Issue - meetings

To consider the strategic director’s report. 

Cabinet considered the strategic director’s report on the future delivery of corporate services.  Since Cabinet’s last meeting, the council’s consultant had informally tested the market to identify which services should be market tested in 2015.  The report sought Cabinet’s approval to confirm the services that should be market tested in 2015, confirm those that should not, approve two service package procurements, authorise approval of the procurement strategy, and negotiate an agreement with other partner councils. 

Cabinet questioned the consultant, John Newton, on the recommendation to have two service package procurements.  Mr Newton suggested that this would give the council more flexibility and a greater chance of achieving value for money by packaging together similar services that were likely to be attractive to the market.   

Cabinet agreed the recommendations, believing that this presented an opportunity for the council to achieve efficiency savings, improved resilience, and improved service quality. 

RESOLVED: to

(a)       confirm the following services should be jointly market-tested in 2015:  revenues, benefits and associated financial services in the current contract; accountancy, internal audit, land charges, licensing, debt recovery legal activity, car park administration, data capture, human resources, street naming and numbering, IT applications support, IT helpdesk, IT infrastructure support, IT security, facilities management, procurement, engineering and property services;

(b)       confirm that the following services should not be jointly market tested in 2015, but included in the procurement as potential future contract additions: canteen, democratic services, professional legal services, mobile home parks management, CCTV operations, public conveniences cleaning and treasury management;

(c)        approve two service package procurements, being one package comprising ‘citizen, corporate, support services’, and, one package comprising ‘technical, asset and location-based services’; 

(d)       authorise the Strategic Director in consultation with the leaders to approve the details of the joint procurement strategy; and

(e)       authorise the Strategic Director in consultation with the leaders to negotiate an agreement with other council partners and to approve it.