Minutes:
The Sub-Committee received a presentation from officers on the Contract Database. The Database should help to address a number of Member concerns, including tendering not always being carried out in a timely manner, procurement rules not being followed and commissioning activity appearing to happen in isolation.
The Contract Database was being populated with information previously contained in the Contract Register and the Contract Monitoring Summaries. Directors and Managers would see their key contract data (e.g. supplier, value, start and end dates etc.) at-a-glance when they opened the application. A ragging system and alerts would remind managers of the need to take timely procurement action. More generally, dashboards would provide an overview of the system.
The Database would communicate with other LB Bromley systems and also allow access to other sites, such as Companies House (for the Company Annual Finance Check). The Database allowed advanced searches to be performed and reports to be generated. There was also the potential to accommodate a number of workflows to prompt action (e.g. in respect of waivers). Once all the sections had been populated (including the contract documents themselves), each contract would have been summarised and be accessible, which would improve the Council’s organisational memory. Managers would be responsible for maintaining their own records and Assistant Directors/Heads of Service would be responsible for approving changes. The system could be accessed through the Council desktop, but not through Council I-pads.
The system would be going live in April, and would be fully operational by around September. It would take several months for all the required data to be added.
Members were generally supportive of the proposed system and made a number of observations:
· The Sub-Committee could receive paper copies of contracts ragged reds & amber only (rather than all contracts.)
· There might be potential for the system to be sold to other councils. This could be pursued once the system was properly established.
· There was a need to distinguish between the various types of waiver (e.g. Extension Beyond Term, Single Tender, and Contract Variation.)
· There may be a need to flag commercially confidential contract data to prevent unauthorised access – this was primarily tender prices.
· Popular searches/reports could be standardised (i.e. part of the menu.)
· Contract variations and change controls needed to be on the system.
· The RAG status should be completely automated, and officers should not be able manipulate this.
· Given that the Council was moving towards greater use of Performance Data (e.g. KPIs associated with contract outcomes), the CDB could hold performance data.
· There was also interest in identifying what risks each contract presented to the Council.
· Exit Plans (required to be produced at the start of a new contract - to be rollout on expiry) could also have a workflow (e.g. alerts generated and documents stored.)
The Director of Finance endorsed the approach and observed that the Contract Database could potentially be developed to accommodate more detailed information on Performance Management and Risk Management.
The Chairman noted that the Contract Database would produce the Contract Register for the April 2017 meeting and suggested that officers be invited to return to subsequent meetings as the system’s capabilities were developed.
Members agreed that the Contract Register should be presented to Contracts Sub-Committee four times a year to align with the Budget Monitoring cycle (to allow contract spend projections to be updated): the dates for 2017/18 were: 13 June 2017; 21 September 2017; 30 November 2017 and 29 March 2018.
The Chairman concluded by thanking the officers for a very useful demonstration.