Agenda item

Covid-19 Procurement Arrangements

Report of the Executive Director of Corporate Resources and Customer Services

Minutes:

The Cabinet considered the report of the Executive Director - Corporate Resources and Customer Services advising that as part of the central government response to the COVID 19 pandemic, a number of Policy Procurement Notes (PPN) were issued to all Council’s that provided direction on how certain procurement activities should be administered and how existing contractual relationships between the Council and 3rd parties should be maintained or could be varied.

 

The report detailed that the Council’s own Contract Procedure Rules set out how the Council should administer its contractual arrangements and therefore it was important that visibility was provided on how these maybe impacted.  As a result, the report sought to delegate authority to officers in order to amend current Council goods and/or services and works contracts to ensure continuity in the operation of Council services, or appoint an emergency contractor as per the Government’s PPNs.

 

Decision Made:

 

That:

 

(1)

in relation to contracts where the supplier has requested an amendment due to COVID-19, or in the event that the Council needs to appoint an emergency supplier due to COVID-19, a delegation be made such that until 30 September 2020:

 

(i)

Heads of Service in consultation with the relevant Cabinet Member be authorised to negotiate, draft (with appropriate procurement and legal support) and enter in to a contract variation where they can be accommodated and contained within that services existing budget provision; or

 

(ii)

in the event that expenditure cannot be contained within that service’s existing budget provision further engagement and approval be sought from the Council’s Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer on the basis that the expenditure can be contained within the Councils overall approved budget;

 

(2)

all actions taken under such delegation will be formally recorded in writing and reported to the Cabinet meeting in September 2020 together with a recommendation on whether the delegation is required to be maintained due to the impact of the pandemic; and

 

(3)

it be noted that the proposal was a Key Decision but had not been included in the Council's Forward Plan of Key Decisions.  Consequently, the Leader of the Council and the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services) had been consulted under Rule 27 of the Access to Information Procedure Rules of the Constitution, to the decision being made by Cabinet as a matter of urgency on the basis that it was impracticable to defer the decision until the commencement of the next Forward Plan because, in accordance with Government guidance, these variations need actioning as soon as possible to assist the Council with continuity of services, and contractors with liquidity. 

 

Reasons for Decision:

 

To expedite approval for each contract variation or new contract appointment arising due to COVID-19 and to ensure that there is no delay in effecting an appointment or variation due to governance issues and to comply with government guidance.

 

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

 

In the event that this delegation was not put in place, each responsible officer would have to request authority to amend a contract.  This would cause delay in implementing the PPNs and could result in solvency issues for the provider(s) and/or service delivery delays / problems for the Council in its attempts to respond to the COVID-19 emergency.

 

Supporting documents: