Standing Orders relating to contracts require that exemptions granted from the requirement to obtain tenders for contracts must be reported to a meeting of the Authority or relevant committee.
After consulting the Chair of the Authority and the Treasurer, the Chief Fire Officer has agreed a request for an exemption to the requirement to obtain competitive tenders for the replacement of three four-wheel-drive incident support vehicles, as provided in the capital programme, plus an additional fourth vehicle to provide poor weather resilience and reserve and additional boat-towing capability.
The request was considered reasonable, as the required specifications meant that the Brigade was unable to identify sufficient suppliers to carry out a full tender exercise. However competitive quotations have been obtained and the award will be to the lowest cost provider.
Four vehicles are being purchased, although the capital budget provided for three. The additional cost of £2,900 is being met from under-spendings on other capital schemes.
