Issue - meetings

Consideration was given to the report of the Chief Officer Commercial which was presented to update Members on the Strategic Business Review on Third Party Expenditure.

The Chief Officer Commercial spoke to the report and highlighted the main points contained therein.

In response to a Member’s enquiry, the Chief Officer Commercial said that a baseline had been established in July to September.  The Strategic Business Review on Third Party Expenditure would streamline the systems used to monitor and manage contractual arrangements with suppliers and the overall impact of the expenditure would be monitored through the Bridging the Gap programme.

A Member enquired regarding discount for prompt payments.  The Chief Officer Commercial said that with approximately 7,000 suppliers it was important that prompt payment was made as a portion of that money would go back into the local economy.

In response to a Member’s question regarding procurement of the annual insurance premium, the Chief Officer Commercial said that the Council would always seek value for money.  There were guidance rules and regulations to follow when procuring services, however, it was not always about price there were other considerations such as quality, social value and other responsibilities with spending the public pound.  An analysis of the data could identify the Council’s investment in the local economy.

The Committee AGREED to recommend that the report be accepted and endorse Option 1, namely that Members accept the report on the Strategic Business Review on Third Party Expenditure and appendix 1 and recommend to Council for approval.