Agenda item

That the report and the progress made to date by the workstream be noted.      

The Head of ICT and Customer Services introduced a report to provide an update on the Procurement Workstream within the Flintshire Futures Programme.

He detailed the three primary goals for the workstream and explained that alongside these goals, challenging efficiency targets had been set in terms of reduced spend and process efficiencies.  An electronic purchase to pay system had been introduced and since its introduction in December 2011 almost 12,000 orders with a total value of £32m had been processed.  An electronic sourcing system which would automate the remaining elements of the procurement process in relation to tendering, supplier management, contract management and the select list was also in the process of being implemented.  The Head of ICT and Customer Services explained that a new set of Contract Procedure Rules had been developed and would be considered for adoption by County Council on 25 September 2013. 

Procurement training needs had been identified and a staff training programme was being developed with the aim of improving procurement knowledge and skills across the Council.  Collaboration was a major element of the Flintshire Futures workstream and the Council was currently considering membership of the Welsh Procurement Consortium (WPC) following the dissolution of the North Wales Procurement Partnership (NWPP) earlier this year.  The Head of ICT and Customer Services provided further details of the WPC and explained that they proactively encouraged and used the Welsh market place with 73% of suppliers being based in Wales.  The Council had already committed to being a member of the new Welsh National Procurement Service (NPS) established by the Welsh Government and to avoid duplication, the WPC would focus on categories of spend not covered by the NPS.  A report on the WPC was to be considered by Cabinet on 17 September 2013. 

The Head of ICT and Customer Services explained that on a sub-regional basis, the management support for the Flintshire Central Procurement Unit had been provided on a part time basis by the Denbighshire Strategic Procurement Manager.  It had been identified that there was a duplication of efforts across various procurement initiatives and activities within both councils so to build on the progress to date and deliver the plans for the future it was proposed, subject to a full business case, that both corporate procurement units formally merge.  A report on this was to be considered by Cabinet on 17 September 2013.  A bid had been made to the Welsh Government Regional Collaboration Fund for the joint arrangements and to look at how improvement category management across the North Wales region could be introduced where there were joint specialist teams responsible for categories of spend with associated savings targets.  The Flintshire Futures Procurement workstream had achieved its savings targets for 2013/14 of £2m on an on-going basis and due to the major budget challenges ahead, increased targets for future years as part of the Medium Term Financial Plan would be set. 

In response to a question from Councillor Ian Dunbar about whether the comments or concerns of the six North Wales Authorities would be listened to as part of the WPC, the Head of ICT and Customer Services said that the six Councils would become full members of the WPC if they accepted the invitation to join. 

Councillor Stella Jones asked if there were back-up systems in place if the use of electronic sourcing and payment systems were introduced to reduce the amount of paper used.  The Head of ICT and Customer Services explained that there was a resilient IT infrastructure in place with a second data centre in Alltami depot to mirror the information stored on the County Hall site.  He explained that work had been undertaken to reduce the data centre power and this had been recognised and the service had won a national award.  He added that problems with the data centre were a risk but that there was mitigation in place to manage the risk.  Following a question from Councillor Mike Reece, the Head of ICT and Customer Services said that discussions were ongoing with Wrexham and Denbighshire Councils about further back-up systems for Flintshire County Council’s data storage.   

Councillor Mike Peers referred to paragraph 3.11 about 73% of suppliers being based in Wales and asked whether the prices quoted by Welsh suppliers were compared with suppliers from neighbouring counties in England to ensure that the best price was achieved.  The Head of ICT and Customer Services said that it was important to look at the best value for the Council and that this would mean identifying suppliers in both Wales and England.  He added that the number of places that goods could be ordered from through the electronic purchase to pay system were restricted and said that 20% was for process savings and 80% for procurement savings.  He referred to the EU Procurement Regulations which had to be to be followed for the provision of goods and services over certain financial values. 

Councillor Paul Shotton said that he understand that the authority was governed by European regulations but felt that it was important to help the local economy.  He welcomed the collaboration by Flintshire and Denbighshire Councils for procurement issues and said that this made sense going forward.  In response, the Head of ICT and Customer Services said that work could be undertaken with Economic Development colleagues to identify opportunities for local suppliers. 

The Leader spoke of the significant advantages for local suppliers and said that it was important to achieve ongoing savings for procurement.  He commented on the Flintshire Business Week and on the issue of cross-border working, he spoke of the Mersey Dee Alliance.        

In response to a query from Councillor Neville Phillips, the Head of ICT and Customer Services said that the Wider North Wales Support Services Collaboration Board was made up of both Members and officers but only officers sat on the North Wales Procurement Partnership Board.  

RESOLVED:

That the report and the progress made to date by the workstream be noted.