Agenda for Commissioning and Procurement Executive Committee on Tuesday, 14th March, 2023, 10.00 am

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Ground Floor Committee Room - Loxley House, Station Street, Nottingham, NG2 3NG. View directions

Contact: Mark Leavesley 

Items
No. Item

63.

Apologies for absence

Minutes:

Councillor Barnard  )  other Council business

Councillor Longford  )

64.

Declarations of interests

Minutes:

None.

65.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 258 KB

Last meeting held on 14 February 2023 (for confirmation)

Minutes:

The Committee agreed the minutes of the last meeting held on 14 February 2023 as a correct record and they were signed by the Chair.

66.

Vehicles and Transport Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) for services including Social Care Transportation (including SEND Home-to-School), School Trips Transport and Council Staff Transportation - key decision pdf icon PDF 322 KB

Report of Corporate Director for People

Minutes:

Claire Moores, Whynott Transport Manager, presented the report and stated the following:

 

(i)  as part of a transformation of the department and services, the Education Division sought authorisation to continue to procure transport for school travel. The main service areas utilising Social Care Transportation (including SEND Home-to-School), School Trips Transport and Council Staff Transportation services are Passenger Transport Service, Why Nott? Transport and the Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall;

 

(ii)  approval would enable establishment of a DPS (Dynamic Purchasing System) for the contracting and supply of transportation from external transport operators;

 

(iii)  Nottingham City Council’s Passenger Transport Service was now part of the Education Department, but has always functioned as a specialised transport provider for SEND and Vulnerable Pupils, Adult Social Care and other Adult and Children’s Services. Part of the home to school and adult day care specialised transport is provided internally by a fleet of 56 specially adapted passenger carrying vehicles. However, the majority of transport requirements were commissioned by a back office team from a range of local, private, specialised passenger transport operators and private hire operators. The value of the total contracts awarded in one year could be up to £3.7m, spread amongst a number of passenger transport operators and private hire operators that can provide the services within the Nottingham City area;

 

(iv)  Nottingham City Council’s Why Nott? Transport, based in Curriculum and Enrichment, has a history of over 10 years of successfully supporting schools and Academies to access educational visits, school swimming and ice skating lessons. The service allows schools to secure the best price for their journey through a competitive process within a pool of pre-approved transport providers. The value of the total contracts awarded in one year could be up to £450,000, spread amongst a number of passenger transport operators and private hire operators that can provide the services within the Nottingham City area;

 

(v)  Theatre Royal / Royal Concert Hall presents around 675 performances each year, attracting audiences in excess of 600,000. The service area is looking for suppliers of private hire vehicles mainly, but not exclusively, to enable staff to get home after their shifts end. The need for this could be 7 days a week from about 10.30pm through to 6am the following morning, depending on the production playing. This service would also extend to journeys for visiting company and cast between the location that they are staying for the week/night, as well as press engagements at local radio and TV stations. The value of the total contracts awarded in one year could be up to £12,000, spread amongst a number of passenger transport operators and private hire operators that can provide the services within the Nottingham City area;

 

(vi)  the Council’s updated Contract Procedure Rules (Article 18 of the Constitution) and the Public Contract Regulations 2015 (PCR’s) stipulate that contracts should be aggregated where possible, in the event of multiple departments were procuring the same services, to maximise economies of scale and avid dis-aggregation of contracts and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 66.

67.

Approval to access and spend under the terms of Corporate Security Services Framework - key decision pdf icon PDF 236 KB

Report of Director of Community Services

Minutes:

Holly Fisher, Lead Procurement Officer, presented the report and stated the following:

 

(i)  approval was being sought to allow Council departments to call-off from the Corporate Security Services Framework to meet security requirements, including event security, staff shortages and cash in transit services;

 

(ii)  NCC, in collaboration with Mansfield District Council, established a framework agreement to meet the Authorities’ varied security services requirements, including Manned Guarding, Cash Collection, Event Security, etc. The framework is available until 31 October 2026. NCC provided the legal and procurement resource to establish this framework, supported by technical expertise from Community Safety;

 

(iii)  to be awarded a place on the framework, suppliers went through a full procurement process and submissions were evaluated against the below criteria:

 

  Quality - 70 %

 

·  Management and Structure;

·  Contract Mobilisation;

·  Contract KPI delivery;

·  Resource Plan;

·  Customer Service;

·  Experience;

·  Supply chain management;

 

All providers had to score ‘Satisfactory’ or above to be on the framework;

 

Price - 30 %

 

Each department using the framework can award contracts separately, request specific Contract Purchase Agreements to manage budgets, and monitor spend under the framework.

