Agenda and minutes

Councillor Barnard - other Council business

Councillor Neal - personal

None.

Last meeting held on 15 November 2022 (for confirmation)

The Committee agreed the minutes of the meeting held on 15 November 2022 as a correct record and they were signed by the Chair.

Joint report of Corporate Director for Residents Services and Director for Procurement and Commissioning

Louise Graham, Voluntary and Community Sector Partnerships Manager, presented the report, and stated the following:

a)  the report details a revised approach to grants to the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS), when the current arrangements end in March 2023, through:

·  Area Based Grants (ABG);

·  Communities of Identity Grants;

·  Specialist Grants;

·  Financial Vulnerability Grant.

b)  the grants total £2,262,672, made up of £1,528,672 from the general fund and £734,000 from the public health grant;

c)  a corporate review of the focus of the current grants has been undertaken with the Voluntary and Community Sector and external funders and, following that it is proposed that a one-year extension to the current arrangements be made, with refreshed priorities for the VCS grants for 2023/24;

d)  the extension will provide some continuity to providers whilst the review is undertaken and, in addition, a small allocation from the budget is proposed to enable a new piece of work to co-produce a new model for 2024/25;

e)  the review is framed around the Council’s overall strategic framework of prevention and early intervention. For example, during 2023, a new 0-25s Early Help offer will be developed, setting clear foundations upon which our statutory duties will be set. Furthermore, a review of our neighbourhood model is being undertaken, and further partnership work on Health and Well-Being themes will progress, all requiring integrated partnership approaches. The VCS can play a vital role to early intervention;

f)  the proposal is subject to revised budget agreements through the current corporate budget process and, following the conclusion of this process it will be necessary to review the public health grant contribution to ensure it remains a proportionate and eligible use of this ring fenced grant;

g)  some of the funding is also used in part as match funding for a European Social Fund grant, although no guarantees as to the level of the match have been made beyond April 2023.

Resolved to

(1)  note the findings and outcomes of the corporate review in relation to the Council’s allocation and management of grants, as detailed in appendix 1 to the report;

(2)  approve the extension of the current arrangements (subject to budget level being agreed through the Councils current budget process) with the following principles:

(i)  a minimum reduction to the Financial Vulnerability Grant;

(ii)  refreshed principles for ABG grants proposed to:

-  focus on open access universal service provision for children and young people;

-  provide training for staff and support for volunteering ensuring quality provision and safeguarding;

-  continue locally accessible job clubs and jobs fairs to support peopleinto work/training or into better employment opportunities;

-  lead organisations for ABG and Communities of Identity Grants to provide services/advice relating to management and governance, applying for funding, managing finances, training and volunteering;

-  support for the delivery of anticipatory health and well-being activity to help prevent or delay people coming into adult social care support and reduce escalation (subject to sufficient budget);

(3)  agree to the principle of seeking a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42.

Joint report of Corporate Director for People and Director for Procurement and Commissioning

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

Melody Hinds, Commissioning Officer, presented the report and stated the following:

a)  Local Authorities are under several statutory duties to provide independent advocacy services for adults. The current service, known as ‘Your Voice, Your Choice’, was jointly commissioned by Nottinghamshire County Council and Nottingham City Council and is delivered by POhWER;

b)  the existing contract expires, following previous extensions, on 30 September 2023 and, therefore need to be re-commissioned;

c)  Nottinghamshire County Council will be the lead authority on procurement of the recommissioned services and it is proposed to enter a Collaboration Agreement, which sets out the framework for collaboration and outlines each partner’s roles and responsibilities in the recommissioning;

d)  Executive approval is required for the City Council’s spend of the allocated budget, entering into a Collaboration Agreement, engaging in a joint tender process, and entering an appropriate single provider framework agreement and call-off agreements with the successful provider.

