Keith Patterson, Head of Commercial Procurement introduced the report of the Director of Resources, which informed the Committee of the range and number of contracts awarded which have been subject to the Contracts Procedure Rules Rule 17, Waiving the Rules (Rule 12) and Extension/Variation (Rule 13). The Head of Commercial Procurement read out a statement on behalf of the Director of Resources, which outlined the progress and commitment to reducing the number of exception requests and retrospective Purchase Orders, and updated the committee on the steps taken including all stats being shared with Directors on a monthly basis who are asked to ensure compliance within the directorate, alongside the data being reported and challenged at several senior officer meetings and the appointment of a new member of staff responsible for ensuring compliance across the Council.

The report detailed two main themes which were contracts information and the ‘NO PO NO PAY’ policy progress, and members were advised that during the period 1 October 2020 to 21 March 2021 there had been 22 extensions, 37 variations and 30 exceptions awarded. In terms of the NO PO NO PAY policy, it was reported that the value of retrospective Purchase Orders had reduced from 33% to 26% and additional measures in place to reduce that further were taking effect. Freestanding invoices had reduced in value by 65% since the last report, with only 825 invoices remaining out of 9,000 reported in November 2019 and work underway to action those still outstanding.

Members queried the number of contracts for Civica and Capita, where it was confirmed officers were mindful and already in discussions around how many contracts the Council were currently in with large organisations. Members raised concerns around the number of contract extensions and variations and sought further information on the narrative behind these. Assurances were given around the robustness of the process for approving contract extensions or variations, but the Committee were advised that further detail would be included in future reports. Members discussed the potential need for these issues to be escalated to the Audit and Risk Management Committee, where it was proposed that the Committee could be used as an escalation point for any issues arising from meetings between the Chief Executive and Directors regarding budgetary compliance.

Resolved – That

1)  the report be noted.

2)  the Director of Resources be requested to present further information relating to contract overspends to the Audit and Risk Management Committee Chair and Group Spokespersons.