Agenda and minutes

Councillor Campbell-Clark  -  personal

Steve Oakley

Councillor Williams declared an other registerable interest in item 5 (minute 50), Highways Sustainable Procurement Strategy: Phase 2, as the Chair of the Thomas Bow Board, and left the room prior to discussion of the item.

Councillor Webster declared an other registerable interest in item 6 (minute 51), Building Services and Facilities Management procurement requirements 2022-23, as a Board member of SCAPE, and left the room prior to discussion of the item.

Last meeting held on 11 January 2022 (for confirmation)

The Committee agreed the minutes of the meeting held on 11 January 2022 as a correct record and they were signed by the Chair.

Report of Corporate Director for Finance and Resources

Sarah Wilson, Electoral Services Manager, presented the report, informing the Committee that Electoral Services relied on a small number of specialised suppliers to provide a wide variety of products for the efficient and effective delivery of its service to meet the statutory requirements as set out in legislation and to provide a high level of service to citizens.

Ms Wilson stated the following:

a)  the services included:

·  a dedicated Electoral Management System (EMS) to meet all registration and election software requirements, along with additional integrated products which enhanced the delivery of service and customer journey and maximised efficiencies;

·  a highly specialised printing and postal provider to innovate and design products to assist service users and produce and distribute sensitive items of personal mail in a secure and timely manner for both registration and election processes;

·  Royal Mail collecting and delivering specialised items of mail to citizens as a priority under a specific licence, and ensuring their safe return.

b)  The current contracts for software and printing and postal providers were approaching their renewal dates and Electoral Services were seeking approval to enter into new contracts with providers for the next four years (with the option to extend for a further 2 years) subject to procurement requirements, from the beginning of the financial year 2022-23.

c)  Failure to act would result in Electoral Services not having any contracted suppliers, leaving the Electoral Registration Officer and the Returning Officer at risk of not being able to deliver the statutory service. This would not only lead to poor customer service and reputational damage to the authority, but also breach procurement rules and financial regulations.

d)  As part of securing new contracts for the next four (or more) years, Electoral Services would also be able to test the market and, wherever possible, seek best value moving forwards.

Resolved

(1)  to delegate authority to the Director of Legal and Governance to enter into a 4-year (plus a 2-year extension option) contract with suppliers as set out below:

i.  following a compliant procurement process through an approved Crown Commercial Services Framework, and following due diligence and value for money checks via the e-market place, an EMS software contract to the existing supplier;

ii.  following a tender process exercise, a printing and postal supplier;

(2)  to note that exemption from Contract Procedure Rules was granted by the Chief Finance Officer in accordance with paragraph 18.79 of the Constitution in order to use Royal Mail (as the only company able to provide the service) to deliver the last stage of the postal process to the doorstep;

(3)  that expenditure on providing Electoral Services of up to £1.28million over the next 4 years, and a further £640,000 if the option of a 2-year extension is exercised, is approved.

Reasons for recommendations

1.  To ensure that the Council can adequately continue to deliver its statutory functions in relation to Electoral Services from April 2022 onwards.

2.  To comply with Financial Regulations relating to testing the market to demonstrate that best  ...  view the full minutes text for item 50.

Report of Corporate Director for Resident Services

Having previously declared an interest, Councillor Williams left the room prior to discussion of this item.

Mark Bradbury, Highways Contracts and Compliance Manager, presented the report, which requested approval of procurement arrangements to support the Council’s delivery of Statutory Highway Maintenance Works, Highway Improvement and Public Realm Programmes and Specialist Support Services for Highways and Transport Strategy.

Mr Bradbury stated that:

(a)  new contracts and framework arrangements were required to cover the following essential services:

·  purchasing of aggregates, asphalt, ready mixed concrete, construction materials and signs;

·  plant hire or haulage, including hire of JCB with operator, tools, plant and welfare facilities;

·  services, including purchasing of winter service weather forecasting, maintenance of water features, design and installation of street lighting (currently excluded from PFI arrangements), asset management surveys, document production, data analysis and transport modelling and feasibility studies;

·  works, including painting and removal of pigeon guano from structures and bridges.

(b)  it was proposed that contracts be awarded through conducting processes in accordance with the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules and requirements under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and, where permitted, appropriate and it demonstrated Best Value, to access existing national frameworks.

(c)  contracts were anticipated to utilise the National Engineering Council (NEC 4) Suite of Construction Contracts or other industry recognised and accepted terms.

(d)  a breakdown of the contract requirements was set out in appendix A, including the proposed duration of contracts, which was generally 4 years.

