Issue - meetings

To note the progress of the actions in the Procurement Action Plan.

The Interim Head of Procurement presented her report on the progress of the actions in the Procurement Action Plan.  The report sought to provide assurance to the Committee that adequate procurement controls were in place.

Following a review of the Council’s constitution and an update of the contract standing orders further improvements had been made.  A new procurement strategy had been developed in October 2021 and reviewed in October 2022.  All live contracts had been published.

A new contract management system enabled automated contract renewals, and identification of savings.  A Procurement Assistant was due to be recruited on an internal transfer.  The Procurement Project Board had been reinstated and the Committee noted a new Procurement Bill, anticipated in March 2023.

The Committee noted that the Interim Head of Procurement would review all contracts in order to avoid evergreen contracts rolling forward from one year to another.

The Committee queried the absence of information about modern slavery.  The Interim Head of Procurement advised that this would be included in the next policy update in order to ensure visibility of suppliers’ supply chains and mandatory exclusion for those convicted of human trafficking offences.  The Monitoring Officer agreed to add a modern slavery statement to the Council’s website.

The Chair thanked the Interim Head of Procurement for her work on this.

The Committee resolved to note the progress on the actions in the Procurement Action Plan.