Agenda item

A report of the Director of Finance was submitted regarding contract procedure rule amendments.

J Lockwood, Interim Head of Strategic Procurement & Contract Management, attended to present the report.

A proposal for revisions was taken to the Audit and Governance Committee in January 2023, however, additional clarification was requested and therefore these were not progressed, and the Project Team took away actions to provide additional detail in the document to provide clarity.

The proposed amendments reflected the recommendations of the 2022 Arum review which was commissioned to support the zero-based review of the Strategic Procurement and Contract Management Team.

The changes would allow the Council to take a proportionate approach to both procurement and contract management to ensure time and resource was invested effectively in the areas which offered most benefit and opportunity to reduce risk.

Member discussion took place regarding waivers. It was noted that in the amendments presented, staff would have to seek approval to proceed earlier in the process before a waiver is necessary. It was hoped that this would allow less bureaucracy in the system.

RESOLVED that the update be noted.