Agenda item

The Interim Senior Specialist Procurement introduced and summarised the report submitted to the Committee.  He indicated that the Procurement Service Strategy had been adopted in 2020 and was due for a revisit in 2023.  The meeting was advised that the Strategy would be affected by the Council’s collaboration with Waverley Borough Council, the adoption of the Procurement Act in 2024, and encouraging engagement with the local supply market.  The Interim Senior Specialist Procurement summarised the progress of the Procurement Savings Strategy, including the savings achieved and the approach to future savings. 

During the ensuing discussion a number of points were raised and responses offered:

·       In reply to a question from a Committee member about ensuring the maintenance of standards for service users, the Interim Senior Specialist Procurement referred to checks undertaken as part of the annual audit of procurement and the role of the Corporate Procurement Board on higher value contracts.  In response to the member of the Committee suggesting the value of customer feedback and complaints directly informing the procurement process, the Lead Councillor for Finance and Property indicated that such information could be used to inform the delivery of services rather than the initial procurement process. 

·       In response to a question on the development of spend control processes, the Committee was advised by the Interim Senior Specialist Procurement of mechanisms being introduced to improve the linking and tracking of spend on individual contracts. 

·       With reference to the high value risks identified within the audit of the Council’s Procurement (attached as appendix 1 to the report submitted to the Committee), a member of the Committee questioned the controls and actions taken to manage or mitigate any such issues.  In response, the Interim Senior Specialist Procurement advised that progress against such targets was reported to the Corporate Procurement Board.  The Joint Executive Head of Finance indicated that such concerns would be added to the Council’s financial risk register if appropriate.  In addition, he advised the meeting of his duty to prepare a Section 25 report when the Council agrees its annual budget.

·       In reply to a query, the Interim Senior Specialist Procurement advised that the Council’s Procurement Procedure Rules provided a framework to capture procurement improvements and that the Rules were currently being reviewed due to the changes from the Procurement Act 2023 and the desire to harmonise with Waverley Borough Council.  The Joint Executive Head of Finance indicated that the Financial Procedure Rules and the Procurement Procedure Rules within the Council’s Constitution did reference and link to other internal documents that detailed relevant processes. 

·       A Councillor questioned why savings achieved through procurement were attributed to the procurement service rather than the individual Council service undertaking each procurement.  In response, the Joint Executive Head of Finance advised that he viewed procurement as an enabling service and the existence of a savings target for the Council’s procurement service was historical.

The Chairman asked when the full Procurement Report for 2023-24 would be completed and was advised late June 2024.

RESOLVED:  (I) That the annual procurement report update for the financial year ending 31 March 2023, as presented in the report submitted to the Committee, be noted.

(II) That a full annual procurement report for the 2023-24 financial year be provided to a future meeting of the Committee.