The contract for a purchasing card provider was awarded to Barclaycard Commercial from 1st October 2010 for a period of 3 years and 4 months until 31st January 2014 with no extension periods.
The Crown Commercial Service commenced a multi lot procurement process for the e Purchasing Card Solution (ePCS), and this was due to have been completed in October 2013. This will result in a framework contract from which the UK Public Sector, including Local Government, will be able to award contracts for ePCS. However, this process has not yet been completed. A waiver has therefore been approved and a short term contract has been awarded to the current supplier until 9th October 2014, by which point the framework contract will have been awarded by Crown Commercial Services. Once the framework contact is in place the council will then be able to undertake a mini competition process in order to award a contract to a preferred supplier.
Therefore, this report seeks approval to procure a Purchasing Card supplier in a mini competition process from the Framework Contract.
It should be noted that Leeds City Council has been involved in the tender evaluation process for the framework contract. This provides assurance that the framework contract meets the requirements of the Council.