Agenda item

The report provides details of the proposed updated Contract Procedure Rules.

The Chief Finance Officer presented the report on the updated Contract Procedure Rules which had been debated and supported by the Governance and Audit Committee at the meeting on 20 April 2022.  The Contract Procedure Rules were last approved by Council in January 2020 and were an integral part of the Constitution and governed the way in which the Council procured goods, services and works.

Since the Contract Procedure Rules had last been approved, procurement best practice had developed significantly along with changes to legislation since the United Kingdom left the European Union. 

The amended Contract Procedure Rules were consistent with the other six (Authority) Welland partners to enable collaboration and shared working and to enable procurement activities to be maximised.  The Council had also incorporated a dedicated procurement officer in its staffing structure and continued to have operational support and strategic advice from Welland Procurement.  The Contract Procedure Rules had been reviewed with guidance from Welland Procurement.

Key changes to the document included clarity and transparency around authority level thresholds and the hierarchical sequency depended on the amount of the total contract value and not the annual amount.  The authority levels were:

·             Up to £50k – Heads of Service or equivalent level (manager)

·             £50k up to £100k – Assistant Director, or in the absence of the Assistant Director, then Director

·             £100k up to £200k – Director (or any Corporate Management Team officer) in consultation with the relevant Cabinet Member

·             £200k and above – Key Decision taken by Cabinet through the Forward Plan mechanism

The Committee was asked to recommend the updated Contract Procedure Rules to Council.

Discussion on the proposed changes followed with questions being asked about the same supplier being used for tenders under the £10,000 threshold.  The Chief Finance Officer stated that the Contract Procedure Rules were an overarching policy and procedure document.  Officers would require training and support to enable consistent practices to be adopted across the Council. It was confirmed that the Procurement Officer would start on 6 June 2022.

A further question was asked about whether the Contract Procedure Rules also applied to the Council’s wholly owned Companies.  It was stated that the Companies had Articles of Association and this would be referenced within this documentation. The Deputy Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer stated that he would find out the information for the Member and forward the information on.

ØAction

Information on whether any of the Council’s wholly owned Companies followed the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules to be circulated to Members.

Clarity was sought in respect of information contained within the updated Contract Procedure Rules and the mapping document appended to the report to which the Chief Finance Officer replied.  It was noted that there was a discrepancy with the numbering on page 94 (repeat of 10.12) of the agenda pack and this would be amended before the document was sent to Council.

The recommendation contained within the report was proposed, seconded and unanimously AGREED.

Recommendation

The Constitution Committee recommends to Council that the updated Contract Procedure Rules are approved.