Agenda and minutes

Councillor Graham Chapman  - Leave

Councillor David Mellen  - Council Business

Councillor Sam Webster   - Council Business

None.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 12 June 2018

The minutes of the meeting held on 12 June 2018 were confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chair.

Report of the Corporate Director of Development and Growth and the Director of Traffic and Transport

Mark Garlick, Transport Strategy, presented a report on the Approval to tender for Locallink and Easylink bus services seeking approval to tender for the operation of contracts for the Dial-a-Ride services.

He explained that the service specifications can be altered depending on the transport coverage of the commercial network around them.

RESOLVED to:

(1)  To undertake a procurement process for the Easylink and Locallink bus services; and

(2)  To delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Development and Growth to award a contract to the successful provider following the outcome of the tender (for 3+1+1 years), subject to the costs being within current budget levels.

Reasons for decision

(1)  When the current contracts run out in January 2019 there will be a continuation of services for citizens and no disruption to passengers.

(2)  These services are generally used by elderly and disabled residents who live in areas of the city where there are no commercial bus routes. Retendering for the provision of these services reduces the need for the City Council and Health sector to rely on more expensive forms of transport to and from specialist provision and will ensure the risk of social isolation for these residents is reduced;

(3)  Retendering for these services allows Nottingham City Council to identify efficiency savings and opportunities to reduce costs;

Other options considered

The option of withdrawing these services due to rising cost was considered and rejected. Removal of access to public transports for some areas of the city, where commercial services would be more than 400m away would occur and would cause disruption for passengers and residents.

Report of the Assistant Chief Executive and Corporate Director of Strategy and Resources, the Director of Public Health and the Director of Community Protection

Rasool Gore, Lead Commissioning Manager, presented a report on the Commissioning of domestic and sexual violence services.

Approval is sought to commission a number of services, some of which are direct awards. Funding is mainly through Nottingham City Council, however there are some partnership contributions, mainly the Police and Crime Commissioner.

During discussion it was highlighted that commissioning these services will help the Council fulfil statutory duties under the Housing Act, Care Act and Children and Families Act.

RESOLVED to:

(1)  Approve to undertake a tender process for the Domestic Violence Service for Female Survivors service for a contract period of 3+2+2+2 years.  This will be for an annual contractual value of up to £584,185;

(2)  Delegate authority to the Head of Service for Contracting and Procurement to approve and sign off the outcome of the tender process for the Domestic Violence Service for Female Survivors and to award a contract;

(3)  Approve the award and a contract to Equation for the male survivors service (as set out in the report and appendix 1) for a contract period of 3+2+2+2 years for an annual contractual value of  up to £49,000;

(4)  Approve the award  and a contract to the current providers of domestic violence refuges (as set out in the report and appendix 1) for a contract period of 3+2+2+2 years for a total annual value of up to £472,487;

(5)  In accordance with Financial Regulation 3.29 to grant dispensations to Contract Procedure Rule 5.1.2 in respect of the contracts to be awarded under decisions 3 and 4 with a value of £5.812m;

(6)  Approve the award of a grant to Women’s Aid Integration Service for supporting the delivery of the Domestic Violence Helpline (as set out in this report and appendix 1).  It is recommended that this be for a grant period of 3+2+2+2 years for a total annual value of up to £173,330;

(7)  Delegate authority to the Head of Service for Contracting and Procurement to sign, or arrange for the sealing of, all contract documents arising under the recommendations of this report, including agreeing any extensions (based on performance and budget availability) of the proposed contracts; and

(8)  Approve the spend associated with this decision.

Reasons for decision

(1)  Where direct award has been proposed there will be a continuation of familiar services for vulnerable citizens and allow for a degree of stability. National research has shown that male survivors od domestic and sexual violence are reluctant to access services and the current provider has proven to be effective in engaging male survivors;

(2)  The services for female survivors of domestic violence will be consolidated into one service which brings together current services. This will bring value for money, and a reduction in overlapping provision as well as the opportunity to identify efficiency savings;

(3)  Proposals around the shelter offer the most stable and viable method of provision.  Setting up an new refuge requires extensive consultation with the local community which can be difficult given the need  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

Report of the Corporate Director for Strategy & Resources

Simon Salmon, Head of IT presented a report on the Computer refresh programme. He highlighted that if the organisation shrinks in terms of headcount then not all of the money allocated to this programme will be spent. Approval for spend will be put before the Director of Strategy and Resources annually to ensure that the organisations financial position is relative to the decision to commit to expenditure;

RESOLVED to:

(1)  To delegate authority to the Head of Service (IT) to enter into contracts up to the value of £983,000 per annum using an established government framework to purchase PCs, Laptops, Tablets, Monitors and other peripheral devices required to meet operational needs and the requirements of the IT Computer Refresh Programme to March 2021;

(2)  To approve allocation of funding from the IT Efficiency Fund for the three year period to March 2021 in the sum of £ 222,000 p/a to cover salary costs relating to the IT Computer Refresh Programme and other projects undertaken by the Release and Deployment team with the remaining £ 75,000 being funded from income from projects;

(3)  To amend the Capital Programme for the next 3 years by an initial value of £ 785,000 per annum and, thereafter, by the value of additional departmental purchases of up to £ 420,000 per annum but excluding the value of items procured to support schemes already in the Capital Programme;

(4)  To authorise recovery and repayment to the IT Efficiency fund of varying amounts from departmental budgets to cover requests for new equipment made outside of the Computer Replacement Policy; and

(5)  To note that prior to the annual purchase, approval will be undertaken from the Corporate Director of Strategy & Resources to ensure the spend is appropriate in conjunction with the in-year financial position and the budget setting process;

Reasons for decision

(1)  IT systems are essential to the day to day running of the Council. They are needed for delivering services to citizens and to support joint work with partners. The refresh programme ensures that computers are fit for purpose and will allow colleagues to continue day to day operation;

(2)  Bulk purchasing equipment from the government framework will ensure cost effective procurement. It will also mean that NCC become skilled in maintaining the IT estate as equipment will be standardised, and that IT services can react quickly  to requests preventing downtime which may impact on service provision;

(3)  Maintaining up to date IT systems limits the risk associated with computer viruses and other malicious software which can have a significant impact on service and may compromise sensitive data;

(4)  Purchasing the IT equipment in a rolling programme reduces large budgetary pressure within any one year. It allows for management of time and resources within the department;

(5)  A structured refresh plan will allow the IT service to better plan and manage procurement of equipment and management of human resources.

Other options considered

Replacement of computer on an ad hoc basis when they failed was rejected. This  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.