Issue - meetings

Consideration was given to the report of the Chief Officer Commercial which presented the Blaenau Gwent Commercial Strategy for the period 2020-2025.

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

The Chair said this was a positive report and the Commercial Strategy was a new venture for the Council going forward with an emphasis on value for money.

In response to a Member’s question, the Chief Officer Commercial said that being a commercially minded Council helped to focus on the customer experience with greater visibility on what the Council purchased which helped the local economy.

A Member referred to insurance claims and damage to street furniture e.g. lamp posts etc. and enquired how these costs could be recovered and how Members could report such incidents.  The Head of Community Services said that a programme had been introduced recently and a company had been engaged to pursue insurance claims regarding damage to street furniture and cost recovery.  Contact details for reporting of such incidents would be forwarded to Members for information.

The Committee AGREED to recommend that the report be accepted and endorse Option 1; namely that the Commercial Strategy and associated work programme be supported prior to approval by Executive and Council.