Agenda and minutes

Councillor Toby Neal – Personal

None

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 11 September 2018

The minutes of the meeting held on 11 September 2018 were confirmed as a true record and were signed by the Chair.

Report of the Corporate Director for Commercial & Operations

David King, Head of Facilities and Building Services presented a report on Building Services Procurement Requirements 2018/19 detailing the need to procure multiple replacements contracts.

During discussion it was highlighted that a programme of procurement solutions has been drawn up to include insourcing of appropriate activities and review of existing contracts which will lead to a saving for the Council and to upskilling existing employees.

RESOLVED to:

(1)  Approve the procurement of replacement contracts detailed in Appendix 2 of the report published with the original agenda, with a total value of £2,145,000 through an appropriate procurement process, and to award the contracts for the services based on the outcomes of the procurement process;

(2)  Approve to procure a Framework Agreement for Demolition Works with a maximum value of £12,000,000 over four years from 1 April 2019; and

(3)  To delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Commercial and Operations to award contracts from the Framework Agreement for Demolition Works up to the total of £12,000,000 over four years from 1^st April 2019.

Reasons for decision

(1)  The contracts under consideration in this decision are all due to expire at the end of March 2019. Procuring replacements enables Nottingham City Council to ensure that the buildings remain compliant with statutory, regulatory and legislative obligations, and are safe from which to offer services to citizens.

(2)  Procuring new contracts will improve efficiency and value for money and will result in savings for Nottingham City Council. 

Other options considered

Allowing individual directorates within Nottingham City Council to purchase the services they require to maintain compliance was rejected. This would result in considerably more expense, less compliance and less accountability. Nottingham City Council would risk falling out of compliance with legislative, regulatory and statutory obligations and could not ensure the safety of the buildings or the citizens who use them.

Another option considered was insourcing all of the activity covered by the contracts under discussion. This was rejected due to workforce capacity issues, risk of falling out of compliance and the reduction in value for money it would deliver.

The final alternative considered was doing nothing and allowing the contracts to end without recommissioning the services. Again this option would remove compliance across Nottingham City Council, it would increase the risk to the citizens who use the buildings and the services within them, and would represent a reputational risk to Nottingham City Council. These factors were all considered unacceptable and for this reason this option was rejected.

Report of the Corporate Director of Strategy and Resources and the Acting Director of Commissioning and Procurement

Kaj Ghattaora, Provider Performance Manager presented a report on the Corporate Travel and Accommodation Contract seeking authorisation to procure a new contract for an electronic system for corporate travel using an approved established framework.

There was discussion around the measures brought in to reduce costs and frequency of travel expenses, the need to ensure that the cheapest tickets are purchased and how this can be monitored at a Corporate Director level.

RESOLVED to:

(1)  To award a contract following a call off process from the Crown Commercial Services Framework to offer corporate travel solutions as the current framework contract is due to expire November 2018;

(2)  To delegate authority to the Head of Contracting and Procurement to award the framework contract, and for the Provider Performance Manager to sign any contract documents produced as a result; and

(3)  To approve spend against this decision noting that the individual Service area reviews the need to spend;

Reasons for decision

(1)  The existing contract framework is due to expire in November 2018. A new corporate contract for travel and accommodation for those officers who do require it will ensure compliance and best value for money.

Other options considered

There were two alternative options considered. The first was to run a competitive tender exercise, this was considered but rejected as due to administrative costs it would not offer the best value for money. The market has been tested with the CCS and a framework established to prevent duplication by local government authorities.

The other option considered was to do nothing. This would leave the Council exposed to higher costs and for this reason the option was rejected.