Agenda item

            The Committee considered the following report:

“1.0      Purpose of report or summary of main issues

1.1       The Commercial & Procurement Service (CPS) presented its 3 year Transformational Strategy to Chief Officers in September 2020.

1.2       To support this, the Procurement Development Team within the CPS has developed a corporate-wide Procurement Policy to establish the legal authority of the procurement function within the Council and to simplify, clarify and reflect legislation governing procurement. 

1.3       The Procurement Policy is important as it sets out the method and the governance arrangements (i.e. approvals required) associated with any money spent by the Council on the goods, services and works that are required to enable it to deliver its services. It details what the Council expects from its officers in terms of behaviour, actions taken, and the processes to be followed for all procurement activity.

1.4       This Policy will apply to all Council Officers involved in the execution of works, supply of products or the provision of service contracts. We recognise that procurement is cross-cutting throughout the organisation and therefore, the policy has been designed to also act as a critical link to other relevant existing (and any future) Council policies and procedures that involve procurement activities e.g. those relating to social value and sustainability.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

1.     Approve the Procurement Policy; and

2.      Approve the approach to adopting and implementing the Policy.

3.0       Main report

3.1       The overarching aim of the Procurement Policy is to establish the delegated authority of the procurement function within the Council and to simplify, clarify and reflect legislation governing procurement. Primarily, the Policy brings together existing legislative and policy requirements, as set out in the Council’s constitution, and introduces best practice relating to procurement activity e.g. new mandatory training and a revised documented approach for all officers to adhere to when evaluating tenders.

3.2       This Policy will be important for Council Officers and suppliers as it sets out the method and the governance arrangements (i.e. approvals required) associated with any money spent by the Council on the goods, services and works that are required to enable it to deliver its services. It will act as a ‘golden thread’ between the Transformation Strategy and day-to-day procurement operations. It details what the Council expects from its officers in terms of behaviour, actions taken, and processes followed for all procurement activity.

3.3       This Policy will apply to all Council Officers involved in the execution of works, supply of products or the provision of service contracts. We recognise that procurement is cross-cutting throughout the organisation and therefore, the policy has been designed to also act as a critical link to other relevant existing (and any future) Council policies and procedures that involve procurement activities e.g. those relating to social value and sustainability.

3.4       To support the implementation of our Procurement Policy, we have taken a ‘bottom-up’ approach which involved the following initial steps:

1.      Developing, implementing, and monitoring processes and procedures for end-to-end procurement activity at all values and for each procurement method, including:

a.      Quotation and tender competitions;

b.     Use of framework agreements; and

c.      Use of Single Tender Action process.

2.      Introducing supporting documentation such as template forms, process checklists and guidance.

3.      Introducing the requisite levels of approval, in line with the Council’s constitution.

4.      Ensuring staff are equipped with the right skills to enable us to adopt best practice and to conduct legislatively compliant processes and procedures. Training is available on a regular schedule.

5.      Ensuring staff are guided to relevant existing (and any future) Council policies and procedures (as appropriate) e.g. those relating to social value and sustainability.

6.      Introducing a culture of continuous improvement through regularly seeking feedback on the processes, support, guidance and training available.

3.5       In terms of monitoring the performance of the processes and procedures documented within the Policy, CPS will report annually to the Commercial & Procurement Panel, Corporate Management Team (CMT) and the Strategic Policy & Resources (SP&R) Committee (as appropriate) on procurement activities. Monitoring will also continue to evolve in line with the introduction of enhanced reporting functionality through the Council’s new finance system (‘go-live’ planned for April 2023).

3.6       The next phase of policy implementation will include the development of a communication and engagement plan to ensure Officers are equipped with the requisite skills to comply with the policy. The individual tasks related to this phase will be captured in the CPS annual Roadmap which is monitored via the Commercial and Procurement Panel.

            Financial and Resource implications

3.7       This programme of work will be managed as part of the CPS’s annual revenue budget.

            Equality or Good Relations Implications/

            Rural Needs Assessment

3.8       No implications at this stage.”

            The Committee adopted the recommendations.