 

Resolved to

 

(1)  approve that NCC departments can call-off from the Corporate Security Services Framework to meet security services requirements;

 

(2)  delegate authority to the Director of Community Protection, or relevant service Director, to:

 

(a)  award call-off contracts to preferred suppliers;

 

(b)  create specific Contract Purchase Agreements, manage budgets and monitor spend under the framework and on contracted security services.

 

Reasons for recommendations

 

The framework provides access to a PCR 2015 compliant process, through which purchasing authorities are linked to suppliers who have been quality assessed by various departments across both Nottingham City Council and Mansfield District Council.

 

Other options considered

 

(i)  Do nothing - continue to raise ad-hoc orders with various suppliers at time of demand without necessarily under-going a compliant or competitive procedure. This option has been rejected due to it not being compliant with contract procedure rules or best practice.

 

(ii)  Undertake a request for quote or full tender for each requirement (depending on value). This option has been rejected as risks needs not being met in a timely manner or with favourable rates, and a drain on resource.

 

(iii)  Undertake NCC specific framework creation exercise. This has been rejected as it would not have the economies of scale produced by the collaborative and existing framework, and would be a duplication of work.

68.

DLUHC Grant for DVA Statutory Duty services - key decision pdf icon PDF 347 KB

Report of Corporate Director for Communities, Environment and Resident Services

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Jane Lewis, Community Safety Strategy Manager, presented the report and stated the following:

 

(i)  the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 places a statutory duty on Tier 1 local authorities as of 1 April 2021. Acceptance of the grant detailed in the report will enable Nottingham City Council to fulfil the functions of the statutory duty on Tier 1 Local authorities relating to the provision of support to survivors of domestic violence and abuse and their children residing within safe accommodation (the ‘Statutory Duty’);

 

(ii)  this Committee, at its October 2022 meeting, approved receipt of Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) funding grant (the ‘Grant Funding’);

 

(iii)  a delegated decision has been completed to ensure the procurement of Community Based Services can be approved, and services delivered, from April 2023 whilst the Framework is being completed. A delegated decision was completed in May 2021 which included approval for 1xFTE NCC post to deliver the Statutory Duty. This report and both decisions ensure that the full ring fenced grant from DLUHC will be spent appropriately;

 

(iv)  approval is being sought to add this Grant Funding to the existing three 9-year refuge contracts, due to end in March 2028, to fund children’s workers and support costs;

 

(v)  approval is also sought to align the Central Women’s Aid refuge contract terms and conditions with the other 3 existing refuges contracts via the Grant Funding. This would ensure that the Central Women’s Aid refuge was funded on an equitable basis with the others with the same break clauses in place. This would also facilitate NCC to be in a better position to re-procure all the refuges at the same time when the contracts end in March 2028;

 

(vi)  the budget includes a 3% cost of living increase previously proposed. This is in line with the cost of living increase awarded by DLUHC and will ensure that the services receive an increase in line with the amount allocated through the ring fenced DLUHC domestic abuse budget. It is anticipated that DLUHC will slightly increase the funding for services year on year.

 

Resolved to

 

(1)  approve expenditure of the grant funding for the delivery of services, under a compliant legal and procurement process, as detailed in appendix 1;

 

(2)  delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Communities, Environment and Resident Services to award and sign off contracts and variations, in compliance with the Councils contract procedural rules, to deliver the refuge services to enable ongoing compliance with the Statutory Duty set out in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.

 

Reasons for recommendations

 

(i)  To enable delivery of the Statutory Duty as outlined in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.

 

(ii)  To add the Grant Funding to the existing 9-year refuge contracts, due to end in March 2028. The funding is for children’s workers and additional support costs for survivors in accommodation associated with each refuge under the hub and spoke model.  Children and young people form the largest population in a refuge and range from 0 –  ...  view the full minutes text for item 68.

69.

Use of public health grant allocation 2023/24 - key decision pdf icon PDF 458 KB

Joint report of Corporate Director for People and Director of Public Health

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Woodings, Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care and Health, introduced the report.

