Burnley Borough Council and Burnley Leisure & Culture - Strategic Partnership, Deed of Variation

Switching to direct award

Due to Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), there is insufficient manager capacity to bring the services back in house or undertake a new procurement exercise prior to LGR.

Running a new procurement exercise is costly and unless the council offers a long term agreement

the opportunity is highly unlikely to attract competitive bids. Any such long term agreements would bind the successor authority under LGR to a current borough level strategic partnership.

While the council should not make decisions now, that could fetter the decision making of future councils, it can make decisions that are necessary to ensure a smooth transition and to secure ongoing and future best value in service delivery.

A short period of continuity reduces the risk of disruption to core leisure & cultural services for Burnley Borough residents in the immediate aftermath of reorganisation. The successor authority would then be in a position to plan any transition accordingly.

The extension of this agreement falls within the remit of the permitted modifications to public procurement rules within schedule 8 regulation 74 of the Procurement Act 2023.

This extension, in advance of LGR in Lancashire, will allow the successor authority to plan any proposed transitions in an appropriate manner and sensible timeframe.