Agenda and minutes

Venue: Civic Hall, Leeds, LS1 1UR. View directions

Contact: Steven Courtney (0113) 24 74707  Email: steven.courtney@leeds.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

19.

Late Items

To identify items which have been admitted to the agenda by the Chair for consideration.

 

(The special circumstances shall be specified in the minutes.)

Minutes:

There were no late items or supplementary information presented.

 

20.

Declaration of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests

To disclose or draw attention to any disclosable pecuniary interests for the purposes of Section 31 of the Localism Act 2011 and paragraphs 13-16 of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

Minutes:

The were no declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests.

 

21.

Apologies for Absence and Notification of Substitutes

To receive any apologies for absence and notification of substitutes.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence had been received on behalf of Councillor D Nagle, with notification received that Councillor C Towler would be attending as a substitute member. 

 

22.

Minutes - 18 July 2016 pdf icon PDF 119 KB

To confirm as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting held on 18 July 2016.

Minutes:

Minutes from the meeting held on 18 July 2016 were agreed as an accurate and correct record. 

 

There were no specific matters arising identified or discussed at the meeting.

 

23.

Chairs Update pdf icon PDF 93 KB

To receive an update from the Chair on scrutiny activity since the previous Board meeting, not specifically included on this agenda.

 

 

Minutes:

The Chair gave a brief update on some of the activity undertaken since the last Scrutiny Board meeting, with specific reference to on-gong discussions regarding procurement and associated service reviews.

 

RESOLVED – That the Chair’s update be noted.

 

 

24.

Effective Procurement pdf icon PDF 588 KB

 

To receive a report from the Chief Officer (Projects, Programmes and Procurement Unit (PPPU)) that provides details on:

 

·  PPPU’s access to council feeder systems;

·  Improvements to the council’s financial management system (FMS) to reduce off contract spend;

·  Ongoing work to reduce non-contract spend;

·  The use of Waivers of the Contracts Procedure Rules (CPRs) for the period April 2015 to March 2016

 

Minutes:

The Scrutiny Board considered the report from the Chief Officer, Projects, Programmes and Procurement Unit (PPPU) in relation to effective procurement.  The report presented:

 

·  An update on PPPU’s access to council feeder systems following the intervention of the Scrutiny Board.

·  Improvements to the council’s financial management system (FMS) to reduce off contract spend.

·  Ongoing work to reduce non-contract spend

·  An analysis of the use of Waivers of the Contracts Procedure Rules (CPRs) April 2015 to March 2016

 

The following officers were in attendance for the discussion and to address questions from the Scrutiny Board:

 

·  Jo McCann – Portfolio Manager –  Projects, Programmes and  Procurement Unit

·  Dominic Bailey – Senior Portfolio Officer –  Projects, Programmes and  Procurement Unit

 

 

The officers provided an outline of the key issues within the report.  A discussion followed and a range of maters were discussed, including:

 

·  The significant reduction in the level/ number of contact waivers in the current year, compared to previous performance.

·  The level of member involvement in monitoring compliance with Contract Procedure Rules.

·  Opportunities for fraudulent practice within current procurement / order raising arrangements.

·  Checks and balances in place within the processes for placing orders up to the value of £10k.

·  The use of internal suppliers and awareness of the requirements within the Contract Procedure Rules.

·  Concerns regarding the number of Council Officers authorised to place orders within current arrangements.

·  The relationship and coordination between procurement, order raising and payment processes.

·  The Council’s programme of Support Services Reviews, including the ‘systems’ workstream.

·  The use of contact waivers allowable within the Contract Procedure Rules and associated outcomes and instances where ‘required information’ was not provided.

·  The availability and delivery of mandatory staff training around Contact Procedure Rules.

 

In concluding the discussion, the Chair thanked the officers for their attendance and contribution to the meeting.

 

RESOLVED – 

 

(a)  That the report be noted.

(b)  That the Scrutiny Board give more detailed consideration to the level and use of Contact Waivers and the associated or underpinning reasons.

 

(NB Cllr D Cohen joined the meeting at 10:05am, during consideration of this item).

 

25.

Work Schedule pdf icon PDF 92 KB

To consider the Scrutiny Board’s work schedule for 2016/17 municipal year.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Principal Scrutiny adviser presented the Scrutiny Board’s proposed work schedule for the remainder of the municipal year 2016/17.

 

The Board specifically discussed the next steps and stages to its inquiry around ‘commissioning’ and the links to procurement.  This specifically included:

 

·  Details of recent decommissioning activity.

·  Commissioning opportunities with other partners/ local authorities.

·  Member involvement in the commissioning process.

 

The Chair agreed to undertake further work on the Board’s behalf, in preparation for more detailed consideration later in the year.

 

RESOLVED – That the work schedule presented be agreed, subject to any scheduling decisions necessary by the Chair.

 

 

26.

Date and Time of Next Meeting

Monday, 24 October 2016 at 10.00am (pre-meeting for all Board Members at 9.30am)

 

 

 

Following conclusion of the meeting, it is proposed that members of the Scrutiny Board will have a private discussion regarding the next steps of its inquiry around Strategic Commissioning.

Minutes:

Monday, 24 October 2016 at 10:00am (pre-meeting for all Board Members at 9:30am).

 

 

The meeting closed at 11:35am.