Issue - meetings

To consider the report of the Strategic Director for Corporate Resources.

Agreed:

RECOMMENDED that approve:-

(1)  the revised Procurement and Contract Procedures in Appendix A of the report for adoption from 24th February 2025;

(2)  the following revised Procurement Procedure Notes for adoption from 24th February 2025:-

a)    Appendix B – Procurement Note Approval to Procure & Quality Assurance;

b)    Appendix C – Procurement Note Concessions;

c)    Appendix D – Late Submissions;

d)    Appendix E – Missing and Omitted Materials;

e)    Appendix F – Signing and Sealing Contracts; and

f)     Appendix G – Waivers

(3)  to grant delegated authority to the Head of Legal and Democratic Services in consultation with the Portfolio holder to make any minor amendments to the Procurement and Contract Procedures and Procurement Procedure Notes.

Reason for Decision: As set out in the report.

The Executive received the report which sought to update the Procurement and Contract Procedures as set out in Appendix A of the report, to take account of new national procurement legislation (Procurement Act 2023). The procedures would form part of the Council’s Constitution and therefore needed to align with the new Act. Particular reference was made to:-

·         the updated procedures aligned with new procurement regulations which would be effective from 24 February 2025;

·         some terminology had changed but transparency and equal treatment of suppliers was still considered important. The new legislation is expected to make it easier for smaller suppliers to do business with the Council;

·         there would be an increase in the publication of notices and contract management requirements for contracts over £5 million;

·         under the new rules, the management of contracts over £5 million across the contract lifespan had an obligation to be made public;

·         new procurement templates would be introduced, but the impact of the changes was not expected to have a significant impact day to day for most at the Council; and

·         the procurement team would manage the increased transparency responsibilities.

During the discussion, Executive Members raised the following points and questions:-

·         were there changes to the levels of procurement?

·         enquired about the power to make changes to standing orders and was that power already in place?

·         enquired on the impact to the budget;

·         with grant funding being exempt, was there an impact to procurement for services such as Wellbeing Exeter and community services; and

·         the procurement and social value briefing provided to Members on 20 November 2024 was welcomed.

An opposition group leader sought clarification on 2.3 of the report relating to minor amendments and whether any review of the implementation would be needed by the Council?

In response to questions raised, the Service Lead – Commercial & Procurement, the Strategic Director for Corporate Resources, Chief Executive and Strategic Director for People and Communities advised that:-

·         the UK procurement thresholds (for goods, works and services) were expected to remain unchanged until January 2026;

·         changes to procurement standing orders was a council function and could not be delegated to the Executive;

·         there would be no adverse budgetary impact and existing resources would manage the additional workload, but this would be monitored;

·         grants were exempt from the procurement processes and areas such as Wellbeing Exeter were procured through existing procurement practices;

·         updated reports on implementation, including numbers of contracts could be made available but were already shared via the Members' bulletin; and

·         policy reviews were necessary following any changes to legislation and were undertaken on a review cycle.

The Leader moved the recommendations, which were seconded by Councillor Wright, voted upon, and CARRIED unanimously.

RECOMMENDED that Council approve:-

(1)  the revised Procurement and Contract Procedures in Appendix A of the report for adoption from 24th February 2025;

(2)  the following revised Procurement Procedure Notes for adoption from 24th February 2025:-

a)    Appendix B – Procurement Note Approval to Procure & Quality Assurance;

b)    Appendix C – Procurement Note Concessions;  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14