Major contract spend agreed by council cabinet

Stockton Council's cabinet approves £30m of contracts for the next year

A council will spend millions of pounds on home care after it approved several major contracts.

The deals agreed by Stockton Council cover money for railway celebration events, pothole repairs, waste collection and electricity, among others.

The contracts could be worth more than £30m, although some could be split with other authorities, a report to the council said.

Council leader Bob Cook said the authority wanted to get "the best out of the companies that deliver the contracts on behalf of the council".

Authority leaders need to agree all contracts worth more than £500,000.

The report setting out the estimated costs said the largest was for care at home, currently about £15m a year, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Electricity supply for council buildings and schools costs £3.8m a year, and water £480,000.

Urgent repairs to Newport Bridge are anticipated to cost £1.1m, with Stockton and Middlesbrough councils both contributing.

Events mentioned in the contracts include celebrations for the Stockton and Darlington Railway bicentenary in 2025. The £600,000 cost will be shared between Stockton and Darlington councils.

Services for the Stockton International Riverside Festival (SIRF) are estimated to cost £144,000 per year.

Other contracts to start in 2024-25 include:

• Sexual health service – £1.1m

• Aggregates, concrete and mortar – £1.1m

• Home to school transport – £770,000

• Household waste recycling centre - £624,000

• Pathway development centres to support school pupils – £450,000

• Mobile and data services for communication and working with phones, tablets and laptops – £434,000

Council director of corporate services, Ged Morton, told the cabinet meeting the figures set out what “social value” the contracts would bring to residents.

"We put a monetary value on them so we can try and compare and contrast them when we receive and review tenders and bids," he said.

Mr Cook said: "Getting the best out of the companies that deliver the contracts on behalf of the council and getting social value for that, whether it’s local work, apprentices and other things they want to do within the local community, it’s something a lot of councils are looking at at the moment."