Agenda item

Officer: Hazel Simmonds

Key decision: yes

The Leader of the Council delegated authority to the Cabinet to make the following decisions.

RESOLVED: To

1.     Approve the procurement strategy as set out in this report, which will result in the award of contracts;

2.     Note that the Director of Commissioning and Procurement has approved under Regulation 18 to waiver the standard evaluation criteria ratio under Regulation 21 of the Councils Tenders and Contracts Regulations to being 70% Quality and 30% Cost. Please see section 3 of the report for full details;

3.     To note that the Director of Commissioning and Procurement has approved under Regulation 18 to waiver the requirement of not including the Premier Supply Programme under Regulation 21 of the Councils Tenders and Contracts Regulations as this would reduce the funding available to the appointed VCS contractors;

4.     To note that minor changes to the procurement strategy will be approved by the Director of Commissioning and Procurement in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Safer Croydon and Communities or Cabinet Member for Families, Health and Social Care in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources; and

5.     To note the Leader is delegating the authority to approve the award of contracts for the services to the Cabinet Member for Safer Croydon and Communities in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Families, Health and Social Care and the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources.

The Cabinet Member for Safer Croydon & Communities informed Members that the paper followed the Strategy which had been agreed by Cabinet in March 2019, and sought to agree the commissioning framework. The paper outlined five tenders for the Community Fund which ensured that the process was in line with the Opportunity & Fairness Commission and had been developed in response to concerns raised by the voluntary sector.

Members were informed that commissioning would take place between June and October, with a further report to be taken in December to agree the funding from April 2020. This would help to support the community sector so they were able to plan with the clear timeline.

Members thanked officers for all their work in developing the Community Fund and their future work to implement and support the Fund.

In response to Member questions the Cabinet Member noted that the approach was different to previous years as it had been recognised that previously there had been 36 funding agreements ranging from over £250,000 to less than £5,000 which were commissioned under the same evaluation. The intention was that having five separate areas would support the voluntary sector as each cluster was being treated according to their nature. The Cabinet Member stated that the council wanted to have a greater emphasis on quality rather than on price.

The Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources noted that there were differences in the sector and the commissioning framework sought to reflect those services, as it was recognised that a ‘one size fits all’ approach would not work for the community sector.

The Cabinet Member for Families, Health & Social Care thanked the Cabinet Member and officers for their work and continued engagement with the community sector. It was noted that unpaid carers, who made a contribution in the region of £618 million per annum in the borough, would be supported under the Community Fund which was welcomed.

The Leader of the Council delegated authority to the Cabinet to make the following decisions.

RESOLVED: To

1.     Approve the procurement strategy as set out in this report, which will result in the award of contracts;

2.     Note that the Director of Commissioning and Procurement has approved under Regulation 18 to waiver the standard evaluation criteria ratio under Regulation 21 of the Councils Tenders and Contracts Regulations to being 70% Quality and 30% Cost. Please see section 3 of the report for full details;

3.     To note that the Director of Commissioning and Procurement has approved under Regulation 18 to waiver the requirement of not including the Premier Supply Programme under Regulation 21 of the Councils Tenders and Contracts Regulations as this would reduce the funding available to the appointed VCS contractors;

4.     To note that minor changes to the procurement strategy will be approved by the Director of Commissioning and Procurement in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Safer Croydon and Communities or Cabinet Member for Families, Health and Social Care in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources; and

5.     To note the Leader is delegating the authority to approve the award of contracts for the services to the Cabinet Member for Safer Croydon and Communities in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Families, Health and Social Care and the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources.