Agenda and minutes

Forward Plan Ref: 2011/138

Contact: Richard Webb, Acting Head of Trading Standards & Community Safety

Report by Director for Social & Community Services (CMDSSC4)

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea owns and manages a single traveller site. This site contains 19 pitches and a community facility. An invitation to tender for a contract to manage this site was recently issued by the authority. The County Council's Gypsy and Traveller Service expressed interest in tendering for the contract and has passed the pre-qualification questionnaire stage of the tendering process. A tender has been submitted by the 2 August deadline.

This report provides background to this opportunity to tender to provide the site management service for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The report contains a full appraisal of the costs, benefits, opportunities and risks involved should Oxfordshire County Council be awarded the contract. Cabinet Member approval is required to enter into a contract for the provision of services to another authority. This paper is intended to enable the Cabinet Member of Safer and Stronger Communities to decide whether to authorise the provision of traveller site management services for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

RECOMMENDATION

The Cabinet Member for Safer and Stronger Communities is RECOMMENDED to:

(a)   approve the provision of traveller site management services to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and

(b)   authorise the Council’s officers to enter into a legal agreement to that effect with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

It was RESOLVED to:

(a)               approve the provision of traveller site management services to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea;

(b)               authorise the officers to enter into a legal agreement to that effect with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea; and

(c)               commend the County Council’s Gypsy and Traveller Service for their entrepreneurial spirit with regard to this tender bid.