Provost Norman Macdonald (Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar); Councillor Altany Craik (Fife Council); Baillie Norman MacLeod (Glasgow City Council); Councillor John Shaw (Renfrewshire Council); and Councillor Collette Stevenson (South Lanarkshire Council).

Provost Bill Howatson (Aberdeenshire Council) and Councillor Stephen Thompson (Dumfries and Galloway Council).

Councillor Shaw, Convener, presided.

J Welsh, Director, H Carr, Head of Strategic Procurement, S Brannagan, Head of Customer and Business Services, L Campbell, Corporate Services Manager, S Brydson, Senior Procurement Specialist, J Hunt, Strategic Programme Manager, A Kowalska, Procurement Co-ordinator and L Cairns, Senior Procurement Specialist (all Scotland Excel); and M Conaghan, Legal and Democratic Services Manager (for items 1 and 2 only), C McCourt, Finance Business Partner, E Currie, Senior Committee Services Officer and K O’Neill, Assistant Democratic Services Officer (all Renfrewshire Council).

Councillor Angus Douglas (Angus Council); Councillor Graham Hutchison (City of Edinburgh Council); Councillor Alister MacKinnon (Highland Council); Councillor Paul Di Mascio (North Lanarkshire Council) and Councillor Amanda Hawick (Shetland Islands Council).

There were no declarations of interest intimated prior to the commencement of the meeting.

There was submitted the Minute of the meeting of the Executive Sub-committee held on 31 January 2020.

In relation to item 4 – Associate Member Update Report – the Director of Scotland Excel advised that the report in relation to Scotland Excel’s Associate Strategy would be submitted to the meeting of this Sub-committee to be held on 27 March 2020.

DECIDED: 

(a) That the Minute be approved; and

(b) That it be noted that the report in relation to Scotland Excel’s Associate Strategy would be submitted to the meeting of this Sub-committee to be held on 27 March 2020.

There was submitted a revenue budget monitoring report by the Treasurer and the Director of Scotland Excel for the period 1 April 2019 to 3 January 2020.  

The report intimated that Scotland Excel was projecting a £14,000 underspend compared to budget by year-end in its core activities and that it was anticipated that projects would contribute £173,000 to core.

The table appended to report provided an analysis of the actual spend to date along with projected net expenditure for 2019/20 and included a summary of movement in the revenue reserve.

It was proposed that the information contained in future revenue budget monitoring reports be presented in a different format and this was agreed.

DECIDED: 

(a) That the report be noted; and

(b) That the information contained in future revenue budget monitoring reports be presented in the format agreed by the Sub-committee.

There was submitted a report by the Director of Scotland Excel relative to the award of the first national flexible framework agreement for the provision of care and support services, care at home and supported living services, in Scotland which would operate from 1 April 2020 until 31 March 2024.

The report intimated that the flexible nature of this framework meant that it would re-open on a six-monthly basis throughout its four-year duration to allow new providers to join, ensuring that a diverse range of services and providers were available to meet the varying needs of people across the country, and promote choice for people who needed support.

Scotland Excel had been funded by the Scottish Government to explore collaborative opportunities in the delivery of care and support services in Scotland and following significant stakeholder engagement, a flexible framework was developed to deliver services predominately delivered into people’s own homes and communities.

Currently, councils and Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) in Scotland contracted separately for these services and this flexible framework provided an opportunity to introduce a single procurement approach, minimising repetition to enable commissioners to focus on ensuring that individual needs were understood and that care packages were enabled to support this.

People who currently accessed care and support through an existing council contract should remain under the contracted arrangement until they chose an alternative or, if their care needs were reassessed.  It was likely that the new flexible framework would initially be used for new care and support requirements ensuring ongoing service continuity for people in line with the Scottish Government guidance on procurement of care and support services.

The report summarised the procurement process. The advertised value of the flexible framework was £560 million over a four-year period and 22 Councils/HSCPs had confirmed their intention to use the flexible framework throughout its duration.  All 32 councils and HSCPs were named on the published contract notice to allow them to use the flexible framework in the future and an overview of he participating councils was detailed in Appendix 1 to the report.

Tender responses had been received from 84 providers across 334 registered services as detailed in Appendix 2 to the report.  There were five unsuccessful providers as their bids were non-compliant with the published qualification criteria.  There were three providers who were partly successful as some of their tendered services were non-compliant with the published qualification criteria.

Scotland Excel would work with any providers interested in applying to participate when the flexible framework reopened and with successful providers who wished to vary their services.

Based on the evaluation undertaken, and in line with the criteria and weightings set out in the report, it was recommended that 79 providers across the 22 geographical areas be awarded to the flexible framework form its commencement, as outlined in Appendix 3 to the report. It was noted that this appendix required to be amended so that the total score for Glasgow Homecare Limited trading as Home Instead Senior Care Glasgow South stated 77.5 and not 100.

Appendix 4 to the report detailed the Real Living Wage status of bidders. 

DECIDED: 

(a) That the award of this flexible framework agreement to the providers, as detailed in Appendix 3 to the report, be approved;

(b) That it be noted that Appendix 3 to the report required to be amended so that the total score for Glasgow Homecare Limited trading as Home Instead Senior Care Glasgow South stated 77.5 and not 100;

(c) That authority be delegated to the Director of Scotland Excel, or Head of Strategic Procurement in the Director’s absence, to approve recommendations following the evaluation of offers received on the periodic re-opening of the flexible framework, or following the consideration of formal requests from existing providers for the addition of new services;  and

(d) That it be noted that the appointment of any new providers to the flexible framework would be included within the annual procurement report.

