Agenda item

To consider the Council’s updated Procurement Strategy for 2021 – 2026.

J Warwick, Acting Service Director (Contracts), introduced the updated Procurement Strategy 2021 – 2026, which supported the Council’s objectives under Covid-19 development projects, and the Procurement Rules of January 2021 that had also been updated. Following Cabinet approval on 3 December 2021, both of these had been implemented on 1 January 2021. The new procurement strategy should increase the number of local suppliers. The social value and sustainability evaluation criteria would be used where possible, and a social value template was being used to measure contractors on the benefits they would bring to the District. The Procurement Rules had been updated to ensure these changes would be adopted in everyday practices. A Procurement Checklist guided officers throughout the process, but training had been provided to the Procurement and Contract Development Team. The team was also working with Economic Development to offer EFDC Procurement support to local businesses through Meet the Buyer days or similar events, which helped inform local businesses of the Council’s processes.

Unfortunately, the updated Procurement Rules of January 2021, Social Value Proforma for EFDC and Procurement and Contracts Checklist had been omitted from this agenda, so members did not have all the supporting documentation before them and this item would be revisited at the next meeting. It was noted that Cabinet’s responsibility covered the Procurement Strategy while the Constitution Working Group’s remit was confined to the Procurement Rules, which would replace the February 2018 version currently in the Constitution. However, members raised the following points.

·      Strategies should go to a select committee to be scrutinised, so Stronger Council should have been provided with an update to scrutinise. J Warwick replied he did provide updates to the select committee and would continue to do so in future when requested.

·      What was the social value matrix based on? There were many toolkits being used but the Procurement and Contracts Team had created this specifically for the benefit of the Council and was an ongoing piece of work. The Council was also a member of the Essex Procurement Hub.

·      Procurement had to work within several controls including EU legislation, but was this EU legislation still relevant? J Warwick replied that at the time the strategy was written and submitted to Cabinet, the UK still came under EU legislation. He would ask the Team Manager (Procurements and Contracts), S McNamara, if this was the latest legislation.

·      In terms of the Working Group and who could change the criteria, it was not clear if this was by delegated authority, by a Cabinet decision or an officer decision, and on the social value elements did this come under the Procurement Rules or was this a regulation. It was noted that these criteria were detailed in the Procurement Rules.

·      Regarding sustainability and climate change in the Procurement Strategy 2021 – 2026 and the use of environmentally friendly goods wherever possible and practicable, what about being financially viable as well? If the uplift in cost was 10% that might be agreeable but if substantially higher, was this practicable? J Warwick replied that he would liaise with the Team Manager (Procurement and Contracts) and come back on this.

·      On whether use of hempcrete might be financially viable, it was noted that the Working Group could only look at the Procurement Rules, not policy.

RESOLVED:

(1)        That the item be revisited at the next meeting with all the documentation before members;

(2)        That J Warwick / S McNamara inform members at the next meeting whether EU legislation was still relevant to the Procurement Rules and Strategy; and

(3)        That J Warwick / S McNamara apprise members on the use of environmentally friendly goods wherever possible and practicable in relation to being financially viable.