Contact your Parish Council

 

MAIDSTONE BOROUGH COUNCIL

 

CABINET MEMBER FOR CORPORATE SERVICES

 

REPORT OF THE HEAD OF BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT

 

Report prepared by Steve Trigg 

Date Issued:  18 March 2010

 

1.           PROCUREMENT STRATEGY 2010-2013

 

1.1        Issue for Decision

 

1.1.1   To consider the adoption of the Procurement Strategy 2010-2013

 

1.2        Recommendation of the Head of Business Improvement

        

1.2.1   That the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services approves the Procurement Strategy 2010-2013 attached as Appendix A.

 

1.2.2   That the Cabinet Member recommends to Council that the Procurement Strategy 2010-2013, attached as Appendix A, be adopted.

1.3        Reasons for Recommendation

 

1.3.1   The previous strategy, adopted in 2007, was successful in many ways in supporting the Council’s vision, by providing a framework for ensuring value for money, supporting the local economy and businesses, streamlining back office processes and improving procurement awareness throughout the Council.

 

1.3.2   The new strategy seeks to build on the successes of the previous strategy and sets the following key objectives:

 

●        Ensure that procurement activity supports the Council’s vision and priorities;

          ●        Ensure value for money;

          ●        Embed sustainability into the procurement process;

          ●        Increase the success rate of local businesses;

          ●        Promote socially responsible procurement;

●        Extend partnership working to provide better value for money.

 

1.3.3   To achieve these objectives, we will focus on:

 

●        Promotion of sustainability and environmental issues throughout the procurement process;

●        Encouraging participation of small and medium enterprises and local businesses;

●        Ensuring that equality of opportunity is considered in specifications and addressed by suppliers;

●        Partnership working with other local authorities

 

1.3.4 Consultation with Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee took place on 2^nd February. The committee supported the strategy and made one recommendation regarding the incorporation of training of new staff with procurement responsibilities into the induction process. This has now been done. The Scrutiny Committee Recommendation Action and Implementation Plan is attached as Appendix B.      

 

1.4        Alternative Action and why not Recommended

 

1.4.1   The Council could choose not to develop a Procurement Strategy, however, such an action is contrary to good practice.

 

1.5        Impact on Corporate Objectives

 

1.5.1   A procurement strategy, and the successful achievement of its objectives, supports the Council’s vision and priority themes.

 

1.6        Risk Management

 

1.6.1   There is no risk in adopting the strategy itself. Risks associated with actions contained within will be assessed and managed at the appropriate time.

 

1.6.2   By not adopting a robust approach to procurement there is now an increased risk of challenge and financial costs as well as a high risk that the Council will not achieve value for money for local taxpayers.

 

1.7        Other Implications

 

1.7.1    

1.      Financial	X
2.           Staffing	X
3.           Legal
4.           Social Inclusion
5.           Environmental/Sustainable Development	X
6.           Community Safety
7.           Human Rights Act
8.           Procurement
9.           Asset Management

 

 

1.7.2   Savings arising from the procurement activity will be recorded and reported to Corporate Finance to ensure that they are taken into account and real savings accrue.   

 

1.7.3   Staff resources to deal with partnership working will be reviewed at the appropriate time. However, any increase will not result in revenue growth.

 

1.7.4   Environmental/Sustainable development is one of the key objectives of the strategy.

 

1.8        Background Documents

 

1.8.1  There are none.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NO REPORT WILL BE ACCEPTED WITHOUT THIS BOX BEING COMPLETED     X     Is this a Key Decision?        Yes                        No        If yes, when did it appear in the Forward Plan? February 2010     X     Is this an Urgent Key Decision?     Yes                  No

 

How to Comment   Should you have any comments on the issue that is being considered please contact either the relevant Officer or the Member of the Executive who will be taking the decision.   Councillor Richard Ash                                Cabinet Member for Corporate Services                                                                                     Telephone: 01622 730151                                                                   E-mail:  richardash@maidstone.gov.uk   Steve Trigg                                                                          Procurement Manager                                                                                     Telephone: 01622 602811                                                               E-mail:  stephentrigg@maidstone.gov.uk