There was submitted a report by the Director of Scotland Excel relative to the award of a renewal framework for secure care which would operate from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2022, with an option to extend for up to 24 months. 

The report intimated that three reviews had been conducted during the last year of the current arrangement and the findings and recommendations could have a significant impact on the future of secure care services in Scotland as they presented a degree of uncertainty with regards to the political, social and legal environment in which these services operated. In order to manage the risk associated with this uncertainty, the new contracts were designed to be capable of adapting to changes in legislation, standards and practice. To ensure service, continuity and stability whilst awaiting the outcome of the reviews, the new contract term would be for a period of two years, with an option to extend for a further period of up to 24 months.

The report summarised the procurement process and all parties responsible for purchasing secure accommodation placements in Scotland, being 32 councils and the Scottish Government, had agreed to use the new contracts from the start date.  Appendix 1 to the report detailed the participation and spend summary of all participants.

Tender responses had been received by four providers as detailed in Appendix 2 to the report. 

Based on the criteria and scoring methodology set out in the tender document, a full evaluation of the compliant offers received had been completed and Appendix 2 to the report detailed the scores relative to each bidder. 

Based on the evaluation undertaken and in line with the criteria and weightings detailed in the report it was recommended that the contracts be awarded to the four providers as detailed in Appendix 3 to the report.

Appendix 4 to the report detailed the Real Living Wage status of bidders. It was noted that this appendix required to be amended to read that both Rossie Young People’s Trust and St. Mary’s Kenmure were accredited living wage employers and that Kibble Education and Care Centre paid the Real Living Wage to all employees but were not accredited.

DECIDED: 

(a) That the award of contracts for secure care services, as detailed in Appendix 3 to the report, be approved; and

(b) That it be noted that Appendix 4 to the report required to be amended to read that both Rossie Young People’s Trust and St. Mary’s Kenmure were accredited living wage employers and that Kibble Education and Care Centre paid the Real Living Wage to all employees but were not accredited.

There was submitted a report by the Director of Scotland Excel relative to the award of a fourth-generation renewal framework for the supply and delivery of electrical materials which would operate from 1 April 2020 until 31 March 2022, with the option to extend for up to 24 months.

The framework provided councils and other participating bodies with a mechanism to procure a range of electrical products including, but not limited to, cables, wiring accessories, circuit protection, heating, ventilation, safety detectors, and lamps.

The report summarised the outcome of the procurement process for the national framework agreement which incorporated multi-offer lots to provide a choice and flexibility for a range of manufacturer brands.  As well as delivering savings, rebates and sustainable procurement initiatives, this renewal also supported recent legislative changes.

The framework had been divided into seven lots as detailed in figure 1 of the report and the total projected contract value was £80 million. Appendix 1 to the report detailed the participation and spend summary for the 31 councils participating in the framework.  Tayside Contracts, NHS and Scottish Prison Service had confirmed their intention to participate in the framework. 

Tender responses had been received from 13 suppliers however, two tenderers rejected the terms and conditions and withdrew their offers. Appendix 2 to the report provided a summary of the offers received. 

Based on the criteria and scoring methodology set out in the tender document, a full evaluation of compliant offers had been carried out and Appendix 3 to the report detailed the scoring achieved by each bidder in each lot.

Based on the evaluation undertaken, and in line with the criteria and weightings set out in the report, it was recommended that a multi-supplier framework arrangement be awarded to 11 suppliers across seven lots as outlined in Appendix 3 to the report. 

Appendix 4 to the report detailed the Real Living Wage status of bidders at point of tender. 

DECIDED: That the award of the framework agreement for the supply and delivery of electrical materials, as detailed in Appendix 3 to the report, be approved.

 

 

There was submitted a report by the Director of Scotland Excel relative to the award of a third-generation renewal framework for the supply and delivery of waste disposal equipment which would operate from 1 April 2020 until 31 March 2024.

The framework provided councils and other participating bodies with a mechanism to procure a wide range of waste disposal equipment including, but not limited to, large containers, skips, compactors, balers and roll-packers.

The report summarised the outcome of the procurement process for this third-generation framework agreement. 

The framework had been divided into four lots as detailed in figure 1 of the report and had been advertised at a value of £5 million over the four-year period. Appendix 1 to the report detailed the participation, spend and savings summary of those 31 councils participating in the framework.  

Tender responses had been received from nine suppliers and Appendix 2 to the report provided a summary of the offers received. 

Based on the criteria and scoring methodology set out in the tender document, a full evaluation of compliant offers had been carried out and Appendix 3 to the report detailed the scoring achieved by each bidder.

Based on the evaluation undertaken, and in line with the criteria and weightings set out in the report, it was recommended that a multi-supplier framework arrangement be awarded to eight suppliers across the four lots and Council geographical areas as outlined in Appendix 3 to the report. 

Appendix 4 to the report detailed the Real Living Wage status of bidders. 

DECIDED: That the award of the framework agreement for the supply and delivery of waste disposal equipment, as detailed in Appendix 3 to the report, be approved.

There was submitted a report by the Director of Scotland Excel relative to the progress made towards delivering the five-year corporate strategy.

The report intimated that 52 of the 64 actions were progressing in line with plans; five activities were progressing more slowly than anticipated; three activities had been completed during the first three quarters of the financial year; and four activities would commence in the fourth quarter of this financial year.

It was noted that the recommendation in the report referred to the Joint Committee and that this should be the Executive Sub-committee.

DECIDED: That the Executive Sub-committee note the progress made in delivering the commitments contained in the Operating Plan 2019/20.

DECIDED: That it be noted that the next meeting of the Executive Sub-committee would be held at 10.45 am on 27 March 2020 in Scotland Excel Meeting Room 1, Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley.