Issue - meetings

REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR – RESOURCES

For Cabinet to approve a new Procurement Strategy (Appendix A) that reflects the Procurement Act 2023 (the Act), our Contract Procurement Rules and our Council Plan.

RESOLVED: That the Procurement Strategy attached at Appendix A was approved with the inclusion of the following additional wording, at the end of the Introduction in Section 1:

‘Our internal procurement guidance will reflect the contents of this Strategy and our Contract Procurement rules, to give our contract managers a detailed toolkit to be applied to the procurements that they undertake.’

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

Audio recording 26 minutes 45 seconds

The Chair invited Councillor Sean Nolan, as Chair of the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, to present the referral on this item. Councillor Nolan advised that there had been discussion around:

·       Understanding the ‘Go Local’ elements and how scoring would affect the ability of the Council to look for local procurement within contracts.

·       Understanding of metrics and this part of the scoring where contracts were awarded.

·       How KPI’s were used to measure current procurement and setting focused targets in the future once effects were known.

·       Looking at what decisions were made with procurement contracts wider than local areas.

Councillor Ian Albert, Executive Member for Finance and IT, presented the report entitled ‘Procurement Strategy 2025-2028’ and advised that:

·       He acknowledged the important points made by the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee.

·       The main aims of the Procurement Strategy were set out in Section 2 of the report, with further goals set out in the remaining sections.

·       The ‘Go Local’ policy which aimed to encourage the flow of money back into North Herts was clarified in Annex A.

·       He was requesting an addition to the recommendations by adding a sentence and the end of the introduction in Section 1.

Councillor Ian Albert proposed as amended, and Councillor Val Bryant seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED: That the Procurement Strategy attached at Appendix A was approved with the inclusion of the following additional wording, at the end of the Introduction in Section 1:

‘Our internal procurement guidance will reflect the contents of this Strategy and our Contract Procurement rules, to give our contract managers a detailed toolkit to be applied to the procurements that they undertake.’

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