Agenda item

Report of the Chamberlain

For information

The Sub-Committee received a Report of the Chamberlain concerning the emerging themes that the new second-generation procurement strategy for the period 2019 – 2023 will be built upon.

A Member queried why officers were proposing a four-year period; the Commercial Director confirmed that this was so as to align with the City’s Corporate Plan.

In response to a query about current performance and aspirations for the next period, the Commercial Director was of the view that the major contracts, on the whole, were working well. City Procurement were looking at ways to further strengthen management of contracts and their ability to more accurately measure performance over a contract’s lifespan. Whilst the era of big savings on contracts was over, there remains ample opportunity to drive down costs by being a “smarter customer”. The aim, ultimately, was continuous improvement.

A Member commended the Report but, pointing to the Draft one-page summary (page 11 in the agenda pack), asked that future iterations should go beyond aspirations and include more granular detail about how officers would measure performance.

After concerns were raised about the storage of contract documentation, the Commercial Director reassured Members that his team were taking a proactive approach to educating officers across the Corporation about best practice. Information management had been significantly enhanced over the last several years, so City Procurement were seeing fewer procurement contracts coming through unexpectedly, however, there remained occasions when officers would present contracts for renewal at short notice, which clearly, was sub-optimal. As soon as City Procurement were made aware of a contract, information was uploaded to a central database.

A Member reminded the Commercial Director that HR would need to be kept involved when developing automation tools.

A Member queried City Procurement’s aim to promote responsible business. The Commercial Director responded that 10% of the quality evaluation in each procurement contract was dedicated to ensuring contractors were meeting their corporate responsibilities. The Corporation gave suppliers options about how they could meet these responsibilities, and this was reinforced by holding contractor days and keeping them involved in the Corporation’s own CSR activities. The Commercial Director added that a Report would be coming in May concerning Responsible Procurement.

RESOLVED – that the Sub-Committee noted the Report.