Issue - meetings

REPORT OF THE SERVICE DIRECTOR – RESOURCES

To update Cabinet on a new Procurement Strategy (Appendix A) that reflects the Procurement Act 2023 (the Act), our Contract Procurement Rules and our Council Plan.

RECOMMENDATION TO CABINET: That Finance, Audit and Risk Committee provide comments to Cabinet on the proposed Procurement Strategy (as attached at Appendix A) with a focus on any risk and governance issues.

REASON FOR RECOMMENDATION: Having a Procurement Strategy provides a focus for procurement activity and guidance, so that it can support the delivery of Council priorities.

Audio recording – 46 minutes 23 seconds

The Director – Resources presented the report entitled ‘Procurement Strategy 2025-2028’ and highlighted that:

·         The Procurement Strategy needed a refresh after changes to the procurement rules, following the implementation of the Procurement Act.

·         The proposed Procurement Strategy, attached at Appendix A, set out our strategic objectives for procurement and therefore had strong links to the Council Plan.

·         In section 2 it set out four key aims, delivering value for money, maximising public benefit, transparency in our communications and acting with integrity.

·         The remaining sections detailed further goals including, commercial innovation, engaging with Small and Medium sized enterprises (SME) and engaging Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises (VCSE) and how the Council would seek continuous improvement.

·         Annex A outlined the Go Local Policy which aimed to encourage the flow of money back into North Herts.

The following Members asked questions:

·         Councillor Matt Barnes

·         Councillor Paul Ward

·         Councillor Sean Nolan

·         Independent Member John Cannon

In response to questions, the Director – Resources stated that:

·         Under the new Strategy, up to 2 points, out of 100 points, would be awarded for suppliers that met the definitions of being Local. It is a difficult balance to make sure that points awarded to target specific criteria still allow sufficient points for the main quality and price criteria.

·         The Council wanted to encourage SMEs to bid for Council contracts to help with the flow of jobs into North Herts.

·         When businesses were asked if they met the Go Local criteria the answers would be validated before points were added.

·         The Procurement Strategy was one of three sets of documents used for the procurement process, the Procurement rules set out the rules that must be followed, this Strategy provides a policy direction, and they are both incorporated into internal detailed guidance for Officers.

·         It is recommended to Cabinet that the Procurement Strategy should reference the Procurement Rules.

·         The Key Performance Indicators in paragraph 6 of the report would be used to measure current Procurement with the aim of setting focused targets in the future.

·         Currently, there was no report for procurement outcomes, but this could be added to MIS for Councillor information, or a report could be requested by Cabinet or Overview and Scrutiny.

·         This Committee could look at the effectiveness of the Procurement Reporting Process.

Councillor Vijaiya Poopalasingham proposed and Councillor Paul Ward seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RECOMMENDATION TO CABINET: That Finance, Audit and Risk Committee provide comments to Cabinet on the proposed Procurement Strategy (as attached at Appendix A) with a focus on any risk and governance issues.

REASON FOR RECOMMENDATION: Having a Procurement Strategy provides a focus for procurement activity and guidance, so that it can support the delivery of Council priorities.