Agenda item

To consider a report from the Interim Assistant Chief Exec Finance, Traded and Resources on the Council’s new procurement strategy setting out progress to date and next key steps.

Members considered a report from the Interim Assistant Chief Executive Finance, Traded and Resources on the Council’s new procurement strategy setting out progress to date and next key steps.

In attendance for this item were:

·  Cllr Debra Coupar, Executive Member for Resources

·  Victoria Bradshaw, Interim Assistant Chief Executive – Finance, Traded Services & Resources

·  Andy Dodman, Interim Assistant Chief Executive – People, Digital & Change

·  Lewis Sinkala, Head of Procurement

To introduce this item a presentation was made by the Head of Procurement which covered the following points:

•  Key principles of the existing procurement strategy which are Value for money and efficiency, Governance, Social Value, Commercial Opportunities, Strategic Supplier Engagement and Contract Management. These are underpinned by Procurement Enablers such as training and support for staff through qualifications, exploiting digital technology such as the procurement system and P2P, embracing innovation in procurement and embedding change into the organisation.

•  The work done to date on reviewing the procurement strategy including an assessment of progress made since the current strategy was launched in 2019. The assessment has identified that there has been progress in key areas since the launch of the existing strategy.

•  A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis on the team and the new procurement strategy.

•  The new procurement strategy will build on key areas from the existing strategy but is likely to include key principles such as continuous improvement and culture, recruitment and retention.

•  The timelines for the new strategy with rollout planned for May-June 2025 which will include an opportunity to review and reflect any adjustment made to the new Procurement Act by the new Government.

In response to comments and questions from the Board the following issues were covered:

·  Members asked about training for staff on contract management and procurement and the need to increase professional training for those doing contract management. It was agreed that this would come back and feature in follow up reports to the Board. In addition, the board is developing contract management training to support staff which will cover all contract managers.

·  The Chair asked about the delay in the implementation of the Procurement Act and what impact that will have on the service. In response the board heard that the Council is moving ahead with plans to respond to the Act and although there is now a four month delay the service is still working on it and is on a par in terms of comparison with other local authorities in the region in terms of being prepared.

·  A member raised concerns about the contracts for street lighting and Christmas tree provision through community committee funds. It was agreed that this would be picked up outside the meeting to get the specifics of the concern.

·  Members asked about savings targets given that external procurement totals approximately £1bn annually. In response the Board were informed that work is ongoing with directorates on contracts and there is an estimate that a 1% saving would generate £11m in savings. The Procurement Team is currently working with services on their directorate plans to deliver savings, and these are expected to come forward as part of the directorate savings proposals programme when ready.

·  The Board asked about commercial opportunities linked to the new strategy and whether it will support staff with information to see potential commercial opportunities and deliver savings. In response the board heard that the new system will assist with this and enhance assessments of contracts as they are coming up for renewal to consider possible savings. The work on the 1% savings is also linked to contract renewals and consideration for savings, efficiencies and social value

·  In response to a question on work with WYCA, the Board heard that the Council participates in a regional working group, which includes WYCA, that looks at collaboration opportunities as well as also working with anchor network partners and core cities.

·  The Chair asked about the self-assessment of ‘minimum’ on use of digital technology presented in the report and whether this was linked to Core Business Transformation (CBT). In response members were informed that yes that is part of the reason but also work is ongoing to utilise opportunities on technology. An example of this is through M365t to increase information gathering  from contract managers through the use of dashboards. This work along with the new procurement system that is part of CBT will hopefully lead to improved performance in this area.

·  A question was raised on training for social value and in response the meeting heard that Leeds has its own social value team, and the Head of Procurement chairs the Yorkshire and Humber regional group that works on this, so the authority is performing well in this area.

·  Members questioned some of the pricing that the Council appears to pay for some supplies and services and also asked about opportunities to reduce prices and sell the authority as a good organisation to be an official or registered supplier to. The Board heard that the new procurement legislation has a new procedure known as competitive flexible which will potentially allow for more dynamic procurement processes. However, it was noted that where the council has used an open market procurement process, this represents the pricing at that time.

·  It was agreed that the new procurement strategy will come back to the Board in the New Year.

·  The Executive Board Member for Resources thanked the Board for its comments today. In addition, it was also noted that the comments on specific contracts are welcome and further feedback was encouraged where contractual issues arise locally. The work on social value by the authority was referenced as a real positive with the Council leading the way on this issue and the importance of delivering social value to Leeds residents was also highlighted.

Resolved

The Board:

a)  Noted the contents of the report

b)  Endorsed the work underway to refresh the Council’s Procurement Strategy

c)  Agreed that a further report on the development of the new Procurement Strategy be brought forward in the New Year.