 

Nancy Cordy, Senior Public Health Strategy and Service Improvement Manager, presented the report and stated the following:

 

(i)  Nottingham City Council receives an annual public health grant allocation from the Department of Health and Social Care. The public health grant allocation for 2023/24 is still to be confirmed but is expected to be around £35m;

 

(ii)  the grant is ring-fenced and must only be used where the main and primary purpose is public health, and conditions set out a range of prescribed and non-prescribed public health activity against which public health grant expenditure must be reported;

 

(iii)  on average, people in Nottingham are less healthy than those in other parts of the East Midlands region, or when compared to the England average, and Nottingham’s communities have wide ranging health and wellbeing needs, which vary significantly between different groups;

 

(iv)  the grant must be invested both eligibly and efficiently to address identified health and wellbeing needs and ensure the greatest possible positive impact on the health and wellbeing of Nottingham’s people;

 

(v)  the report sets out the planned use of Nottingham’s public health grant allocation 2023/24 for approval, alongside the public health commissioning framework, which shapes and guides the use of the public health grant.

 

Resolved to

 

(1)  approve the:

 

(a)  receipt of the public health grant allocation (estimated to be around £35m) for Nottingham City in 2023/24, and note the associated grant conditions and reporting requirements as detailed in the report;

 

(b)  allocation of public health grant funding to wider council services to enable the delivery of additional activity, which will contribute to improved health and wellbeing for Nottingham’s residents, as set out in table 1 of the report;

 

(c)  refreshed Public Health Commissioning Framework, as detailed in appendix 1 to the report;

 

(d)  planned use of Nottingham’s public health grant allocation in order to improve the health and wellbeing of Nottingham’s population, in line with agreed relevant strategiesand plans (both system-wide and internal Council) and in line with the refreshed Public Health Commissioning Framework;

 

(2)  note the current public health reserve balance, and endorse the sustainment of the public health grant reserve at no less than 3% of the total value of the annual public health grant allocation.

 

Reasons for recommendations

 

(i)  At the time of writing the public health grant allocations for 2023/24 have not been published. It is expected, in line with recent trends that the allocation will not be dissimilar to the previous year and it is therefore estimated that the value of the grant will be around £35m. The grant is ring-fenced for use on public health functions, meaning that the main and primary purpose of all spend from the grant is public health. The local authority circular published alongside the grant allocation sets out the conditions that apply to the grant, as well as the reporting requirements.

 

(ii)  The conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work  ...  view the full minutes text for item 69.

70.

Commissioning of Integrated Sexual Health Services for Nottingham - key decision pdf icon PDF 323 KB

Report of Corporate Director for People

Minutes:

Councillor Woodings, Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care and Health, introduced the report.

 

Roz Howie, Programme Director for Public Health, presented the report and stated the following:

 

(i)  the World Health Organisation (WHO) defines sexual health as a state of physical, mental, and social well-being in relation to sexuality. It is not merely the absence of disease, dysfunction, or infirmity. It requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free of coercion, discrimination, and violence;

 

(ii)  sexual health is an important area of public health. Most of the adult population of England are sexually active and access to quality sexual health services improves the health and wellbeing of both individuals and populations. The government in 2013 set out its ambitions for improving sexual health in its publication, a framework for sexual health improvement in England. In December 2021, the government published an action plan towards ending HIV transmission, AIDS and HIV-related deaths in England 2022 to 2025. The government is committed to improving sexual and reproductive health (SRH) in England, including access to SRH services, and will set out plans to do so.

 

(iii)  sexual health is not equally distributed within the population. Strong links exist between deprivation and STIs, teenage conceptions and abortions, with the highest burden borne by women, men who have sex with men (MSM), trans community, young people, and people from ethnic minority backgrounds. Similarly, HIV infection in the UK disproportionately affects gay, bisexual and other MSM, and black African populations. Some groups at higher risk of poor sexual health face stigma and discrimination, which can influence their ability to access services. Despite the increased provision of remote and online services improving access for some, it should be recognised that some will be excluded or may be disadvantaged by these approaches (2020 data on internet access revealed 5% of the adult population of Great Britain had not used the internet in the last 3 months and 16% of the population does not use a smartphone for private use).

 

(iv)  offering a mixture of face-to-faceand online servicesis required to meet the needs of different population groups. Services and modes of delivery should be designed to meet the needs of local populations and work to reduce inequalities in both access and health outcomes;

 

(v)  the consequences of poor sexual health are preventable and include unplanned pregnancies, infections including HIV, cervical and other genital cancers, pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility, psychological consequences, stigma, and poorer educational, social, and economic opportunities. There are notable inequalities in access and outcomes in relation to SRH which must be addressed if meaningful improvements in population outcomes are to be achieved;

 

(vi)  from April 2013, Local Authorities have been responsible for commissioning specialist integrated sexual health services (ISHs) including testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), the provision of HIV Prophylaxis (PrEP) and provision of the full range of contraception advice  ...  view the full minutes text for item 70.

