Issue - meetings

The Head of HR & OD to present a report which seeks approval to award of a contract to City of York Trading (CYT), trading as Work with York (WwY), for the provision of temporary staff to City of York Council.

Resolved:  (i)      That approval be given to award a contract directly to CYT for the provision of temporary staff to the City of York Council for an initial period of five years, plus up to two years of extensions (a maximum term of seven years).

                  (ii)     That authority be delegated to the Head of HR, in consultation with the Chief Finance Officer, to take such steps as are necessary to negotiate with CYT any changes to the current specification around the rates and fee structure and to enter into the resulting contract.

Reason:     To keep agency costs to a cost-effective level for the council whilst maintaining quality of service.

The Head of HR & OD presented a report which sought approval to award a contract to City of York Trading (CYT), trading as Work with York (WwY), for the provision of temporary staff to City of York Council.

CYT was a company wholly owned by the council, with profits coming back to the council as dividends.  The current contract had been let to CYT under the ‘Teckal’ exemption and was due to expire on 31 August 2023.  The following options were presented, as detailed in paragraphs 12-25 of the report:

Option 1 – award the contract to CYT directly under ‘Teckal’ arrangements.  This was the recommended option.

Option 2 – go through a formal re-tender process involving other external agencies.  This would require an 18-month extension to the current contract to allow enough time, and there would be further implications if the procurement process was not successful.

Option 3 – move the agency process in-house.  This would also require more time, as well as additional resources from the council.

In supporting the recommendations, the Executive Member for Finance, Performance, Major Projects & Equalities noted that, while agency workers should not be used unless essential, Option A would reduce the cost where this could not be avoided.

Resolved:  (i)      That approval be given to award a contract directly to CYT for the provision of temporary staff to the City of York Council for an initial period of five years, plus up to two years of extensions (a maximum term of seven years).

                  (ii)     That authority be delegated to the Head of HR, in consultation with the Chief Finance Officer, to take such steps as are necessary to negotiate with CYT any changes to the current specification around the rates and fee structure and to enter into the resulting contract.

Reason:     To keep agency costs to a cost-effective level for the council whilst maintaining quality of service.