Members of the Committee are requested to bring their copy of the agenda for the Executive meeting on 20 October 2021.
Minutes:
The Committee considered the following reports on the Part 1 agenda for the meeting of the Executive on 20 October 2021:
(5) FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW HEALTH AND WELL BEING CENTRE AT THE CIVIC CENTRE AS PART OF A WIDER MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT
In February 2020 the Executive resolved that consideration should be given as to the disposal of the former Adventure Kingdom (AK) building to the CCG, at market value, so that it could be redeveloped by the CCG for a new Bromley Town Centre Health and Well Being Centre. As negotiations developed it transpired that it was the CCG’s intention to refurbish the former AK building rather than re-develop it. This was considered a poor utilisation of the space and would restrict any ability to widen development scope in the immediate area and therefore diminish any returns for the Council in terms of creating new housing and other facilities. Officers produced an alternative proposition for the CCG to consider comprising a wider scheme developed by the Council utilising the footprint of the existing Great Hall and AK Buildings at the Civic Centre. This scheme would provide for a new Health and Well Being Centre together with a new Community Hall and a residential Planning Policy compliant scheme of circa 48 units above.
Councillor Will Harmer addressed the Committee as local ward councillor in support of the proposals which had been in the development stage for a number of years. The additional GP facilities that the proposals would deliver were welcome. It was suggested that that recommendation 2.4 should be amended to:
“To advance a high-quality scheme in which the Council can be proud and one that recognises the heritage of the area”.
The amendment was agreed by the Committee.
The Chairman moved that the clause of the recommendation which gave officers authority beyond the terms of the scheme of delegation to approve spending should be deleted, as the council was no longer focused solely on COVID measures and the financial controls embedded in the scheme of delegation are important for democratic accountability. This was agreed by the Committee.
The Chairman noted that the overall benefit of the scheme was likely to be greater than that indicated in the report.
RESOLVED: that the Executive be recommended to:
1. Note the new approach to delivering a Health and Well- being Centre at the Civic Offices as part of a wider scheme and
2. Note the intent to proceed to procurement, and subsequent award of contract, via a compliant route for various professional services to progress the scheme, as set out in paragraph 3.16 of the report;
3. Advance a high-quality scheme in which the Council can be proud and one that recognises the heritage of the area.
4. Authorise a drawdown of up to £0.5m from the Growth Fund to fund the professional services required to progress the scheme through the initial stages.
(6) MICROSOFT OFFICE LICENSES
Report CSD21113
The report provided details of the current Microsoft Office licensing and changes in Microsoft Licensing Polices imposed upon the Council, details of a refresh of the Microsoft Office Licenses that supports the Council’s core IT infrastructure, all users and key business systems, and the significant risks and the required licenses that were needed to ensure that the Council continued to have a supported office productivity suite.
The Committee recognised the dominance of Microsoft in the market.
RESOLVED: That the Executive be recommended to:
1. Note the information and agree to the procurement of Microsoft Office License Agreement, as set out in this report for 3 years.
2. Approve an increase in the IT Services revenue budget of £13k in 2022/23, £79k in 2023/24 and £135k in 2024/25 to ensure the most optimal Microsoft Office productivity and Cyber Security functions are procured and available for the Council.
3. Agree to the use of the current IT service provider, BT, through the mechanism of the Westminster City Council Pan-London ICT Framework to procure the services detailed in the report. Where in the opinion of the Director of HR, Customer Services and Public Affairs a separate procurement is required or desirable, agree to delegate authority in consultation with the Portfolio Holder, to authorise the use of an alternative procurement route.
(9) HOMEBASE UNIT, SEVENOAKS WAY INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, ORPINGTON BR5 3QD - LEASE EXTENSION
The Long Leasehold owner (L&G) of Sevenoaks Way Industrial Estate, Orpington, had approached the Council as Freeholder requesting a lease regear. The report detailed the proposed terms of the lease regear and sought approval to proceed with the transaction.
The Committee noted that the report set out the other options that had been considered and the reasons for not pursuing the options, including the sale of the freehold.
RESOLVED: That the Executive be recommended to:
(10) DIRECT LINE OFFICES, CHURCHILL COURT, WESTMORELAND ROAD, BROMLEY
The Long Leasehold owner (Direct Line Insurance Services Ltd) of Churchill Court, Westmoreland Road, Bromley, BR1 1DP have approached the Council as freeholder of the property in respect of acquiring the freehold interest. Direct Line intended to base their Headquarters at the site, and to support this, wished to redevelop the existing buildings to provide brand new office accommodation for their business. Acquiring the Freehold interest in the property would enable them the control and security of tenure required to invest in the redevelopment. The report detailed the proposed terms of the freehold purchase and sought Member approval to proceed with the transaction.
The local ward Member highlighted that the proposals demonstrated the faith that business were showing in Bromley Town and Officers in the Regeneration Team were thanked for the work they had been undertaking to advance the town.
RESOLVED: That the Executive be recommended to:
1. Agree to the disposal of the Council’s freehold interest in Churchill Court, Westmoreland Road, Bromley, BR1 1DP to Direct Line Insurance Services Ltd who are the existing occupant and long leaseholder as per the terms set out in the report (both Parts 1 and 2).
2. Authorise the disposal of the Council’s freehold interest at Churchill Court, Westmoreland Road Bromley to Direct Line Insurance Services Ltd.
3. Delegate authority to the Head of Estates & Asset Management in consultation with the Director for Housing, Planning and Regeneration and the lead member to finalise the commercial heads of terms (“HOTS”) , and
4. Authorise the Assistant Director for Legal Services to enter into any ancillary legal agreements relating thereto (including settling the Council’s associated professional fees, which are to be paid from the net proceeds of sale in the transaction.
(11) PROCUREMENT OF HR/PAYROLL SOFTWARE
The contract for the Council’s integrated HR & Payroll System, ResourceLink, was due to end in June 2023. ResourceLink had been in use at the Council since 2002 when it replaced separate HR and Payroll systems. In November 2020, the Leader agreed to the procurement of Oracle Cloud ERP for Finance and Procurement functions through a variation to the BT contract. That report advised that a separate report would be taken forward in 2021 regarding the HR/Payroll software. Following an options appraisal, it was now proposed to procure Oracle Cloud ERP system for HR and Payroll functions to ensure the Council had a fit for purpose and fully integrated HR/Payroll system, alongside finance, that will meet the current and future needs of the Council.
The Committee noted that the report to the Executive in November 2020 set out the reasons why a full tender for the Finance Oracle system had not been pursued. The Head of HR Business, Systems and Reward confirmed that there had been a review of other systems and in all cases the Oracle option presented better value for money.
Members noted that there had not been a significant reduction in costs because whilst the number of staff had reduced over time, the Council’s pensioners were also paid through the system and their had been an increase in the number of pensioners.
RESOLVED: that the Executive be recommended to:
1. Consider the contents of the report;
2. Agree a variation to the BT contract to include the procurement of Oracle’s Cloud Enterprise Resource Planning system for HR & Payroll functions for a period of 5 years with the option to extend this for up to a further five years on an annual renewal basis;
3. Delegate authority to the Director of HR, Customer Services & Public Affairs to agree the annual renewal of the Oracle Cloud Enterprise Resource System for HR & Payroll functions after year 5 in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Resources, Commissioning and Contracts Management;
4. Give approval to proceed to procurement to appoint a Systems Integrator via a suitable framework at an estimated value of £600k and delegate the subsequent award of that contract to Chief Officers in consultation with the Portfolio Holder.
5. Note that the capital scheme budget will be reduced by £250k to reflect the current projected costs of implementing the system.