Decision details

The Service Director - Digital, HR and Customer Services submitted a report seeking approval for the establishment of new in-house arrangements for the future procurement of council supplies and services.

In 2015, Chesterfield Borough Council opted to enter into a shared service arrangement with Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to deliver the council’s procurement activity over £25,000 in value.

Over the period of the shared service, key performance indicators had not been regularly achieved, and as other councils had chosen to end their contractual arrangement with and move away from the shared service, local authority knowledge, skills and capacity had been further eroded.

Recent internal audit reports had also raised concerns about the procurement service, and the need for improvements had also been recognised in the Council’s annual governance statement.

An options paper had been prepared to explore the optimum procurement service delivery model for the council going forward, and it had been concluded that the procurement service should be brought back in house during early 2021.

The report set out the proposed staffing arrangements for the new in house Procurement Service. The report identified the financial implications of moving to the new arrangements, set out the alternative options and referenced consideration of other implications.

*RESOLVED –

1.    That the procurement service be returned to in house delivery during 2021.

2.    That the proposed structure for the in-house procurement service, designed to strengthen the Council’s capacity and expertise in procurement and successfully deliver the Council’s procurement strategy for the period 2020 – 2023 be approved.

3.    That budget growth of £266,000, split between the Housing Revenue Account and the General Fund, to support funding of the strengthened procurement service be approved and the costs offset 3 by the procurement savings generated over the next two financial years.

4.    That the Service Director – Digital, HR and Customer Services, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Business Transformation and Customers and Cabinet Member for Governance, be granted delegated authority to implement the proposed changes.

REASON FOR DECISIONS

To enable Chesterfield Borough Council to transform its procurement service and in turn, strengthen the performance and governance arrangements within this service area. The recommended approach delivers on a public sector first delivery model and ensures that the Council is able to drive out social value and procurement savings.