Issue - meetings

On 24 February 2025, the biggest changes to public sector procurement for over a decade will take effect with the issue of the Procurement Act 2023. The legislation, brought in after Brexit, has a significant impact on how the council undertakes its procurement.

As a result of these changes the Contract Standing Orders (‘CSOs’), which form part of the council’s Constitution, have been reviewed and updated to ensure that the council will comply with the latest legislation.

This report provides background information to the CSOs and the new Act, their purpose and the key changes.

The report also recommends updates identified through the review which do not directly relate to the new Act.

Following consideration, the Committee unanimously resolved to:

(1)       Request Full Council to approve the revisions to the Contract Standing Orders, with respect to the Procurement Act 2023 and document formatting, attached at Appendix 1 to the report.

(2)       Request Full Council to approve the revisions to the Contract Standing Orders, with respect to those not mandated by the Procurement Act 2023, attached at Appendix 1 to the report.

The Committee received a report proposing changes to the Contract Standing Orders (‘CSOs’).

The following matters were considered:

a)             Correction to report documentation - Implementation date. The Interim Director of Corporate Resources informed the Committee of a correction to the report documentation. This correction was that the implementation date required by the Procurement Act 2023 was February 2025, not October 2024 as stated in the report documentation.

b)             Engagement with small & medium local enterprises (SMEs). In response to a question from a Member, the Business Assurance Manager informed the Committee that the Procurement Act aimed to support engagement with local SMEs by seeking to make the requirements asked of suppliers proportionate to the relevant procurement threshold.

c)             Low value purchases. In response to a question from a Member, the Business Assurance Manager informed the Committee that a best value exercise would be required for all purchases within Threshold 1 (£0-£9999). Whilst it might not be possible to receive a formal quote for some low value items within this threshold, officers would be expected to check several sources prior to completing a procurement.

Following consideration, the Committee unanimously resolved to:

(1)       Request Full Council to approve the revisions to the Contract Standing Orders, with respect to the Procurement Act 2023 and document formatting, attached at Appendix 1 to the report.

(2)       Request Full Council to approve the revisions to the Contract Standing Orders, with respect to those not mandated by the Procurement Act 2023, attached at Appendix 1 to the report.

On 28 October 2024, the biggest changes to public sector procurement for over a decade will take effect with the issue of the Procurement Act 2023. The legislation, brought in after Brexit, has a significant impact on how the council undertakes its procurement.

As a result of these changes the Contract Standing Orders (‘CSOs’), which form part of the council’s Constitution, have been reviewed and updated to ensure that the council will comply with the latest legislation.

This report provides background information to the CSOs and the new Act, their purpose and the key changes.

The report also recommends updates identified through the review which do not directly relate to the new Act.

The Committee unanimously resolved to defer the consideration of this item to its meeting on 12 November 2024.

The Chair informed the Committee that the Government had changed the implementation date for the matters contained within this report to 24 February 2025. In light of the additional time permitted, the Chair proposed that this item be deferred to the next meeting of the Committee (12 November 2024) and referred to the following meeting of Full Council for ratification.

The Committee unanimously resolved to defer the consideration of this item to its meeting on 12 November 2024.