Issue - meetings

That the Committee endorses the early progress in implementing the new CPRs and receives further reports in accordance with its work programme.

The Chief Officer (Governance) introduced an update on the implementation of the Contract Procedure Rules (CPRs) with particular focus on contract management, as requested at the previous meeting.

Since approval of the CPRs in September 2016, only a small number of contracts had been let and therefore there was limited evidence at this stage to demonstrate how the CPRs were working in practice.  The initial findings of an Internal Audit review of contract management across Flintshire and Denbighshire Councils were shared and would form part of the finalised report to be brought to a future meeting.

Tom Booty, Programme Manager, Facilities, Assets & Housing at Denbighshire County Council reminded Members that the CPRs had been adopted in Denbighshire at an earlier stage and that bespoke support was given to teams where issues had been identified.  In Flintshire, there was good attendance at training sessions which were scheduled for another six months.

Councillor Ian Dunbar asked about guidance for dealing with sub-contractor issues which had been an area of concern.  Mr. Booty explained that contracts were between the Council and main contractor whose work was subject to quality monitoring whether directly or indirectly through a sub-contractor.  It was therefore the contractual responsibility of the main contractor to deal with any issues.

The Chairman pointed out that whilst Members had accepted the need for occasional use of sub-contracting, there were concerns about the supervision of performance.  Mr. Booty said that the CPRS addressed this and that the procurement software gave notification of the use of sub-contractors.

Members were advised that twice yearly update reports on the implementation of CPRs had been scheduled in the Committee’s Forward Work Programme.

Prior to the item, Councillor Glyn Banks left the room as he had declared a personal and prejudicial interest, and he returned following the vote.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee endorses the early progress in implementing the new CPRs and receives further reports in accordance with its work programme.