Issue - meetings

This report asks the Executive to decide on the award of the corporate contract for the search and selection of Chief Officers, following a full tendering process, as Officers’ recommendations are not to award the lowest cost supplier.

RESOLVED: (i)         That Option B be agreed and the contract awarded to Gatenby Sanderson.

REASON:      So that the contract is awarded to the highest combined scorer, taking into account commercial and technical considerations.

                        (ii)        That Officers be asked to bring forward proposals clarifying the circumstances in which the Council will seek to utilise the services of the recruitment consultants.

REASON:      To ensure that consultants are used only in appropriate circumstances.

Members considered a report which asked them to decide upon the award of the corporate contract for the search and selection of Chief Officers, following a full tendering process.

The decision to award a contract for this purpose had been taken to remove the risk of breaching the OJEU thresholds under the current practice of obtaining separate quotes for consultants.  Seven organisations had submitted a full tender for the contract, of which three – Hays, Gatenby Sanderson and Veredus - had been invited to present in front of Group Leaders.  Detailed results of the evaluation of these three tenders were set out in an exempt annex to the report (Annex A).

Members were asked to consider the following options:

Option A – choose the lowest cost supplier of the three (Hays Executive);

Option B – choose the supplier with the best combination of cost and quality (Gatenby Sanderson).  This was the recommended option.

Having noted the comments of the Shadow Executive, it was

RESOLVED: (i)         That Option B be agreed and the contract awarded to Gatenby Sanderson.

REASON:      So that the contract is awarded to the highest combined scorer, taking into account commercial and technical considerations.

                        (ii)        That Officers be asked to bring forward proposals clarifying the circumstances in which the Council will seek to utilise the services of the recruitment consultants.

REASON:      To ensure that consultants are used only in appropriate circumstances.