Agenda item

Purpose of the report: That the Select Committee reviews the attached Cabinet report and the following Part 2 annex to this report and make recommendations to the Cabinet as appropriate.

Witnesses:

Dr Zully Grant-Duff, Cabinet Member for Corporate Support

Mel Few, Cabinet Member for Finance

Leigh Whitehouse, Executive Director of Resources and Section 151 Officer

Elizabeth Stavreski, Director of Procurement

Key points raised during the discussion:

1. A Member expressed concern that the plan could change following the UK’s impending exit from the European Union. The Director of Procurement informed the Committee that the only change foreseen was that that the council’s tenders would cease to be advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) and would instead be advertised in a UK equivalent.

2. A Member asked whether the budgets mentioned in the report for each procurement contract were for the next financial year or for the whole contract. The Director of Procurement responded that these budgets were for the whole duration of the contract.

3. A Member enquired whether there were savings targets for individual contracts. The Director of Procurement explained that targets and savings opportunities for individual service areas were investigated before the procurement process was completed. Sometimes, however, no savings were possible since this was a tailored approach. Cabinet Members were consulted throughout the procurement process.