Executive Member for Finance & Performance	14 December 2020
Report of Head of Business Intelligence

Approval of ICT procurements with a whole life contract value of over £250k

Summary

1) The report will present the proposals to renew or replace any core ICT systems in the council with a whole life contract value of over £250k. These have been defined as non-key routine procurements as per the council’s contract procedure rules and expenditure will fall within existing capital and revenue budget provisions.

Recommendations

2) The Executive Member is asked to approve:

· A single contract for re-procurement of the main education case management system in order to secure capital savings and avoid increases in revenue costs for the next 5 years (Annex A);

Reason: To ensure the thatcouncillors consider routine procurement decisions over £250k in value in line with procurement regulations and the public have the opportunity to see transparent decision-making in operation relating to major procurements.

Background

3) The contract procedure rules state:

“7.7 - Where the aggregate contract value (including any extension) is between £250,000 and less than £500,000 then the decision to enter the contract requires the approval of an Executive Member or the Executive unless the procurement is treated as Routine as defined in clause 7.9.

7.8 - Where the aggregate contract value (including any extension) is £500,000 or more the decision will be regarded as a Key Decision unless the Chief Finance Officer acting in consultation with the Monitoring Officer has approved the procurement as Routine.

          7.9 - A Routine procurement is any arrangement that represents a low commercial and legal risk to the Council and relates to procurement of goods, services or works with a clearly defined specification and that clearly relate to the routine day to day operation of the Council.  Routine procurements will be limited to items such as utilities, insurance or stationery.  Where Officers consider a procurement process may be Routine, they are required to liaise with Commercial Procurement who will advise on the relevant paperwork to be submitted to the Chief Finance Officer.  Authorisation to treat a procurement as Routine must be sought before the procurement process commences.  A Director may enter a Contract where the procurement has been treated as Routine.  An updated register of routine procurement must be presented regularly to the Executive Member for Finance and Performance.”

4) It has been agreed for transparency that that whilst the procurements in the annexes have been agreed as routine by the Monitoring Officer and the Acting Section 151 Officer (Chief Finance Officer), and approved by the relevant Chief Officer, each decision will be approved by the Executive Member for Finance and Performance rather than presented in a register. 

5) Whilst in some cases the procurement route will be indicated in the annex, as a general rule the most appropriate procurement route will be used in line with professional procurement advice, as determined at the time the council is ready to issue the related specification.

Consultations

6) The council’s officer ICT Board, Directorate Management Team and statutory officers have been consulted in the formation of the recommended decisions in this report.

Options/Analysis

7) Any options and analysis considered will be contained within the annexes.

Council Plan

8) Outcomes achieved by the activities covered in this report help to deliver all services across the council, but particularly support the Council Plan 2019 -23 priority of An Open and Effective Council in supporting the delivery of digital services.

Implications

9)

a. Financial:  The procurements will fall within existing capital and revenue budget provisions. 

b. Human Resources (HR):  None

c. Equalities: None

d. Legal:  The procurement exercise will be undertaken in accordance with the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules and the Council’s Financial Standing Orders. 

e. Crime and Disorder: None

f. Information Technology (ICT):  As covered in the Annexes

g. Property:  None

h. Other:  None

Risk Management

9) The controls and evidence in this report mitigate/minimise risks associated with the impacts of:

· Availability of core systems that the council relies upon on a day to day services;

· Availability of core systems that residents relies upon on a day to day services;

· Compliance with government security requirements such as the Public Service Network (PSN) requirements, which allows council officers to access government systems as part of their work;

· Compliance with Data Protection/GDPR regulations;

· Avoids price increases in the medium term;

· Future-proofing core platforms that digital services rely upon.

Contact Details Author: Ian Cunningham Head of Business Intelligence Tel No.  01904 555749	Chief Officers Responsible for the report: Pauline Stuchfield Assistant Director - Customer & Digital Services Tel No.  01904 551706
Report Approved		√	Date	30/11/2020
Specialist Implications Officer(s) Financial: Debbie Mitchell, Chief Finance Officer Legal: Janie Berry, Director of Governance							All
Wards Affected:  List wards or tick box to indicate all					All	√

Annexes:

Annex A - Education Case Management System Procurement

List of abbreviations used in this report:

CYC           City of York Council

PSN           Public Services Network

ICT             Information & Communications Technology

GDPR        European General Data Protection Regulation

k                 Thousand