Resolved

(1)  to approve undertaking a tender process for a single provider framework to deliver Independent Advocacy Services for Adults until September 2032 (an initial 5 years, with an option to call off a further 4 years) with a maximum value of £2,322,342;

(2)  to delegated authority to the:

(a)   Director of Commissioning and Partnerships to:

(i)  enter into a Collaborative Agreement with Nottinghamshire County Council for the recommissioning of Independent Advocacy Services for Adults;

(ii)  approve the tender process for the Independent Advocacy Service for Adults;

(b)  Head of Procurement to enter into an appropriate Framework Agreement andaward and sign call-off contracts as appropriate.

Reasons for recommendations

Councils have a statutory responsibility to ensure the availability of advocacy services for vulnerable adults. These are jointly commissioned at present with Nottinghamshire County Council. The current contract ensures both authorities advocacy requirements are met but it expires in September 2023 following previous extensions. Both Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire County Council need to recommission the provision of services after September 2023.

The purpose of the Collaboration Agreement is to set out the roles and responsibilities of each partner organisation and to outline accountability arrangements, financial contributions and dispute resolutions.

Continuing to commission the service jointly with Nottinghamshire County Council will ensure advocacy provision is equitable across a Nottinghamshire/Nottingham-wide footprint and will offer economies of scale and comply with the best value duty.

A Single Provider Framework will enable the necessary contracts in the proposed period, to be called-off to ensure all current statutory requirements in relation to advocacy are met. A Single Provider Framework will allow Councils to call off individual service requirements as appropriate under the terms outlined in the Framework with the provider, without the need for further competition. A maximum 4-year contract length in each case has been determined as appropriate for the services in question.

Nottingham City Council would therefore not be overcommitting nor be bound to a long-term financial commitment. This type of Framework also gives the Councils the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43.

Joint report of Corporate Director for Resident Services and Acting Director for Neighbourhood Services

Chris Keane, Head of Highway Services, presented the report and stated the following:

a)  the purpose of the report was to seek approval for the provision of future procurement arrangements to support Nottingham City delivery of:

(i)  statutory highway maintenance works;

(ii)  highway improvement and public realm programmes;

(iii)  specialist support services for highways works;

b)  there are currently established framework arrangements in place to support highways delivery but, considering the forecast of planned work activity in future years, it is essential that additional frameworks are established commencing in 2023/24;

c)  in preparation for this, and to ensure continuity in procurement compliance for delivery in future years, additional new contracts and framework arrangements (without commitment to spend) will be required to be put in place;

d)  in addition, there are requirements for approval to access third party frameworks for essential services for Highways;

e)  approval was sought to put procurement arrangements in place for the following essential activities:

(i)  works - multi-disciplined works, including improvement schemes, junction improvement schemes, safety schemes and city centre improvements;

(ii)  services – highway design and project support, specialist highway, asset management, project support and winter service weather forecasting;

f)  it was proposed that contracts were awarded through conducting processes in accordance with the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules and requirements under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and, where permitted, (provided they demonstrate Best Value), to access existing national frameworks;

g)  contracts are anticipated to utilise the National Engineering Council (NEC 4) Suite of Construction Contracts or other industry recognised and accepted terms;

h)  a breakdown of the contract requirements is detailed in appendix 1, including the proposed duration of contracts;

i)  in the operation of any awarded framework agreements, it will be necessary to award call-off contracts for individual projects;

j)  to ensure oversight to the operation of any framework and subsequent call-off arrangements, it is proposed that responsibility be delegated to the Contracts and Compliance Manager for Highways.

Resolved

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

(2)  that authority be delegated to the Contracts and Compliance Manager for Highways to act as ‘Framework Manager’ for awarded call-off from the Framework Agreements as listed in appendix 1 to the report.

Reasons for recommendations

Recommendation 1 - Procuring Highway Contacts & Frameworks will allow Highway Services to continue to compliantly deliver works and services to fulfil statutory obligations to maintain the highway and support all Transport Services in compliant delivery options.

The identified benefits of putting these arrangements in place are:

·  continuity in the provision of compliant delivery arrangements for highways activities in response to increased grant allocation for highways and transport projects;

·  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  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.