Agenda and minutes

Councillor Jon Collins   – Personal

Councillor Nick McDonald – Personal

Councillor Jane Urquhart   – Personal

Christine Oliver

None.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 13 March 2018

The minutes of the meeting held on 13 March 2018 were agreed as a true record and they were signed by the Chair.

Report of the Director of Commissioning and Procurement and the Head of Contracting and Procurement

Steve Oakley, Head of Contracting and Procurement, introduced the report on the Nottingham City Council Procurement Plan 2018-2022. He advised the Committee that the report is a live document outlining planned procurement across the council over the next 5 years. It is a live document and will be changing and developing through that time frame. 

The Chair expressed his thanks for the thorough work that has gone into producing the Plan.

During discussion the following points were highlighted:

(a)  £288million has been injected into the local economy, in 2016/17 alone £48million was awarded to City small and medium sized businesses and between 2014/17 364 new entry level jobs and apprenticeships were created through contracts awarded;

(b)  Contracts valued over £200,000 have a requirement for the company to join the Nottingham Jobs scheme and the apprenticeship scheme it includes;

(c)  Steps are being taken to ensure that contracts awarded do not lead to a series of sub contracts. A contract charter is being developed and talks with unions are taking place to discuss contract requirements to reduce this occurring where it is not desired;

RESOLVED to:

(1)  Note the Nottingham City Procurement Plan 2018-2023 and adopt the plan set out in the report;

(2)  Note that the procurement Plan is indicative of planned procurement activity and timescales, which may be subject to change dependant on the outcomes of strategic commissioning process, service budgets and priorities and the full consideration of procurement options for each requirement;

(3)  Note that the outcomes of procurement activity undertaken in accordance with the Plan during 2017/18 will be reported at the end of the year.

Reasons for decision

(1)  The Procurement Plan enables the planning of procurement under the Procurement Strategy which works towards the following objectives:

a.  Citzens at the heart

b.  Securing econic, social and environmental benefits

c.  Commercial efficiency

(2)  The plan allows the Council to secure value for money and align its commissioning and procurement activity with the Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan;

(3)  The plan also supports compliance with the Public Procurement regulations and Contract Procedure Rules, allows a transparent and robust process of procurement and facilitates joint working with partner organisations;

(4)  The Plan informs provider markets about forthcoming opportunities to bid for contracts with the Council and allows potential suppliers to prepare;

Other options considered

The only other option considered was to do nothing. This option was rejected as it would impact on the planning of the Council’s procurement activities across all goods, services and works. There would be a risk of noncompliance with EU legislation and Financial Regulations and would impact on the alignment of procurement activity.

Report of the Corporate Director of Commercial and Operations

Thomas Ali, Food Development Officer introduced the report on the Supply and Delivery of Frozen Food and Grocery to the Committee. He highlighted the following points:

(a)  The current contract, which was commissioned jointly with Nottinghamshire County Council is due to come to an end in October 2018;

(b)  The new contract will give suppliers to split the provision and supply either frozen food or groceries or both. It is hoped that this will encourage more local suppliers to consider tendering for the contract;

Following discussion and questions from the Committee the following information was highlighted:

(c)  With rising food prices the aim is to stabilise spending and not to increase spending. If savings can be made by using non-brand name products then this will be considered;

RESOLVED to

(1)  Approve the undertaking of a full tender to procure a contract for the supply of frozen food and groceries. The contract will be for a 2 year period with the option to extend for a further 1 + 1 years.

(2)  Delegate authority to the corporate director for commercial and operations to award the contract following the tender process.

Reasons for Decision

(1)  A new contract needs to be put in place before the expiry of the existing contract and a competitive tender process ill ensure quality of product as well as value for money.

(2)  Undertaking a competitive tender process ensures that the Council is compliant with the Public Contract Regulations 2015;

(3)  All expenditure is covered by the charge for school meals, the free school meals budget or income from commercial sites;

Other options considered

Another option available is to do nothing. This option has been rejected as the Council needs a supplier in order to continue supplying food to schools and commercial units and that services continue to be provided to citizens.

Report of the Corporate Director Strategy & Resources, the Director of Commissioning and Procurement, the Director of Quality & Change, and the Head of Integration for Adults

Claire Labdon-West, Commissioning Manager, introduced the report on Extra Care provision to the Committee she highlighted the following points from the report:

(a)  Extra care provision targets citizens who are at risk of needing residential care within 6 months and works to reduce that risk and allow the citizen to maintain their own tenancy for as long as possible;

(b)  There are currently 225 units of Extra care accommodation available and the new development at Winwood Heights will take that number to 245.

(c)  Under the proposed model citizens will have their needs assessed and then be placed in a care band by Adult Social Care. The bands relate to the general care requirements, with a focus on achieving outcomes set by the citizen and Adult Social Care within the number of hours set for the care band;

The Chair asked that his thanks be passed on to the finance colleague who provided the extensive and in-depth finance comments

RESOLVED to:

(1)  Procure onsite providers for Woodvale and Winwood Heights for a three year period with an option to extend for a further three years (at the discretion if the Council) via an open and competitive tender;

(2)  To delegate authority to the head of contracting and procurement to approve the outcome of the tenders and award the contracts wo secure best value;

(3)  To delegate authority to the market Strategy Development Manger to sign contracts arising from the tender process once the tender outcome is agreed;

(4)  To approve expenditure in association of the amount detailed in the report £3.822million

Reasons for decision

1)  Extra Care provision provides a viable alternative to residential care and improves outcomes for citizens. It has been shown  to reduce the use of residential care for older people in other local authorities and has led to an increase in independence for citizens;

2)  The increase in cost of Extra care by increasing the available unit numbers is anticipated to be offset by reductions in the level of spend on homecare and residential care reducing the overall spend by the Council;

Other options considered

The option of doing nothing and allowing the expiry of the contract at Woodvale was rejected. The current and new proposed contracts are needed to ensure that citizens receive the support they need in order to remain independent for longer

The other alternative option considered was to allow the contract at Woodvale to expire and no longer commission a provider there. Citizens in receipt of night care would be moved to the alternative provision at Winwood Heights and all other packages could be managed through Homecare contracts. This option was rejected as it does not increase the number of Extra Care units in order to increase independence and has the potential to have negative impacts on care provided to citizens. Alternatively those citizens in receipt of night care could be moved to residential care. This would be an additional financial pressure on the Council and so this option was also rejected.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 68.