The Panel to receive presentations from the Procurement Manager and the Head of Community and Environmental Services.

The panel received presentations from the Corporate Procurement Manager and the Head of Community and Environmental Services.

The presentation from the Corporate Procurement Manager was included in the agenda and covered the following areas:

·        An overview of the council’s approach to procurement

·        Governance

·        Details of the procurement process

·        Monitoring performance and compliance

·        The emphasis on social value in the procurement process

Following questions about the Transfer of Undertakings (TUPE) when the parking service was delivered by a new provider; officers clarified that when staff moved from one external provider to another the council was not directly involved in the TUPE process. Further information about the consultation process in this instance would be provided to the panel.

Discussing prioritising contracts with local companies, officers explained that the council could not legally discriminate by the location of a business.  However, the council included social value as part of the tender process and this could have a positive impact on the scoring for local businesses.  In addition, the council would not want local businesses to miss out on work in other areas due to their location.

Officers explained that the contract register, which recorded all the council's contracts over £5000, was publicly available on the website.  In addition, the procurement pipeline contained details of forthcoming tenders which could be publicised to local businesses.  Outreach work was undertaken with local groups such as the Chamber of Commerce to raise awareness of the opportunities for working with the council. Officers were always happy to speak to local businesses.

Following a question about the equalities duties of external providers, it was confirmed that they had to comply with the Equality Act 2010 and an equalities questionnaire was completed with each tender.

The panel then received a presentation from the Head of Community and Environmental Services which briefed members on the following:

·        Details of the contract renewal dates and the contract managers

·        Governance arrangements for each of the major contracts overseen by Outsourced Services Scrutiny Panel (OSSP)

·        The partnership approach taken by the council working with the contractors

·        How OSSP can add value to the ongoing contract management

The presentation is appended to these minutes.

It was noted by the panel that the parking enforcement service was within their remit and was managed by officers in Place Shaping and Corporate Performance.  Members asked for further information about the nature of the agreement with CitiParks and how this could be scrutinised.

Considering the market, members asked about the vacancy levels and asked for further information about how many units were used for storage.

Officers provided examples of how the council was able to influence the contracts; for example the contract with Veolia stipulated that employees would be paid the London Living Wage. In addition, the council was informally involved in the selection of the new contract manager.

The panel then discussed the role of trade unions in relation to the contractors’ employees. Further details were agreed to be provided about information given to the staff.

Members expressed their continuing interest in being involved in procurement and re-procurement processes.  It was emphasised that the ongoing monitoring of the contracts at OSSP was valuable for officers drawing up specifications.  There had previously been a task group to determine priorities for the latest leisure contract.  In addition, Cabinet decisions to award contracts could be called in.  This was also a political matter for the majority group.

Discussing the opportunities for community use at the Colosseum, it was noted that the community rate was 50% of the commercial rate.  Some events may be better suited to take place at the community centres.

The Chair thanked the officers for useful and interesting presentations. It was important to understand how OSSP could add value this year and be a critical friend.

RESOLVED  –

1.      that the presentation and the panel’s comments be noted.

2.      that the actions agreed be undertaken.