Decisions

To enhance user experience, improve accessibility, and align with strategic objectives, a comprehensive redevelopment of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) and Travel South Yorkshire websites is being undertaken.

The scope of this redevelopment includes consolidating content from multiple websites into a unified and cohesive platform. The sites to be consolidated include:
• South Yorkshire Invest
• South Yorkshire Business
• South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership

An experienced digital agency with extensive expertise in developing Kentico websites is required to conduct a thorough discovery phase. This phase will guide the direction of the project, ensuring that the final solution effectively and sustainably meets the needs of all users.

Following the evaluation process, Spindogs was identified as the preferred supplier. Clarification questions were issued to confirm their suitability and address any concerns raised. The responses provided were thorough and demonstrated their capability to deliver the project as required. As a result, the evaluation panel agreed to award the contract to Spindogs.

The discovery phase is expected to take four months to complete at a cost of £71,750.00.

That the contract award to the web agency Spindogs is approved to the value of £71,750.00.

In March 2023 approval was granted to appoint Northern Trains Ltd [NTL] for the supply of support services to assist the MCA with the planning, design and securing funding for station improvements at Thorne North rail station (equivalent to ES4 Approval in Principle) in the sum of £204,684.

[The appointment was formalised with the signing of a Funding Agreement with NTL which also included proposed station improvements at Penistone and Conisbrough]

The Funding Agreement included a sum for NTL to contract with Network Rail’s Asset Protection (ASPRO) Team for the provision of engineering assurance support. At the time the Agreement was signed an accurate estimate was not available and an allowance of £20,226 was agreed. Updated estimated have now been provide by Network Rail and the estimated cost for ASPRO services has risen to £72,789, an increase of £53,513

The ASPRO services agreement with NTL is cost reimbursable so there could be potential savings, which will be passed back to the MCA.

As a result of the above, approval is now requested to increase the original appointment of NTL for Thorne North from £204,684 to £258,197.

There are no budget implications as a result of this approval since the increase in cost can be accommodated within the current CRSTS Grant Award for this stage of the project.

Approval of the increase in the appointment of Northern Trains Ltd [NTL] for the supply of support services to assist the MCA with the planning, design and securing funding for station improvements at Thorne North station.

To support the continued development and enhancement of the journey planning tools in the Travel South Yorkshire Mobile App and on the Travel South Yorkshire journey planner website (https://journeyplanner.travelsouthyorkshire.com/), a contract is being awarded to Code IT Recruitment through the Crown Commercial Services Framework RM 6277 (Non Clinical Staffing Framework).
These journey-planning tools are essential for improving accessibility, providing users with accurate and up-to-date journey-planning information, and contributing to the organisation’s commitment to enhancing public transport services. The new contract will enable further enhancements to the app, ensuring it remains responsive to user needs, integrates seamlessly with other systems, and delivers a high-quality, inclusive user experience.
The contract will run for an 18-month term, with a total value of £114,000.

Approval to award the contract to Code IT Recruitment for an 18-month term with a total contract value of £114,000.

Contract award following procurement.

Award of contract to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP for £149,420.00 to deliver System Change in Health Support.
Contract to be award following mini competition via Crown Commercial Services RM6187 Management Consultancy Framework Three (MCF3), Lot 7: Health, Social Care and Community

After many months of delay, due mainly to obtaining the necessary rail industry consents for the works, this project has now reached the Delivery Phase and final approval is now sought to appoint Network Rail (NWR) to undertake construction of the new Tram Train station at Magna. The appointment of NWR will be formalised with the signing of an Implementation Agreement (IA) between SYMCA and NWR setting out the costs and timescales for delivery and T&C’s of the appointment.

In February 2024 approval was granted to progress the project to Implementation including the appointment of NWR for the Delivery Phase to a budget ceiling of £6,859,649 [publicised as a Key Decision]. Due to a number of reasons including confirmation on the T&C’s of the IA, specifically in relation to the proposed lease of the new station and delays associated with obtaining the necessary railway consents required to implement the station the IA remains unsigned. However, all outstanding issues have now been resolved and a revised draft IA has been agreed in principle between NWR and SYMCA that is ready for signature.

Unfortunately, with the passage of time costs have increased and NWR’s estimated costs for the Delivery Phase have since risen to £7,074,541 an increase of £214,892.

The increase in estimated Network Rail costs can be attributed to:

• Increase in AMCO (Principal Works Contractor) contract price, driven by inflation.
• Increase in design costs for design management and temporary works.
• The increased AMCO price has in turn increased the values for the Network Rail and Industry Risk fees as these are calculated using a ready reckoner that takes the contractor costs into account.

