Agenda item

Consider report by Service Director Commercial Services to seek a decision to review the operating model of the Council’s wider roads services.

5.1       There had been circulated copies of a report by the Service Director Commercial Services seeking approval to review the operating model of the Council’s wider roads services to ensure that they were best placed to maximise services to the Borders, operate effectively in the external market place and in future be capable of interfacing if required with a proposed Edinburgh, Lothians, Borders and Fife Roads Collaboration Programme (ELBF proposal) facilitated by the Improvement Service.  The report set out the background to the ELBF proposal in the context of the National Roads Maintenance Review.  Behind both was a national agenda in respect of the sharing of roads services to reduce costs and improve efficiency.  As part of this agenda the ELBF proposal sought to set up governance arrangements to look at sharing roads services in the ELBF region. The proposal would firstly involve the creation of a limited liability partnership jointly owned by the ELBF local authorities, the structure of which was outlined in Appendix 1 to the report.  Roads services under consideration for sharing would cover the following areas:- asset management; joint procurement; flood risk management; New Roads and Streetworks Act (co-ordinating roads projects); weather forecasting; traffic signal maintenance; road safety; structures (bridges etc); Street Lighting; training; and packaging of Roads Maintenance Contracts. 

5.2       It was noted that if Scottish Borders Council and other ELBF authorities did not constructively engage in the ELBF proposal and other local authorities did not take part in similar initiatives across Scotland there was a risk that the option, within the National Roads Maintenance Review, would be pursued by the Scottish Government which would involve a re-structuring of roads authorities across Scotland.  In discussing the report, Members were concerned that the proposals, including governance, were too vague and that benefits were unquantifiable.   The priorities for Scottish Borders Council were that the Council must continue to have an element of control over provision of the services in question and that the Council’s workforce must be protected.  In particular the Council was in a unique position due to SBc Contracts, a major trading organisation that made a significant contribution to Neighbourhood Services as well as a surplus to be used to help fund other services.  There was a need to understand the best business model for the Borders.  It was recognised that discussions on the ELBF proposal were currently at a high level but Members emphasised the importance for the Council to continue to engage in those discussions and to ascertain the position of the other local authorities involved.  An update was requested to be given to the Executive Committee before the end of the year.

            ADJOURNMENT

            The chairman adjourned the meeting for five minutes.

          DECISION

          AGREED:-

(a)       to review the operating model of the Council’s wider roads services to ensure that they were best placed to maximise services to the Borders, operate effectively in the external market place and in future, if required, be capable of interfacing with the ELBF proposal;

(b)     that a recommendation for the most advantageous operating model for road services would be reported back to the Executive Committee by the end of 2015; and

(c)     that Scottish Borders Council would not join the ELBF proposal at this time, in light of the unquantified and unproven benefits, but would maintain ongoing discussions with the other local authorities involved, to enable the Council to continue to assess the proposal.