71.

Commissioning of Mental Health Re-ablement service - key decision pdf icon PDF 346 KB

Report of Director of Public Health

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Woodings, Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care and Health, introduced the report.

 

Lisa Lopez, Public Health Commissioning Lead, presented the report and stated the following:

 

(i)  the report sought approval to commission a Mental Health Reablement service to provide support to some of Nottingham’s most vulnerable citizens with mental health needs;

 

(ii)  the service would provide support to citizens around physical and mental health, financial wellbeing, housing/tenancy issues and access to services to help them to develop coping strategies and remain living as independently as possible in the community;

 

(iii)  it would support citizens with complex support needs, including but not limited to those associated with drug use, alcohol use, offending and diagnosed or suspected alcohol-related brain injury, and prevent costs in other services such as health, including emergency health services, facilitate timely discharge from psychiatric wards and reduce the number of Delayed Transfers of Care (DTOC);

 

(iv)  the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities has set out three key overlapping priority areas of public mental health across the life course:

 

-  mental health promotion;

-  prevention of mental health problems and suicide prevention;

-  improving lives, supporting recovery and inclusion of people living with mental health problems.

 

The Mental Health Reablement Service has the potential to support the delivery of all three of these priorities, with a particular emphasis on improving lives, supporting recovery and inclusion within the community of people with mental health problems;

 

(v)  The Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to ensure that their citizens have access to services that prevent escalation of, and/or delay, the impact of their needs, and have access to a range of high quality, appropriate services. The service will support Nottingham City Council’s statutory responsibilities in respect of this;

 

(vi)  Nottingham City is an outlier in not having commissioned a Mental Health Reablement Service. Such services are widely recognised for their preventative value and are common in other core and neighbouring cities. Nottingham City Council was to commission a Mental Health Reablement service in 2020, but due to budget pressures the contract was not awarded.

 

Resolved to

 

(1)  approve:

 

(a)  procurement of a Mental Health Reablement Service (as detailed in appendix 1) via a tender process, and award contracts for the services as appropriate, commencing 1 October 2023 for an initial term of 2 years, with an option to extend for a further 2 years (2+2);

 

(b)  total expenditure of £1,600,000 over the entirety of the contract for provision of Mental Health Reablement Services, noting that this will comprise of £800,000 from Public Health reserves for the first two years, followed by £100,000 per year from the Public Health Grant and £300,000 per year from Adult Social Care should the contract be extended for the following 2 years;

 

(2)  note that the:

 

(a)  Director of Public Health has authority to approve the outcome of the procurement process and award the contract(s) to the provider(s) deemed most suitable;

 

(b)  Director of Legal and Governance, or their delegate, has authority to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 71.

72.

Greenspace and Natural Environment Service Procurement Plan - key decision pdf icon PDF 581 KB

Report of Corporate Director for Communities, Environment and Resident Services

Minutes:

Eddie Curry, Head of Greenspace and Natural Environment, presented the report and stated the following:

 

(i)  the Greenspace and Natural Environment Service provide a number of statutory duties in relation to allotments, biodiversity and burials (outlined in appendix A to the report) and deliver essential health and safety works, most notably in relation to Arborecultural and playgrounds works.

 

(ii)  approval is being sought to put procurement arrangements in place for a number of essential activities (detailed in appendix B to the report), including:

 

·  Arborecultural Services – Ash Dieback removal and planting programme, Arborecultural contractors, Inspections, Epicormics removal, traffic management;

·  Landscape Services – construction materials, contract gritting service salts, specialist vehicle hire;

·  Cemetery and Crematoria Supplies – burial chambers, memorial items and materials, storage and Crematoria servicing;

·  Grounds Maintenance Services – small plant and machinery, weed control and hedge cutting, IT systems;

·  Horticultural Supplies and Services – plants, trees and shrubs, turf, bedding plant bulbs, plugs, seeds and compost, ancillary items;

·  Single Supplier Contracts for Playgrounds and Parks – play area maintenance of branded spare parts that can only be purchased from the manufacturer of specific play areas and annual Green Flag awards from Keep Britain Tidy a specific national accreditation scheme;

·  Parks and Open Spaces – play area safety surfacing, landscape contractors and general works for fixtures and fittings repairs;

·  Professional Services – signage, design, web.

 

(iii)  a forecast of planned work and reactive maintenance activity has been completed for a 4-year period and, to ensure continuity in procurement compliance for delivery in future years, new contracts and framework arrangements will be required to be put in place throughout the 4-year period.

 

(iv)  It was proposed that a number of procurement options be adopted to provide the most efficient and cost-effective route, (detailed in appendix B to the report), including:

 

·  In-house delivery;

·  Call-off from existing NCC Frameworks or Contracts;

·  Accessing 3rd Party Frameworks such as ESPO & CCS where these are proven to offer Best Value;

·  Dynamic Purchasing system (DPS).  Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) is unlike a traditional framework for the supply of goods, works or services. A DPS is anelectronic system which suppliers can join at any time. An 'open market' solution, a DPS is designed to give buyers access to a pool of pre-qualified suppliers;

·  Direct award for contracts only available from a single supplier in the case of Green Flag Awards, trade association memberships and specialist branded spare parts for playground equipment maintenance where only spare parts from specific manufacturers can be used;

·  Multiple quotations for different lots within one category;

·  Quotation;

·  Tender.

 

(v)  All procurement activity would be awarded through conducting processes in accordance with the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules and requirements under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. These processes would ensure the most suitable route to procurement was adopted, delivering Best Value.

 

Resolved to

 

(1)  approve:

 

(a)  spend of £20.197m (as detailed in appendix B) in line with Councils’ Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) approved budgets and capital spend approvals;

 

(b)  procurement and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 72.

73.

Supply of catering at Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall - key decision pdf icon PDF 243 KB

Report of Corporate Director for Communities, Environment and Resident Services

Minutes:

Councillor Pavlos Kotsonis, Portfolio Holder for Leisure, Culture and Planning, introduced the report.

 

Peter Ireson, Venue Director, Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall, presented the report and stated the following:

 

(i)  the Council engages CGC Events Limited, under a concession contract, at the Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall to provide the majority of catering services for customers attending the programme of events and the daytime offer in Yarn Bar. This excludes ice creams and confectionary, which are sold directly by the Council.

 

(ii)  the concession agreement provides a guaranteed income for the Council, whilst ensuring CGC Events Limited take on the operating risks.

 

(iii)  as well as contributing to the Council Plan Key Outcomes, the concession contract also contributes to the Council meeting its statutory duty around Best Value.

 

(iv)  the concession contract was last tendered in 2017 and awarded to CGC Event Limited for an initial 5 years, with the option to extend for up to an additional 5 years. By agreement, the parties chose to extend the contract for 18 months up to 30 June 2024. Hence there is now a requirement to undertake a full procurement process to secure a commercially viable and compliant solution for the Council from July 2024.

 

Resolved to

 

(1)  approve undertaking a procurement process, in accordance with the Concessions Contracts Regulations 2016, to secure a concession contract for the supply of catering services at the Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall for a 5-year duration, commencing July 2024, at a maximum cost of £6.4m;

 

(2)  delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Communities, Environment and Resident Services to sign and award the contract to the successful concessionaire following completion of the tender process.

 

Reasons for recommendations

 

(i)  The contract with the existing catering contractor expires on 30 June 2024.

 

(ii)  The approval requested in this report will allow the Council to initiate a tender process to secure a catering concession contractor and ensure continuity of catering provision and income for the Council, without the operating risk. This will allow Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall to offer the full catering service expected by customers, generating a significant financial contribution supporting the sustainable operation of the venue.

 

Other options considered

 

(i)  To grant a longer extension to the existing contract. This was discounted as it was felt that there is the need to test the market to provide assurance that the Council is receiving the optimum financial return and the highest quality provision for TRCH’s customers.

 

(ii)  Consideration was given to taking the catering contract in-house, but was discounted as this would mean in-sourcing the inherent risks of a catering operation. Using an external catering contractor, who is able to benefit from economies of scale and dedicated business expertise, means that TRCH is able to receive a guaranteed return.

 

74.

Exclusion of the public

To consider excluding 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 outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information

Minutes:

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, Schedule 12A, Part 1, Paragraph 3, 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.

75.

Exempt appendix - Supply of catering at Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall

Minutes:

Resolved to note the exempt appendix to minute 73 above.