Council and Democracy

Agenda, decisions and minutes

Contact: Charlotte Kearsey  01246 345236

Note: This meeting will be conducted virtually through Microsoft Teams 

Items
No. Item

61.

Declaration of Members' and Officers' Interests relating to items on the Agenda

Minutes:

No declarations of interest were received.

62.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

No apologies for absence were received.

63.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 288 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED –

 

That the Minutes of the meeting of the Joint Cabinet and Employment and General Committee of 20 October, 2020 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

64.

Exclusion of Public

To move “That under Regulation 21(1)(b) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements)(Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2000, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the following Paragraphs 3 and 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.”

 

Part 2 (Non Public Information)

Minutes:

RESOLVED –

 

That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 3 and 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

65.

Operational Arrangements for the Enterprise Centres

Decision:

*RESOLVED –

 

1.    That the proposed staffing structure for the Innovation Centre(s) and Northern Gateway Enterprise Centre be approved.

 

2.    That the new role of Centre Co-ordinator be established to replace the current role of Administrative Officer.

 

3.    That the new role of Enterprise Chesterfield Manager be established to replace the current role of Innovation Centres Manager.

 

4.    That the role the Innovation and Enterprise Centres’ play in supporting Chesterfield’s economic recovery be noted.

 

REASON FOR DECISIONS

 

To ensure that the Innovation and Enterprise Centres can operate efficiently, providing a quality service to tenants, both existing and new, and that they can continue to play a valuable role in supporting the local economy as it seeks to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Minutes:

The Economic Development Manager and Service Director - Economic Growth submitted a report seeking approval to put in place the necessary management and staffing arrangements to enable the successful operation of the new Northern Gateway Enterprise Centre alongside the council’s two existing Innovation Centres at Tapton and Dunston.

 

The report sought to put in place a new management and staffing structure which would emulate the successful model currently in place at Tapton and Dunston Innovation Centres. The current and proposed management and staffing structures were attached to the officer’s report at Appendix 1 and the job descriptions for the proposed roles were attached at Appendix 2. 

 

The report identified the financial implications of moving to the new structure, set out a number of alternative options and referenced consideration of other implications.

 

*RESOLVED –

 

1.    That the proposed staffing structure for the Innovation Centre(s) and Northern Gateway Enterprise Centre be approved.

 

2.    That the new role of Centre Co-ordinator be established to replace the current role of Administrative Officer.

 

3.    That the new role of Enterprise Chesterfield Manager be established to replace the current role of Innovation Centres Manager.

 

4.    That the role the Innovation and Enterprise Centres’ play in supporting Chesterfield’s economic recovery be noted.

 

REASON FOR DECISIONS

 

To ensure that the Innovation and Enterprise Centres can operate efficiently, providing a quality service to tenants, both existing and new, and that they can continue to play a valuable role in supporting the local economy as it seeks to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

 

66.

Procurement - Future Arrangements

Decision:

*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 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.

Minutes:

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.