Agenda item

Report of the Head of Legal and Support Services

The Financial Services Team Manager presented the report to members, highlighting the proposed amendments to the Contracts Procedure Rules  as outlined at Appendix A.  She advised that the changes had been agreed by the procurement gateway board.

Councillor D Harrison stated that he had expected a legal advisor to be present at this meeting and expressed disappointment that no legal advisor was present.  The Financial Services Team Manager gave assurances that the changes would not weaken security and attested that the Head of Legal and Support Services had been involved throughout the process.

In response to comments from Councillor N Smith, the Financial Services Team Manager advised that the procurement process would depend upon the value of the contract, and if this was over a certain threshold, EU procurement directives would apply.  She assured members that proposals were being developed to encourage small businesses to do business with the Council.

Councillor N Smith commented that he was pleased to hear this, and added that there were a lot of sole traders in Coalville and it would be a shame if they were precluded.

Councillor N Clarke made reference to the change to the wording relating to seeking three quotations rather than obtaining three quotations.  He sought clarification on the reasoning behind this change.

The Financial Services Team Manager advised that this wording had been amended by the Legal Team and she would provide a response in writing.

Councillor J Geary noted that for contracts under £1,000, only a verbal quotation was required.  He questioned whether this was good practice not to ensure a paper trail.  He added that he did not consider it to be too onerous to obtain a written quotation even if this was via email.

The Financial Services Team Manager advised that officers were required to document the verbal quotation for audit purposes and the invoice would also provide an audit trail.

Councillor A C Saffell sought clarification on what basis a decision could be made if three quotations were not obtained, and what would happen if only one quotation was obtained.  He felt that a minimum of two quotations should be obtained before a contract could be awarded.

Councillor N Smith acknowledged that there could be difficulties in obtaining quotations and he felt that members ought to rely on officer discretion.

Councillor J Geary commented that if tradespeople did not respond to tenders, they should be removed from the approved traders list.

Councillor D Harrison urged members to be mindful that occasionally there would be very specialist contracts and it would be best not to tie the officers’ hands.

Councillor N Clarke agreed that the process should be simplified for officers, however he felt that there should be more emphasis on making every effort to obtain three quotations.

Councillor A C Saffell suggested that to save time, the Council’s surveyor could give an opinion on whether a tender represented value for money.

Councillor V Richichi commented that if officers were having difficulty obtaining three quotations, perhaps the approved supplier list should be expanded.

Councillor N Smith suggested that the new system should be advertised in the Coalville Times to expand the list of contractors.

The Financial Services Team Manager felt that in general, it was not a problem to obtain three quotations, and there was an approved schedule of rates in respect of housing repairs.  She felt that this was only an issue in terms of specialist contracts.

In response to comments from Councillor T Eynon, the Financial Services Team Manager advised that suppliers would be selected from the local supplier list firstly from within North West Leicestershire; if this was not possible, a selection would be made from within the East Midlands before seeking a supplier nationally.

Councillor T Eynon suggested that this be made clearer in the Constitution.

RESOLVED THAT:

The suggested amendments to the Constitution be noted.