Council and Carillon contract ends

Oxfordshire County Council has ended an agreement with Carillion that sees Carillion provide many services on the council’s behalf.

Negotiations have been ongoing for many months and now both parties have reached a mutually beneficial agreement which involves no termination costs for the taxpayer and enables changes to the contract that were not efficient for either side.

New arrangements for the design and construction element of the contract that has been terminated will take effect later this year. They will be procured externally.

One element of the contract, strategic asset management, had already been agreed to transfer back to being directly run by Oxfordshire County Council. This is on track for a transfer date of 1 August. The Council will continue to work with Carillion on a non-exclusive basis to deliver elements of strategic asset management where it is in the Council’s interest to do so to meet its corporate and financial goals.

A key area of the contract that will remain in operation is Facilities Management: the work that takes place to ensure the upkeep and daily operation of council buildings.

The deal was originally signed in 2012 and it was predicted at that time to last for 10 years through to 2022.

Lorraine Lindsay-Gale, the Cabinet Member for Property of Oxfordshire County Council: said: “Carillion have been in partnership with the county council since 2012 providing key support services such as routine property management, facilities management, energy management and the design and build of capital work such as building new schools and new classrooms.

“The world has changed since 2012. The council has different ideas on how to maximise the value of its estate. There is a mutual recognition of this change between ourselves and Carillion, hence the willingness for both parties to enter the negotiations which concluded successfully recently.”

“We now look to the future with a desire to make the very most of our property footprint on behalf of the taxpayer, selling property where it is judged to be the best outcome, renting property out in other cases but always ensuring that there are county council buildings in as many locations as possible for the public.

“Our presence across the county will remain very high as befits an organisation that provides 80 per cent of the county’s local government services such as fire and rescue, libraries, social care, trading standards and highways.”