Agenda item

To update the Committee on procurement activity across the Council.

The Senior Policy and Governance Officer introduced the report to the Committee and explained that it consisted of three main areas:

Procurement Consultancy Report

There were 5 recommendations that arose from this report which included:

1. The Policy and Governance Team were to become the second line of defence in terms of Procurement and contract management. They have created quarterly dashboards which details the procurement activity taking place in each services area.
2. Keep a register of agreed exemptions for contract extensions during Covid. This was closed when lockdown was lifted for the second time.
3. Induction Process for new members of staff had been reviewed and new members of staff no longer had access to the unit 4 financial management system until after they complete the procurement training.
4. To use the stand along contract register as part of the procurement system, this was ongoing and due for completion at the end of the year. The transparency requirements work had been completed.
5. Ensure contract award notices had been published onto the governments contract finder website. This is now completed monthly.

Audit Recommendations for the Out Of Hours (OOH) Report.

The Senior Policy and Governance Officer explained there were 5 recommendations that related to policy and governance guidance, which she was happy to circulate via e-mail to any Councillor, should they request it.

Contract Management Framework

She explained that there was an error on the first page of the policy stating that it had been approved by the Audit and Standards Committee which she confirmed was incorrect. She further explained it was for the Committee to look over and make comments and it would come back in February for approval once it was finalised.

The Senior Policy and Governance Officer confirmed to Councillor Davies that they were receiving regular updates regarding starters and leavers within the Council.

The Senior Policy and Governance Officer provided the following answers to questions asked:

• Dates and timescales would be provided for the training mentioned on page 123 of the document pack.
• The mandatory requirements of the Transparency Code dictated for all contracts above £25,000 to be recorded however they would be working towards the desirable requirements which included all contracts over £5,000.

Councillor Pearson raised concerns with item 4.3 a) in the Contract Management Policy which made it seem as though contracts under £25,000 did not have to follow the same procedural requirements. The Senior Policy and Governance Officer advised that would not be the case and agreed to amend the wording in the report to reflect that.

In response to a question raised by the Chair, the Senior Policy and Governance Officer explained the process behind how they keep track of the software supplier renewal dates. She explained this was a piece of work they were currently undertaking and had already created the guidance framework to ensure contracts were being renewed and not just rolling over.

The Chair proposed the amendment to accept the report and note for future reference.

Councillor Davies seconded.

After being put to a vote, the Motion carried unanimously.

The Strategic Director of Communities gave a brief update on the actions that had been put in place for the upcoming holiday period. He reassured the committee the action plan developed had been fully implemented and were all on target with their timescales. He drew the Committees attention to a few key actions which included:

• The holiday rota had been created.
• Escalation officers had been informed of the on call staff and the back-up staff should anyone fall ill.
• The OOH call handling provider had been given a flow chart for the SDC procedures and training was already underway.
• Additional staff had been called in on the 3 working days between Christmas and new year to re-visit any emergency repairs undertaken over Christmas.
• A detailed report would be brought back to this Committee in February.

The Strategic Director of Communities informed the Committee that they had received notice from the OOH telephone service that they would be closing their contract at the end of February. He assured the Committee between now and the end of February they would procure a replacement contractor using a framework agreement.   

The Strategic Director of Communities gave the following answers to questions from Councillors:

• The consultation with One legal on the original audit report had been completed and their recommendation was to revert to the original recommendation in the report.
• The contractor handed in their notice due to a wider issue for them and was not directly linked to Stroud District Council (SDC)

The Operations Manager confirmed to the Chair that there was sufficient stock of heaters and an order had been place for additional heaters to be held at the depot during the holiday period as a backup.