Agenda item

Report ACH21-008

At its meeting on the 24^th November 2020, the Committee had been provided with a Leader decision Contract Award report for pre-decision scrutiny. The report (ACH20-067) concerned the award of contract for the Direct Payments and Payroll Support Service contract. It recommended an award of contract for a period of five years, with an option to extend for up to two years. The estimated annual value of the contract was £202k, with the estimated value of the initial contract term being £1,010k and the estimated value of the extension period being £404k (estimated whole life value of £1,414k).

The report had recommended that delegated authority be granted to the Director of Adult Social Care to approve the extension option in due course, in agreement with the Portfolio Holder and relevant officers as determined by the Contract Procedure Rules. Members had queried the request for delegated authority for the extension option. In response, the Leader approved the award of contract, but deferred a decision on the delegation of authority for the extension option to allow further investigation into the circumstances under which such authority was routinely delegated to officers, and therefore a report had been provided to the meeting.

The Assistant Director for Governance and Contracts noted that delegated authority was not an assumed, and it was a Member decision which must be requested at the point of Contract Award and the decision maker, whether at Portfolio Holder or Executive level, must specifically grant approval. If approved, scrutiny could still take place via various methods. Contracts with a whole life value of over £500k should be reported to Members on an annual basis which, if performance suggested, could also prompt a referral back to Members for extension options in the future. Any delegated authority was subject to ensuring that a contract extension was taken several months before its end date so that alternative action was possible.

If a contract was not adhering to KPI’s, a Member questioned if it was correctly assumed that it would not be extended. The Assistant Director for Governance and Contracts advised that underperformance on a contract would be looked at on a case by case basis, as it depended on the nature of the underperformance. For any extension where there was delegated authority, it needed to be taken in sufficient time to consider all factors and it would also be subject to consultation with the relevant Portfolio Holder and key officers. A governance process took place in the background, and a Gateway Report was required to justify the business case to enact the extension. Contract Database reports were provided on a quarterly basis, in which a summary was provided, and actions proposed for any contract coming towards its end. It could also be raised with the Chairman and Portfolio Holder at any point if there was a contract which Members would like brought back for scrutiny.

RESOLVED that:

i)  The report be noted; and,

ii)  The Executive be recommended to approve the deferred recommendation in Report ACH20-067 (Direct Payments Support and Payroll Contract Award), specifically the granting of delegated authority to the Director of Adult Services to apply the extension option for this contract, subject to agreement with the Portfolio Holder and relevant officers as determined by the Contract Procedure Rules.