(e)  in the operation of any awarded framework agreement, it would be necessary to award call-off contracts for individual projects and, in order to ensure oversight to the operation of any framework and subsequent call-off arrangements, it was requested that authority be delegated at an operational level to the Contracts and Compliance Manager for Highways.

During discussion, and in response to questions and comments, Mr Bradbury stated that, where possible, local labour would be employed and that there was currently work underway to bring Frameworks together to avoid duplication.

Resolved

(1)  to approve the procurement and subsequent award of contracts / Framework Agreements as detailed in appendix A;

(2)  to delegate authority to the Contracts and Compliance Manager for Highways to act as ‘Framework Manager’ on the awarded call-off from the Framework Agreements detailed in appendix A.

Reasons for recommendations

Recommendation 1 - Procuring Highway Contacts & Frameworks will allow Highway Services to continue to compliantly deliver works and services in order to fulfil their statutory duty to maintain the highway and support all Transport Services in compliant delivery options. The following advantages have been identified in putting these arrangements in place:

·  Enabling the delivery of external grant funded schemes in line with the timescales of the award;

·  A value-for-money delivery model with no fixed financial commitment to use the framework;

·  Opportunities for local Small to Medium Enterprise (SME) companies to tender for the work;

·  The potential for a local workforce either through direct employment or through regional SME sub-contractors;

·  Ensuring the Council complies with its duty of Best Value by going through a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51.

Report of Acting Director for Neighbourhood Services

Having previously declared an interest, Councillor Webster left the room prior to discussion of this item.

Due to the absence of Councillor Webster, Councillor Barnard (Vice-Chair) took the chair for this item.

Ken France, Acting Head of Facilities and Building Services, presented the report, detailing Building Services and Facilities Management procurement requirements for the financial year 2022/23 for planned and reactive maintenance and minor works.

He stated that the Council had a statutory duty to be compliant with all applicable asset legislation in relation to its asset portfolio and this duty was met by carrying out planned, reactive and minor works on its asset portfolio. Whilst works were performed in-house wherever possible, there were occasions where specialist contractors or additional resource was required.

Therefore, Building Services and Facilities Management needed to award several framework agreements and contracts, in conjunction with the council’s procurement team, to the value of £32.52million, as detailed in appendix 1. This total included £1.6million of the planned maintenance budget being spent through internal services and Nottingham City Homes.

In response to a question regarding whether Nottingham City Homes (NCH) undertook the work themselves or outsourced it (which the Council could outsource themselves, rather than paying NCH to do so), Mr France stated that all contractors charge a management uplift, irrespective of whether NCC outsource the work or NCH outsource the work, however, there is currently work underway to assess whether Frameworks can be set up going forwards to meet all our technical disciplines, although it would be dependent on the nature of the work and any ‘specialisms’. There would also be a management uplift on any framework set up moving forward.

Resolved

(1)  to approve procurement of contracts over a 4-year period (2022-26) to a maximum value of £32.52million, in line with the annual procurement plan as detailed in appendix 1;

(2)  to approve the proposed expenditure of at least £1.6million of the £3million planned maintenance budget for 2022/23 on services delivered either through in-house provision or Nottingham City Homes;

(3)  to delegate authority to the Acting Director for Residents Services to award the contracts and approve all call-off arrangements under the contracts.

Reasons for recommendations

There are a number of contracts which the Building Services and Facilities Management department use coming to the end of their term in March 2022. The contracts set out in the appendix require re-procurement to enable Building Services to keep the Council’s asset portfolio compliant with regulatory, legislative and insurance obligations. Through the proposed procurement routes the Council can continue to improve efficiency and service of supplier delivery across multiple high-risk work streams and improve value for money for Directorates across the Council.  Our annual procurement programme has been proven the best approach to securing a competent supply chain with the lowest costs possible.

This report details how orders are placed with Contractors through the Council’s robust systems. To ensure a smooth and timely process for placing orders it is recommended that the Director for Neighbourhood Services has delegated  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52.

Report of Corporate Director for People

Prior to commencement of this item, Councillor Webster assumed the Chair for the remainder of the meeting.

Anna Coltman, Commissioning Manager, presented the report, informing the Committee that on 14 September 2021 the government made a commitment in the ‘COVID-19 Response: Autumn and Winter Plan 2021’ to support local authorities and social care providers to maintain safe staffing levels over the winter period and to continue working closely with the care sector to build sufficient workforce capacity across services.

The adult social care winter plan published on 3 November 2021 set out the support the government would be providing to the adult social care sector to meet the challenges it faced during the winter and included a commitment to providing workforce recruitment and retention funding to support local authorities and providers to recruit and retain sufficient staff over the winter and support growth and sustain existing workforce capacity.