To avoid any further delays/additional costs and keep to the revised delivery programme NWR are seeking to enter into contract with AMCO, their nominated Contractor, by 31st January 2025. NWR cannot proceed in this regard until the Implementation Agreement has been signed by both SYMCA and NWR.

Approval is now sought to increase the value of NWR’s appointment under the IA to £7,074,541

Subject to agreement of this additional approval it is planned to make a start on site February 2025 (site establishment) with forecast completion and entry into service November 2025.

Increase in the original appointment of Network Rail for Delivery Phase of Magna Tram Train stop approved

The current Bus Cod system, used by the Finance team to process operator payments, has been identified as no longer viable due to its inability to meet the operational demands of the organisation. The software has become outdated and lacks the functionality needed to handle the increasing complexity of operator payment processes effectively.
In its current state, the system is creating a bottleneck within the payment process, leading to delays and inefficiencies that impact the overall workflow. These issues include limited automation capabilities, a lack of integration with other essential systems, and increased manual intervention to complete routine tasks. These inefficiencies not only hinder productivity but also pose a risk of errors in payment calculations and processing.
To resolve these challenges and ensure continuity of service, the decision has been made to replace the existing software with a modern solution from EP Morris Bus Ltd. The new system will eliminate the bottlenecks by streamlining payment processes, increasing automation, and integrating seamlessly with other systems. It will provide the enhanced functionality and scalability required to support the organisation’s current and future needs, ensuring operator payments are processed accurately and efficiently while maintaining compliance with regulatory standards.

Approval to procure and implement the EP Morris Bus Ltd software as a replacement for the Bus Cod system, utilising the G-Cloud 14 framework. The contract will run for a three-year term with a total contract value of £226,914.

A series of interventions are being developed as part of the CRSTS Bus Lane Review Implementation project.
These interventions include modifications to existing bus lanes and other measures.
It is necessary to verify the position of buried service plant and determine ground conditions as part of the design of these interventions.
Quotations have been sought to undertake these works.
Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council Highways Delivery Team have provided a quotation of £2,591.99/day to undertake this work (including road space permit applications), and have estimated the duration of the works to be 20 days. The total value of the quotation is thus £51,839.80.

Amey have also provided a quotation of £52,519.06, which does not include road space permit applications.

The addition of 10% contingency to the RMBC quotation results in a figure of £57,023.78.

RMBC are in the best position to carry out this work on their own highways, especially given their experience of using the RMBC road space permitting system.

To instruct RMBC to undertake the trial holes to a maximum amount of £57,023.78.

Refer to attached LRT Signal Heads Budget Increase paper.

Approval of an increase in cost from £395,801 to £522,767 is sought. The latter figure includes a 10% risk contingency on future project costs.

To approve the additional costs of £126,966.

At the 12th November 2024 MCA Board, SYMCA secured delegated authority to the Head of Paid Service in consultation with Mayor Ros Jones - in her position as the Portfolio Lead for Housing & Infrastructure – to approve the project.

Option 1 – Approve the recommendation

A provider is needed for a variety of H&S training and competitive tender was run for this in partnership with the
Procurement team

Agreement to contract with Astutis as the number 1 on the agreed scoring, at a value of approximately £110,000.

Due to the exceptional circumstances [a supplier] have requested an advance tender payment, rather than being paid in arrears, to assist in cashflow challenges they are currently experiencing. This is an urgent request with payment being made within 5 working days or sooner.

Due to the following main reasons the operator is seeking a payment of tendered services in advance, rather than the usual in-arrears payment:
• [redacted due to commercial sensitivity]

The payment, if approved, is an advance payment of £75k and will be recovered at £7.5k per period over the next 10 payment periods starting at period 13 of 2024/25, netted off against their ordinary payments in arrears, so that it is completed next financial year. A letter issued from legal and signed by both parties agreeing to the advance payment and recovery method will be required before the payment is made.

[redacted due to commercial sensitivity]

A higher risk is that the [supplier], due to the factors above may not have the short-term cash flow for [redacted due to commercial sensitivity]

Option 2 – this is an initial advance payment of £75k but will be fully recovered.

Allocate £50,000 to create a fund to support the development and delivery of tree-planting projects in South Yorkshire. 'A tree for everyone' aims to engage communities in tree- planting, contributing to delivering the mayoral priority to plant 1.4 million
trees

To extend the contract of the agency with which SYMCA has an existing contract.