Decision Details

On 28 April 2026 Cabinet:-

(i)             Approved the proposed revisions to the Service Fee for the delivery of the museums and heritage services by BMT for the period 1st April 2026 to 31st March 2030 as set out in paragraphs 1.1 and 4.13 to the report;

(ii)            Noted the financial settlement, contextual pressures, the agreed joint actions, expected service outcomes and operational arrangements described in Appendix 1 - (9.1) to the report, “BCC / BMT Contract Arrangement Principles 2026-30”;

(iii)           Delegated authority to the Director for Neighbourhoods, in consultation with the Executive Director for City Operations (or their delegated), in consultation with the City Solicitor and the Executive Director of Finance and Section 151 Officer (or their delegates), and the Cabinet Member Digital, Culture, Heritage and Tourism to negotiate and agree any subsequent enhancements to service provision and associated contract fee adjustments for 2026-2030, provided these remain within budgets approved through the Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP) and do not materially alter the underlaying contractual obligations;

(iv)           Delegated authority to the Director for Neighbourhoods, in consultation with the Executive Director for City Operations, the City Solicitor and the Executive Director Finance and Section 151 Officer (or their delegates) to agree the future methodology for applying inflation to this contract and implemented through the annual budget setting process;

(v)            Delegated authority to the Director for Neighbourhoods (or their delegate) to negotiate all necessary documents to give effect to the above in consultation with the City Solicitor (or their delegate);

(vi)           Delegated authority to the City Solicitor (or their delegate) to execute, complete and seal all necessary documents to give effect to the above decisions , including any related contractual variations or ancillary agreement;

(vii)          Noted the Equality Duty and Equality Impact Analysis screening relating to the proposals (Appendix 2 - (9.2) to the report);

(viii)        Noted that the continuation of the BMT arrangements is consistent with the procurement approvals granted by Cabinet on 31st July 2018 for a single contractor negotiation and the subsequent award of the long term service contract (2018-2043). This report confirms that the proposed 2026-2030 settlement is a variation within the scope of the existing contract and does not require a new procurement process; and

(ix)           Noted that the variation of the Service Fee is expressly provided for by Schedule 3 of the Services Contract and is therefore compliant with the provision of Schedule 8 of the Procurement Act 2023 which govern the circumstances in which a contracting authority is permitted to vary an existing contract.