Further to minute 43, dated 11 January 2022, regarding round 1 funding, this report detailed the round 2 funding (announced too late to be included in the January report to Committee), which had to be spent by 31 March 2022.

In response to a question regarding the Council’s claw-back liability if a provider went into administration having received funding from the Council that was unspent, Ms Coltman stated that she would check with Legal Services and inform members outside of the meeting.

Resolved

(1)  to approve Nottingham City Council’s acceptance and spend of Round 2 of the Workforce Recruitment and Retention Grant funding from the Department of Health and Social Care (as per the terms and conditions of the grant);

(2)  to delegate authority to the Director for Adult Health and Social Care, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Adults and Health and the Director for Commissioning and Procurement, to accept and allocate any further awards of these funds received by the Council during 2022-23, up to a maximum value of £3,000,000, in accordance with any conditions of the grant funding, to enable the timescales of the Department of Health and Social Care to be met.

Reasons for recommendations

a)  Nottingham City Council has been allocated a total of £2,987,033 from the Government’s Workforce Recruitment and retention fund (WR&R fund). The funding has been provided across two rounds. Round 1 provided £1,049,498 from 21 October 2021 and Round 2 provided £1,937,535 from 10 December 2021.

b)  Approval to accept and allocate Round 1 of the WR&R grant was provided at the Commissioning and Procurement Executive Committee on 11 January 2022.

c)  Round 2 of the WR&R funding is to be spent by 31 March 2022. The primary purpose of the WR&R fund is to deliver additional staffing capacity in adult social care through recruitment and retention activity. Round 2 funding must be fully spent during the 10 December 2021 to 31 March 2022 period.

d)  The Grant is ring-fenced and will be paid in instalments to Nottingham City Council:

·  the first instalment (70%)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53.

Report of Director for Commissioning and Procurement

Sharon Ribeiro, Lead Contact Performance Manager (Care and Support), presented the report, which detailed proposals for fee rates in 2022/23 across Adult Social Care contracted provision, which Nottingham City Council is contractually bound to consider on an annual basis where it has a statutory duty to provide a service.

It was stated that the Council will consult with providers on the proposals and consider responses prior to implementation from April 2022.

In response to a question regarding minimising costs, Ms Ribeiro stated that the Council was constantly reviewing cost vs provision, and there was currently work being undertaken to review all fees etc in time for 2023/24.

Resolved

(1)  to approve:

(a)  the proposals for fee rates for Adult Social Care Services in 2022/23 as outlined in exempt appendix 1, which will be consulted upon with service providers;

(b)  the total spend of £6.299million, including approval to spend against high cost placement provision through the Council’s scheme of delegation for Adults Care Packages;

(2)  to delegate authority to the Director of Commissioning and Procurement, in consultation with the Director for Adult Health and Social Care, and in line with the Council budget,to agree fee rates in accordance with the proposals detailed in exempt appendix 1, subject to the outcome of consultation with providers;

(3)  to note that:

(a)  subject to recommendation 3(b) below, the agreed rates will be implemented from April 2022;

(b)  if upon completion of the consultation the financial impact of any revised proposals exceed the budget available, further approval would be sought from this Committee.

Reasons for recommendations

i.  Nottingham City Council is contractually bound to consider fee rates in respect of services that is has a duty to provide.  This is balanced against budget commitments and pressures for the Council.

ii.  In accordance with the Council’s legal obligation, it is proposed to consult with adult social care providers with regard to these proposals during February – March 2022. The Director of Commissioning and Procurement in consultation with the Director for Adult Health and Social Care will take account of consultation responses and issue variations to existing contracts reflective of the proposals in this report should no significant issue arise. Should the outcome of these consultations require consideration of significant change to the shape and financial consequence of these proposals (with due regard given to the available budget) a further report will be presented through the appropriate governance process.

iii.  These proposals and the associated financial modelling are based on information currently available about service utilisation and demand changes as a result of Covid 19.

iv.  The recommendations presented take account of the implications of the National Living Wage for the market and aim to represent a fair allocation of funding and to support the market across all service areas. It is considered that a balanced, reasoned and informed approach has been taken and that the proposals seek to support a sustainable, efficient and effective market within the available resources.

v.  It is proposed to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 54.

To consider excluding the public from the meeting during consideration of the remaining item in accordance with Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, under Schedule 12A, Part 1, Paragraphs 3 & 5, on the basis that, having regard to all the circumstances, the public interest in maintaining an exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information

The Committee agreed to exclude the public from the meeting during consideration of the remaining item in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the basis that having regard to all the circumstances, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information, as defined in Paragraphs 3 and 5 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act.

Resolved to note the exempt appendices to item 8, minute 53.