To receive a presentation from the Head of Procurement & Contracts.

Martin Gibbs, Head of Procurement and Contracts delivered a presentation regarding the proposed Procurement Strategy for East Lindsey 2023 to 2026.

Members were advised that the draft strategy had been taken to all three councils across the Partnership and through the relevant scrutiny committees at each council with positive feedback and some suggested minor amendments made to the strategy document.

A copy of the presentation is attached at Appendix B to the Minutes.

Members were invited to put their comments and questions forward.

A Member asked for clarification whether the Council had previously had a procurement strategy in place.  The Head of Procurement and Contracts advised that the Council had previously had a joint procurement strategy with Lincolnshire County Council.

A Member highlighted declarations of interest for those involved with contracts and the need for transparency and openness in the decision-making process.  The Head of Procurement and Contracts concurred with this and advised as part of the process, if any person had a connection with a supplier they would be immediately be removed from the process.  The Monitoring Officer clarified that to give Members further assurance with regards to declarations of interest, this was covered under the Contract Procedure Rules in the Council’s Constitution and the Officer Code of Conduct.

A Member referred to the reference to local suppliers and savings across the Partnership and queried whether there were any quantifiable amounts, either as a percentage or as a figure where savings could be made.  The Head of Procurement and Contracts advised Members that a target was being worked on that would come through as part of the transformation plan purely on contract savings, for example an award was about to be made for a contract on a joint procurement process for mobile phones, looking at a saving circa £250k.

It was further queried as the procurement process was being scrutinised across the three councils whether there was any differential between it or whether the councils were in agreement in terms of how procurement was viewed across the Partnership.  The Head of Procurement and Contracts advised Members that all three councils had had the same ethos and approach to the strategy and considered that it had been well received, with all three documents being the same with the exception of each council’s corporate priorities.

A Member queried whether the team was adequately resourced to monitor the large number of contracts involved.

The Head of Procurement and Contracts advised Members that he had a team of seven and believed that the resource in place could effectively manage and monitor the contracts.  Members were advised that there were financial thresholds within the contract procedure rules, so anything above £40k was where procurement would definitely get involved as this would involve a request for a quotation or an invitation to tender.  It was highlighted that it was important to establish a relationship with the client officers at the councils early in the process so the procurement team could advise accordingly to get the best value for money solution.

With regards to income generation, the Head of Procurement and Contracts highlighted that he was looking to see if he could bring in other councils to make savings moving forward, however at any time if it looked like this would become a risk this would be pulled from the strategy.

The Chairman referred to the draft Procurement Strategy where it stated that it sought to adopt a more commercial approach when reviewing contracts, page 48 of the Agenda refers, although this appeared to be the opposite direction to what government and opposition were thinking about and there was more of a drive to make councils think about security before yield.  The Head of Procurement and Contracts advised Members that this would be reflected in the procurement strategy.

The Head of Procurement and Contracts confirmed that there was an exemptions process in place that was much more rigorous and scrutinised than before.

A Member queried whether the strategy covered contract management and considered that the activity of this was just as important than the front end of buying and that the suppliers were meeting their service level agreements and targets.  The Head of Procurement and Contracts confirmed that a contract management process was in place and the strategy did delve into the contracts.

Further to a query in relation to performance metrics, the next stage of the strategy and information on targets the Head of Procurement and Contracts advised Members that the next steps would be looking to use a tool called Microsoft Power BI which would be publishing a forward plan onto the websites and would hopefully be in place in April 2024.  This would assist in moving away from reactive procurement to a more proactive approach.  With regards to engagement, it was important to work and have a good relationship with client officers who had the knowledge of their service and its requirements.

Members were advised that the procurement team had been in place and operational for approximately six months and was improving day by day.  It was hoped that more work could be undertaken with the ‘big hitters’, for example the Facilities Team, the IT Team and the Properties Team across the Partnership who engaged in a lot of procurement and were meeting with them regularly to set plans in place.

A Member queried whether a trigger was in place that alerted the procurement team to a new contract and further queried whether procurement was undertaken for the Council’s ‘at arm’s length’ companies, for example Magna Vitae.  The Head of Procurement and Contracts advised Members that there were financial thresholds within the contract procedure rules, and for example for anything above £40k the Team would be involved.  It was further confirmed that the team did not provide a procurement contract service for Magna Vitae and was purely for the three councils.  However, the team had seen within the spend that the Council was spending money on behalf of MV for gym equipment, for example.  Therefore, to be compliant if this was to happen again it would have to be purchased through the procurement contract service.

A Member commented that there was a small paragraph relating to value for money at Paragraph 5.1, page 51 of the Agenda refers and queried whether this would be expanded on and where.  The Head of Procurement and Contracts responded that his recommendation would be to keep the document as it was with regards to added value and highlighted the action plan which would underpin this and an annual update would reflect this.

The Head of Procurement and Contracts advised Members that he was happy to provide an update to the appropriate Council Committee in twelve months’ time on how the strategy was progressing and what had been achieved during that time.