There was submitted the Minute of the meeting of the Executive Sub-committee held on 19 May 2023.

DECIDED: That the Minute be approved.

There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive of Scotland Excel relative to the Chief Executive’s update report considered at the meeting of the Scotland Excel Chief Executive Officers Management Group (CEOMG) held on 9 August 2023.

The report intimated that the CEOMG met quarterly and that as part of the regular governance process, the Chief Executive of Scotland Excel provided an update on the work of Scotland Excel. Following discussions with the Convener, it had been agreed that future reports, be shared with members of the Scotland Excel Executive Sub-committee, following CEOMG meetings. 

The report submitted to the CEOMG meeting held on 9 August 2023, which covered the period from May to July 2023, was appended to the report.

DECIDED: That the report be noted.

There was submitted a joint revenue budget monitoring report by the Treasurer and the Chief Executive of Scotland Excel for the period 1 April to 21 July 2023.  

The report intimated that at the end of period 4, Scotland Excel was projecting an overspend of £192,000 by year-end in its core activities and an increase of £231,000 in project reserves. It was noted that both core and projects budgets would be monitored closely in order to mitigate any projected overspends against planned budgets by year-end. Further detail was provided in section 3 of the report.

The appendices to the report provided an analysis of the actual spend to date along with projected net expenditure for 2023/24 and included a summary of movement in both the revenue reserve and the project reserves.

DECIDED: That the report be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive of Scotland Excel relative to the award of a first-generation framework for provision of a shared alarm receiving centre (ARC) technology solution for a period of six years from the commencement date, unless terminated earlier in accordance with its terms (contractual break option after year four). It was noted that subject to approval and completion of a standstill period, it was intended that the framework would commence on 1 September 2023.

The report intimated that the single-supplier framework would provide members with a mechanism to procure a technology solution to contribute to a smooth transition from the current analogue connections to digital connections within their ARCs. It was anticipated that the analogue network would be permanently switched off in December 2025 and the proposed framework agreement for a single supplier would help to ensure that the solution being delivered was consistent and co-ordinated across Scotland. 

The report summarised the outcome of the procurement process and advised that the framework had been advertised with an estimated spend of £15 million over its lifetime of six years, equating to approximately £2.5 million per annum. 

Tender responses had been received from five suppliers. The report advised that two tenderers were deemed non-compliant as they did not accept the terms and conditions published with the tender documents.

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

Based on the evaluation undertaken, and in line with the advertised criteria and weightings set out in the report, it was recommended that the single-supplier framework arrangement be awarded to Chubb Fire & Security Limited, as outlined in Appendix 3 to the report. 

The report detailed the approach taken by suppliers in relation to fair work practices and their position on the payment of the Real Living Wage together with the other benefits that would be achieved through the framework. The report intimated that, in accordance with Scotland Excel’s established contract and supplier management programme, in terms of risk and spend, the framework had been classified as class B. 

It was noted that the reference to ‘call handlers’ in the second paragraph of section 6 of the report should read ‘connections’.

DECIDED: 

(a) That the award of the single-supplier framework agreement for the provision of a shared alarm receiving centre (ARC) technology solution, as detailed in Appendix 3 to the report, be approved; and

(b) That it be noted that the reference to ‘call handlers’ in the second paragraph of section 6 of the report should read ‘connections’.

Under reference to item 5 of the Minute of the meeting of this Sub-committee held on   21 April 2023, there was submitted a report by the Chief Executive of Scotland Excel providing details of the final revised format of contract approval reports.

The report provided detail on the proposed content and format of all future approval reports and a reworked copy of a previously approved contract report formed Appendix 1 to the report as an example of how the changes would be applied.

DECIDED: That the proposed changes to contract approval reports, as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report, be approved.

There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive of Scotland Excel advising that Blairtummock Housing Association Limited had submitted an application to become an associate member of Scotland Excel. 

The report provided details of the organisation and the legislative position in relation to the application.

DECIDED: That the application by Blairtummock Housing Association Limited to become an associate member of Scotland Excel, with an annual membership fee of £1,090, be approved, subject to completion and signing of the agreement documentation.

There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive of Scotland Excel advising that Cassiltoun Housing Association Limited had submitted an application to become an associate member of Scotland Excel. 

The report provided details of the organisation and the legislative position in relation to the application.

DECIDED: That the application by Cassiltoun Housing Association Limited to become an associate member of Scotland Excel, with an annual membership fee of £1,640, be approved, subject to completion and signing of the agreement documentation.

This report was withdrawn.

 

 

There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive of Scotland Excel advising that New Gorbals Housing Association Limited had submitted an application to become an associate member of Scotland Excel. 

The report provided details of the organisation and the legislative position in relation to the application.

DECIDED: That the application by New Gorbals Housing Association Limited to become an associate member of Scotland Excel, with an annual membership fee of £4,000, be approved, subject to completion and signing of the agreement documentation.

There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive of Scotland Excel providing an update on the Operating Plan 2023/24, a copy of which was appended to the report. 

The report intimated that the new five-year Corporate Strategy, outlining the organisation’s business goals and priorities for 2023/28, had been approved at the meeting of the Joint Committee held on 9 December 2022. This strategy had been developed around five corporate goals, being: journey towards a net zero Scotland; drive for efficiency to support the financial sustainability of local public service; community wellbeing with equal access to services, economic development and fair work jobs; resilient supply chains that maximise opportunities for Scottish businesses and the third sector; and advancement of skills to deliver Scotland’s economic transformation, and it was noted that these corporate goals influenced all aspects of Scotland Excel’s work. 

The strategy was supported by annual operating plans and the plan covering the period for 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 had been approved at the meeting of the Joint Committee held on 9 December 2022. The report provided an update on operating plan activity between 1 April and 30 June 2023.

The report highlighted that, since approval of the operating plan, senior local authority stakeholders had indicated that one of the corporate goals, the drive for efficiency to support the financial sustainability of local public service, should be prioritised during 2023/24 and, in the first quarter, Scotland Excel had been working to understand how it could grow and accelerate deliverables against this key goal. A dedicated team had been established to manage this work and as a result, some of the other actions within the plan had not yet been scheduled and were likely to begin later in the financial year.

The report noted that progress reports were produced quarterly to track Scotland Excel’s activity against operating plan commitments and at the end of each quarter reports were submitted to the Executive Sub-committee with the most recent quarterly report being submitted to the Joint Committee with recent updates noted. 

DECIDED: That Scotland Excel’s progress in delivering the actions contained within the Operating Plan 2023/24 be noted.

DECIDED: That it be noted that the next meeting of the Sub-committee would be held remotely on MS teams at 9.30 am on 15 September 2023.