Agenda item

Report of the Chief Procurement Officer

5.1     Anthony Oliver, Chief Procurement Officer and Della Main, Operations Support Manager, Process and Governance, introduced an Annual Report that reviewed the Council’s contracts as per the requirements of the Committee’s Terms of Reference.

5.2     An addendum to the report which corrected errors contained in Appendix A (Contracts Let in 2014-15 where the total contract value exceeds £150,000) was tabled.

5.3     The committee was informed that 65 contracts over the value of £150,000 and 161 contracts with a value of less than £150,000 were let in 2014/15 in accordance with the requirements of the Procurement Code. There were 101 extensions and 15 variations of existing contracts. In exceptional circumstances a waiver to the requirements of the Procurement Code may be obtained from the Chief Procurement Officer. 104 waivers were approved during the course of the year.

5.4       The Committee was advised that the capitalEsourcing contracts register is regarded as the “single source of truth” and forms the basis for reporting on contract information across the Council. Through training and regular communications, it has been made clear to Contract Managers that it is a mandatory requirement to ensure that records are accurately maintained and regularly updated.  Regular reports are submitted to the Executive Management Team (EMT) outlining the level of compliance across the Council.  Members were concerned to hear that although, compliance is improving, a large number of records remain incomplete and therefore non-compliant. Detailed analysis of the system demonstrated there had been good progress in some areas, with others lagging.  It was suggested that some of the resistance to recording data was due to officers viewing the activity as an administrative task even though the process is fairly simple and quick to complete. 

5.5       The Committee noted that Contract Managers are responsible for monitoring contract performance through capitalEsourcing.  As before, Members were concerned that there is limited compliance in relation to quarterly contract performance updates which is particularly poor across Tri-borough.  They were informed that while officers may be undertaking assessments of how contracts are performing, these are not being inputted into the capital Esourcing system.

5.6       To mitigate these issues, Mr Oliver advised that the Procurement Team will intensify training to Contract Managers over the coming months.  A contract management framework has been designed to support an effective and more consistent approach across Tri-borough.  Mr Oliver explained that while he only has responsibility for contracts let by Westminster he provides reports outlining the level of compliance on a Tri-borough basis to the Shared Services Board so that the Executive Management Team are aware of data gaps and can mandate and prioritise requirements to the officers who report directly to them.  The Committee requested an update on compliance with contract record keeping across the Council at a future meeting.

5.7       The Committee considered the high profile contracts awarded in 2014-15, one of which was the provision of Print and Document Management Services with Ricoh.  It was noted that the contract will generate estimated savings of £3.8m when compared to current spend based upon historic activity levels.  The framework names 19 other local authorities and it was noted that the Council is actively promoting the range of service streams.  Management fees of 2% will be payable to the Council should any of the other 18 local authorities opt into using the service.

5.8       The Committee asked for more information why waivers to the Procurement Code are sought.  Members questioned whether an increasing use of waivers could undermine the robustness of the established procurement process.  The Committee was informed that there are instances where the requirements of the Procurement Code cannot be precisely followed.  For example, a procurement activity may be grant funded and a particular supplier may be named as a condition of that funding.  The Chief Procurement Officer was of the view that to obtain ultimate value it was important for contracts to be advertised for tender on the open market.  He believed that in most instances if officers planned better this was possible and would mitigate the need for them having to apply for waivers.

5.9       Officers were asked in relation to public health services whether there was competition and a market place for services.  Andrew Curtois, Head of Category Management (City and Corporate Services), provided an example of positive successes in procuring new suppliers for cardio related services.  Whilst Health Commissioners had initially believed that only Imperial Healthcare could provide such services this was challenged by the Procurement team.  It subsequently proved more beneficial to award the contract to Thrive Tribe. Contract Managers and Commissioners are being challenged regarding their assumption around the availability of service providers.   The Procurement team has run supplier events to provide contract managers with greater insight into what is on offer in the market place.

5.10     RESOLVED:  That the report be noted.

5.11     ACTION:  Provide the Committee with a note on how many live contracts Westminster currently has.