land valuations, viability and potential compulsory purchasing of land, assisting on the Council's bid for LEP funding for the development and tariff work related to S106 agreements
The development is a civil engineering construction of a bridge for vehicular and pedestrian use.
- Please supply the follow information in respect of each contract between GBC and any part of the Savills plc group:
(i)The parties/entities that have contracted ie the part of GBC if not the Council itself that is party to the contract and the part of Savills ie the branch or subsidiary if not Savills' top company.
The parties to the contract are Guildford Borough Council (customer) and Savills (UK) Ltd (supplier).
(ii) The date on which each contact was signed
The commencement date for the contract was 2 nd August 2018.
(iii) A copy of the main contracts
We are of the view that this information is exempt from disclosure under S43(2) of the FOI Act 2000, which states that "Information is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any person (including the public authority holding it)."
The Council accepts that there is a public interest in transparency and determining how public money is spent. However, the Council feels that third party organisations should be able to enter into contracts with it without the risk of details becoming publicly available, namely to their competitors. This would affect the interests of other service providers and their ability to compete fairly in the future.
Furthermore, disclosure of the contract at this stage could affect land values and would therefore prejudice the Council's commercial interests. I am of the view that if the information were released into the public domain, potential competitors would gain an unfair competitive advantage.
In effect, disclosure of these details at this point in time would be likely to affect the Council's and third parties' revenue and income, the Council's ability to succeed in future negotiations and projects, and gain value for money, and could therefore cause significant damage to the project - particularly as it is an ongoing project at an early stage of progression.
Therefore on balance the Council considers that the public interest in favour of disclosure is outweighed by the public interest in favour of maintaining the exemption.
(iv) The timescale over which the contract was to be performed
The start date for this contract is 2 nd August 2018, the end date is 1 st August 2021.
(v) The product or service that Savills is /was contracted to supply.
See answer to Question 3 above.
(vi) The value of any invoices paid by GBC to any part of Savills
This information is the public domain and can be accessed at this link:
http://www.spotlightonspend.org.uk/207/Guildford+Borough+Council/Downloads
- Details of any review undertaken by GBC to consider potential conflicts of interest prior to entering into the contract.
The contract is a call-off from the Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation (ESPO) framework. The framework was selected because of its extensive confidentiality and conflict of interest clauses, which, amongst other matters, prevent the publication of contract related information to third parties and permit the immediate termination of contract in the event that a conflict of interest is confirmed post tender award. There is also a notification process in the event that a possible conflict of interest is identified by either party.
The ESPO framework requires the Council to hold a mini-competition amongst the framework contractors prior to awarding the contract. The mini-competition was subject to the Council's standard procurement rules.
- Details of any governance procedures / scrutiny undertaken prior to making these contracts
A public land assembly report was taken to Executive on 30 Aug 2018 along with a confidential report for funding. The contract award and the extensions were authorised in accordance with the Council's Procurement Procedure Rules.
Documents
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