Agenda item

To provide an update on actions taken in response to the Veritau report on Make It York contract arrangements.

The Committee received a update on the audit into Make it York (MIY) which had been given limited assurance. It was confirmed that getting performance data from MIY had been challenging. As a teckal company forcing compliance through the contract mechanism it was noted by officers was difficult, instead they noted the need for strong partnership work and noted that a new reporting schedule had been agreed once the new director at MIY is in place.

Members enquired about the recruitment process at MIY and whether or not recruitment was open enough, noting the use of CV and covering letters. Officers confirmed that MIY had the power to recruit how the company sees fit but that the Council observes the recruitment of senior roles and expects it teckal companies to practice the highest standard of recruitment. It was confirmed that CV and covering letters were not bad practice and the recruitment of the Managing Director was a rigorous process. It was also confirmed that the Council maintained the right to appoint directors and has two Executive Members as directors of the company.

The Committee discussed the monitoring of MIY and its performance against the service level agreement within the contract. The role of the Shareholders Committee, the client (the City of York Council officer), and the Executive were discussed and how did the Council ensure performance when reports and performance data was no longer being supplied by MIY. It was confirmed that the lack of reports and data was a challenge however, client meetings continued to take place and the lack of reports were raised with MIY. It was also confirmed that Covid had effected MIY and this was noted by officers as a contributing factor to the decline in expected reporting. Tackling issues were discussed and it was noted that penalties to force compliance were a issue as any financial penalty would effectively be a sanction on the Council.

Ensuring good practice going forward was discussed and members considered whether the service level agreement was fit for purpose. It was confirmed that the Council had tried several different styles of agreements, those with lots of performance indicators and those that did not, officers confirmed that the challenge was developing a system which monitored performance effectively and properly outlined what the Council expected from MIY. It was confirmed that the Council had at times been a bad client to MIY and had been unclear about its expectations and what specific functions MIY were expected to cover.

Members discussed the Council’s relationship with MIY going forward including the new MIY contract and service level agreement, as well as, the role moving forward for directors, Shareholders Committee, and client officer. It was confirmed that training was provided to Executive Members that performed as Directors on a teckal company and for officers that performed the role of clients. It was noted that proposed changes to the constitution noted that the Leader of Opposition groups would be able to attend but not have a vote at Shareholders Committee, members noted concerns that any role as a nonvoting member on a committee can be an ineffective role. Members also noted the need for the Council to act as a better client to MIY to ensure a more successful partnership.

Resolved:

                      i.         Noted the measures taken to improve the contract management arrangements.

Reason:     To improve the governance of Make It York.