Agenda item

The Committee considered a report of the Head of Procurement which detailed all breaches and waivers to the Contract Procedure Rules (CPR’s) for the period 1st September 2021 to 28th February 2022.

The table at paragraph 2 of the report provided a summary of the number of new waivers and breaches recorded for each Directorate since the last audit report presented to the Committee in October and April 2021.

There were 2 new breaches, and 14 waivers reported to Contract Procedure Rules for this 6 month period, details of which were provided within Appendices 1 and 2 of the report, respectively.  Updates on 2 existing unresolved breaches, and 4 resolved reported previously to the Committee were also provided. Details of the number and value of waivers granted against the amount of contracts awarded for this period were set out at Appendix 3.

The third wave of the Covid-19 had impacted on the Council resources and capacity, particularly with regard to the Adult Social Care teams. The impact of Covid-19 continued to cause challenges for the procurement and contracting of goods and services. The number of approved waivers had reduced from 18 to 14 compared to that of the previous quarter. The Strategic Procurement Team continued to be proactive and supportive in helping alleviate increased pressures with regular reporting and attendance at key stakeholder meetings.

There had been a change in Public Procurement thresholds on 1st January 2022, and that Council Procedure Rules had been updated to reflect this change. These details were set out at Paragraph 10 of the report.

In response to a question regarding the Breaches, as outlined on page 28 of Appendix 1 of the report, the Head of Procurement advised that there were no repeat offenders in terms of breaches to Contract Procedure Rules, and that training would be provided to those Officers who had been in breach of the rules.

Following further questions from the Vice-Chair, querying the high value of the Adult Substance Misuse Recovery System Waiver of £5.5m in the Adults, Health and Wellbeing directorate, as set out Appendix 2, the Head of Procurement confirmed that the waiver had undergone a rigorous examination process, particularly due to its high value. She explained that whilst the value of the waiver was above the Public Procurement threshold, the waiver had been granted as it had met the criteria set out in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. Further to clarity being sought by the Vice-Chair, the Head of Strategic Procurement explained the circumstances that permitted the modification of a contract without any procurement procedure being required that could not be made for economic, or technical reasons. It was noted that a report relating to the Substance Misuse contracts within Public Health had been approved by Cabinet at the end of 2020. It was explained that there was a large number of pilot schemes taking place within this service area and that in order to allow the extension of pilot schemes to continue, the existing contracts had been approved.

The Head of Procurement informed Members about new regulations coming into force which proposed changes to the future of healthcare commissioning, called the ‘NHS Provider Selection Regime’. This is to be introduced under the Health and Care Bill which was currently being enacted by Parliament and these regulations would replace the existing procurement rules. They will encompass health related contracts that would no longer fall under the Public Contract Regulations, which would have their own methodology. It was noted that currently, the rules that governed the arrangement of healthcare services contracts were complex and hindered the letting of certain health contracts. An update on the proposals would be provided to the Committee in October.

In answer to questions from Kathryn Smart, the Head of Procurement advised that she did not have any concerns regarding the existing breaches, which had arisen mainly due to officers misunderstanding of the contract requirements. She outlined the actions taken to address those breaches and advised that Heads of Service were now provided with quarterly reports so they were fully aware of what contracts were coming forward. The Officer training programme on Contract Procedure Rules had since been reactivated due to the relaxation of rules.

The Monitoring Officer provided further assurance to the Committee, commenting that he gave serious consideration before signing off any waivers. He acknowledged that Covid-19 had impacted Council resources and capacity, which had brought challenges for the procurement and contracting of goods and services, in particular, for the health and social care sector, who had found difficulty responding correctly to tenders and that allowances had been made to accommodate this. However, he pointed out that as the Council moved to a more stable period in future, he and the Procurement team were taking a more robust approach regarding waivers and that the Covid-19 pandemic should not be cited as a reason for the waiver, unless there was a valid reason and he hoped to see a decrease in the number of waivers being sought. The Procurement Team would receive additional resource to ensure that the procurement of goods and services were planned properly and that waivers were not granted through lack of awareness, or lack of training, but due to genuine reasons.

Following a request from the Chair, the Head of Internal Audit provided an update on the ongoing storage breaches in relation to the Council’s Archives offsite storage facility which was now based at the former Doncaster Museum.

The Chair was pleased to note that training was provided for potential repeat re-offenders in terms of breaches to CPRs, which he hoped would have a positive effect next year and in future years.  He also welcomed that Heads of Service receive quarterly reports, as a timely reminder, giving advance notification of contracts within their service area, including the determination dates for the commencement and end date of contracts. He hoped this would remove the excuse for officers not having a new contract in place.

RESOLVED to

(1)       note the information and actions contained in this report regarding waivers and breaches in relation to the CPR’s; and

(2)       note any new procurement and contracting activity matters.