Agenda item

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Sub Committee received a report of the Chamberlain which reviewed the City of London Procurement Service (CLPS), which had been in existence for approximately 9 months.

Members discussed the report, in particular the support given to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). In response to a Member’s question the Chamberlain reported that over 80% of SMEs were paid within 15 days and that no business would be penalised when late payments were the fault of the City Corporation. With regards to the Accounts Payable process, the Chamberlain advised that a report would be to the Finance Committee which could be subsequently referred to this Sub Committee. The Head of the CLPS advised that the performance management procedure to resolve personnel issues would be completed by the middle of the year, though a review of staffing structure could take place before the summer recess.

In response to a Member’s question, the Head of CLPS reported that the integration of Purchasing Card data was not included in the original specifications for Oracle, although work was ongoing to investigate this option. The Chamberlain advised that the CLPS were now trying to aggregate contracts whenever reasonable to do so for reasons of efficiency and to leverage buying power.