Agenda and minutes

None.

None.

Last meeting held on 30 May 2023 (for confirmation)

The Committee agreed the minutes of the last meeting held on 30 May 2023 as a correct record and they were signed by the Chair.

Report of Corporate Director for Finance and Resources

This item does not contain any decisions that are eligible for call-in.

Steve Oakley, Head of Procurement, presented the report detailing the outcomes and achievements delivered under the Procurement Strategy 2018 - 2023 during its fifth year (2022-23, as detailed in appendix 1) and over the five years of 2018-23 (as detailed in appendix 2).  He highlighted the following information:

a)  over the five years of the Strategy 2018 - 2023, a total of £804m has been invested in the local economy – an average of 56.52% of total contract value awarded to City suppliers against a target of 60%.  In total, 79% was awarded to East Midlands suppliers with 433 new entry level jobs and apprenticeships created.  This is a good achievement;

b)  in 2022 - 2023 £104.4m was invested in the local economy, which was 39.19% of total contract value awarded to City suppliers.  This was lower than the target for local spend due to the nature of the contracts awarded during the year, for example the new agency contract worth £30m;

c)  in 2022 – 2023 the number of new jobs created was slightly lower than anticipated due to the types of contract that were awarded which didn’t enable many new entry level jobs;

d)  a new Strategy is in development to start in January 2024.

During discussion and in response to questions from Committee members the following points were made:

e)  compared with other similar local authorities, the Council is at the front of recording local spend.  Most local authorities who have articulated it are aiming for 50-60% local spend but tend to be less focused on it as an issue than Nottingham City Council;

f)  work is taking place at a regional level to look at social value and work is also happening with other contracting authorities such as Nottinghamshire Police and the NHS.  One of the challenges is that organisations have different measures so there is a need to identify key priorities that can be worked on together;

g)  local spend is more likely to enable local accountability for provision;

h)  using suppliers geographically closer to Nottingham supports CN28 objectives;

i)  it isn’t possible to stipulate that suppliers have to be local but the benefits of being local can be included in scoring.  However, it has to be recognised that sometimes it is cheaper and more cost-effective to use non-local suppliers;

j)  it is anticipated that the first draft of the new Strategy will be ready by autumn 2023.  It won’t be dissimilar to the current Strategy but there will be some new areas of focus.  There could be scope to do more from an environmental perspective and assessing wider contract outcomes, not just procurement outcomes.

Resolved to note:

(1)  the outcomes delivered under the Nottingham City Council Procurement Strategy 2018 - 2023 in its fifth year (2023), as detailed in appendix 1;

(2)  the outcomes delivered during the five years of the Procurement Strategy 2018 - 2023, as detailed at appendix 2;

(3)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

Report of Corporate Director for People

Councillor Cheryl Barnard, Portfolio Holder for Children, Young People and Schools, and Roz Howie, Commissioning and Partnerships, introduced the report seeking approval to tender for a multiple provider framework to deliver translation and interpretation services and approval of the associated budget.  They highlighted the following information:

a)  Nottingham City Council uses a number of suppliers to deliver translation and interpretation services to enable citizens with a language barrier or disability to access Council services;

b)  the current contracts are coming to an end in November and the Council is looking to establish a 4-year framework for multiple providers to deliver the translation and interpretation services, therefore supporting Best Value by consolidating providers with specialisms in specific areas;

c)  the intention is for the new framework to cover the full range of interpretation needs including non-standard British Sign Language and enable different dialects to be covered;

d)  when the current framework was put in place (pre-Covid pandemic), electronic methods were more expensive but this has now changed and is often better able to meet need.  The need is for electronic, telephone and face-to-face services;

e)  having a range of suppliers in one framework should enable translation and interpretation support to be obtained quickly when needed to support citizens;

f)  one of the key performance indicators for the contract will be non-attendance by an interpreter as this has a cost for the commissioning authority and is poor service for the citizen;

g)  the framework would also allow other commissioning authorities (Nottinghamshire County Council, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust) to undertake their own call-offs, which again would support an integrated approach to access to translation services and achieve better value for money across the Integrated Care System.

During discussion and in response to questions from Committee members the following points were made:

h)  the ongoing Ockenden Review of maternity services provided by Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust has highlighted issues with translation services in the maternity units so it is good that the Trust will be able to use this framework to get rapid access to translation and interpretation services;

i)  suppliers will be encouraged to use local interpreters and this will be necessary for face-to-face translation in order to meet timeliness requirements;

j)  the proposed budget is based on the best estimate of demand, based on current spend.  It is an amalgamation of budgets across different services, for which a number of different budget holders are responsible;

k)  within the framework, use of cheaper suppliers can be prioritised to reduce spend.

Resolved

(1)  to approve a tender process be undertaken for a multiple provider framework to deliver translation and interpretation services for a period of 4 years at a maximum total cost of £1,974,000;

(2)  to delegate authority to the

(a)  Director of Commissioning and Partnerships to approve and award the outcome of the tender process for the framework; and

(b)  Head of Personalisation, Contracting and Quality to enter into and sign an  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

Report of Corporate Director for Communities, Environment and Resident Services

Jane Lewis, Community Safety Strategy and Commissioning Manager, presented the report regarding approval of domestic violence and abuse commissioned services.  She highlighted the following information:

a)  legacy approval issues had come to light relating to a number of domestic and sexual violence and abuse commissioned services and the report sought to ensure that expenditure on these services had the appropriate approval;

b)  these services are included in the Nottingham City Council and Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner Partnership Agreement, under which the Council receives funding and commissions domestic violence and abuse services on behalf of the Community Safety Partnership;

c)  there were two elements to the approval required: retrospective approval for expenditure on delivered services; and approval for future spend on a number of services until the new commissioning framework is in place.

During discussion and in response to questions from Committee members the following points were made:

d)  the fragmented nature of funding for domestic and sexual violence and abuse services can be very confusing;

e)  while the Council hasn’t increased funding into domestic violence services since 2012 it still compares well to other core cities.  This is not something that the Council would want to diminish.

Resolved to

(1)  approve retrospectively the expenditure incurred on the delivery of the domestic violence and abuse services, at a cost of £1,131,520, as detailed in appendix 1, and in line with the Partnership Agreement, until the new Commissioning Framework is in place;

(2)  approve expenditure on the continued delivery of domestic violence and abuse services, at a cost of £863,563, as detailed in appendix 1, in line with the Partnership Agreement until a new Commissioning framework is in place;

(3)  delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Communities, Environment and Resident Services to sign off contracts and variations to deliver the services, in line with the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules and the Council’s Partnership Agreement with the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner.

Reasons for recommendations

To meet the requirements of the Partnership Agreement signed between the Council and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner to deliver domestic and sexual violence and abuse (DSVA) services.  DSVA reporting has increased in Nottingham to the statutory sector and the voluntary and community sector in a slow trajectory since 2017/18 with the Police receiving 7,800 reports of domestic violence and abuse, in 2021/22 reports are running at 8,457 with a dip during covid down to 4,069 reports.  The Juno Women’s Aid 24-hour free phone DSVA city/ county helpline has experienced a different trajectory, with an increase from 2012 of 1,300 calls to the city per year, rising in 2019 to 1,800 calls to the City per year to an increase during the Covid pandemic of 3,000 calls to the city and this increase has remained high at 4,000 calls to the City.  During the same timeframe Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference referrals of the highest risk survivors rose from 500 per year to over a 1000, with a 10%  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

Report of Corporate Director for Growth and City Development

Mark Garlick, Public Transport Policy, presented the report seeking approval to undertake procurement for the Linkbus bus service contract.  He highlighted the following information:

a)  these services serve a high number of elderly and disabled residents and also provide access to jobs and education in areas of the City that are not served by the commercial bus network;

b)  an external review of the existing locallink services (by Integrated Transport Planning (ITP) Ltd), which included a consultation with users and employers along the routes, considered alternative timetables and operating models for the services, and provided cost estimates. The proposals (below) are in line with the review recommendations and ensure that best value will be achieved.

c)  The current fleet is a first generation electric bus fleet and due to the need to recharge the buses in the middle of the day during operational service and difficulty in sourcing replacement parts, the services currently have very poor reliability.  Between 21 November 2022 and 31 March 2023, electric vehicles were only available for 60% of the required time.  Due to the charging issues, eight vehicles are required to provide a service which would only require four with more conventional vehicles.  It has also become increasingly difficult to source major component part replacements for the vehicles due to parts becoming obsolete as the technology has evolved and also due to global supply chain issues. As the vehicles near the end of their lives, major component parts, including the batteries, now require replacement at significant cost in order to maintain the reliability of the vehicles. The majority of the buses are expected to require replacement batteries and other parts at a cost of at least circa £100,000, which is not affordable given current financial constraints;

d)  to ensure reliable services are provided, the re-tender would seek quotes for Euro VI diesel buses, or modern electric buses or minibuses, which would be supplied and maintained by the contractor. Prices for each option would be requested to assess affordability. Under the existing contract, electric buses are supplied by the Council for use by the contractor. Changing the mode of operation and responsibility for maintaining the bus fleet requires a re-tender to be undertaken, as this would constitute a material change to the existing (CPU3236) contract, awarded in September 2021 and due to end in September 2024;

e)  following feedback from the consultation, the opportunity will be taken to make some timetable changes, but without increasing the resources required to operate the services.

During discussion and in response to questions from Committee members, the following points were made:

f)  the reliability of these services is really important to its users, particularly those with mobility issues;

g)  ideally the bus fleet should be as ‘green’ as possible to support achievement of CN28 ambitions.

Resolved

(1)  to undertake a procurement process for the Linkbus service contract for a period of 2+1+1 years at a total maximum cost of £3,600,000.

(2)  to delegate authority to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.