Agenda item

Report of Corporate Director for Finance and Resources

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

Dawn Cafferty, Head of Procurement, presented the report and stated the following:

a)  the report presents the draft Nottingham City Council Commercial and Procurement Strategy for 2025-2029 (included as an appendix to the report);

b)  which sets out for citizens, the supplier market and other key stakeholders the strategic aims of the Council to be taken forward through its commercial and procurement activity over the next five years;

c)  for the first time, we are bringing together our separate Procurement and Commercial Strategies into a single vision and set of guiding principles covering the full range of our commercial activity;

d)  how the Council manages its commercial and procurement activity is central to meeting the significant financial challenges we face, and the delivery of our strategic priorities depends on the efficient and strategic use of our spending power;

e)  the Strategy details our vision by applying four overarching aims to our commercial, procurement and contract management activity:

·  professional leadership and compliance;

·  best value and continuous improvement;

·  sustainable and fair procurement;

·  supporting local communities.

Resolved to adopt the Nottingham City Council Commercial and Procurement Strategy 2025-29, as per the appendix to the report, and note that the outcomes of any future commercial and procurement activity undertaken will be reported to this Committee on an annual basis.

Reasons for recommendation

a)  How the Council manages its commercial and procurement activity is central to meeting the significant financial challenges we face. It is essential that Nottingham City Council adopts a robust framework for the behaving  commercially in procurement of goods, works and services that will drive the delivery of its strategic priorities within a challenging financial context.

b)  When commissioning and procuring services from external organisations we must meet both our Best Value obligations and consider how services improve the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of Nottingham city.

c)  The Strategy provides the framework of Council commitments aimed at supporting the delivery of corporate objectives through professional best practice in our commercial and procurement activity. It also complements Council strategies and policies such as Carbon Neutral Nottingham 2028 (CN28) and our Equality Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.

d)  The Strategy sets out four overarching aims for our commercial and procurement activity, supported by specific objectives and actions, that will ensure delivery of:

·  Professional leadership and compliance: Setting high standards in the way the Council procures and manages contracts and commercial ventures;

·  Best value and continuous improvement:  Aiming to deliver the best overall impact for Nottingham from the public money we spend with suppliers and invest in the Council’s own companies;

·  Sustainable and fair procurement: Achieving community benefits by ensuring that the Council’s activities are sustainable and fair;

·  Supporting local communities: Achieving community benefits with a focus on the positive impact the Council can have on the Nottingham economy through our commercial and procurement activity.

e)  A key purpose of the Strategy is to inform the supplier market of the Council’s strategic objectives and the proposed procurement approach to deliver them. This aims to enable all potential suppliers (particularly local businesses, SMEs and the voluntary and community sector) to access our contract opportunities.

f)  The Strategy will uphold compliance with the legal and procedural requirements of UK Procurement Regulations, the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules and Council Companies Rules, through ensuring good governance, fair and transparent procurement processes.

g)  In respect of measuring the success of the Strategy, a delivery plan will be developed to include detailed activity and specific milestones for all actions within our stated objectives as well as ongoing KPI measurements. The delivery plan will clearly set out accountability and responsibility for objectives and actions, aligned to the Council’s Financial Accountabilities Framework, and using the RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Contributes, Informed) model.

Other options considered

a)  Do nothing. This option was rejected as the current Procurement Strategy 2018-23 has expired, and a refreshed strategy is needed to set out the strategic direction and approach for procurement activity from 2025 onwards. The Strategy provides clear messages for the market about the Council’s commercial and procurement objectives to enable all suppliers in the market (including local firms, SMEs and voluntary and community sector) to be prepared to participate in contract opportunities. The Strategy also sets out best practice measures to be adopted in all commercial and procurement activity to drive the Council’s strategic aims whilst ensuring compliance with legal and procedural requirements.

b)  Develop a new procurement strategy only, retaining the Council’s Commercial Strategy as a separate document. This option was rejected as a review in 2021 recognised that to deliver improvements in how the Council manages its third party spend, procurement activity must move away from being purely operationally focused and be transformed into a more strategic commercial function. Subsequently, a new Commercial and Procurement operating model has been implemented, which encompasses assessing delivery model options as part of all procurement activity, as well reviewing the value for money of Council’s companies. A single commercial and procurement strategy is consistent with this approach and sets the clear intention to behave commercially as an organisation. Delivery of a new commercial and procurement strategy is a key activity of the Council’s current Improvement Plan (Programme 7: Council Companies and Traded Services).