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

 

There was submitted the Minute of the meeting of the Executive Sub-committee held on 15 September 2023.

DECIDED: That the Minute be approved.

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 15 September 2023.  

The report intimated that at the end of period 6, Scotland Excel was projecting an overspend of £89,000 by year-end in its Core activities and an increase of £169,000 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 Revenue and 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 fourth-generation renewal framework for asbestos related works and services for a period of 48 months. It was noted that subject to approval and completion of a standstill period, it was intended that the framework would commence in November 2023.

The report intimated that the framework would provide a mechanism for councils to procure a range of asbestos related works and services including surveys, removal and disposal works and analytical services.

The report summarised the outcome of the procurement process which contained four lots and then subdivided by six geographical regions, as detailed in tables 1 and 2 of the report. The framework had been advertised at £7 million per annum, totalling an estimated spend of £28 million over the four-year period of the framework. This advertised spend allowed for increased participation from councils and associate members not currently utilising the framework. Appendix 1 to the report detailed the participation, spend and savings summary for those participating in the framework.

Tender responses had been received from 36 suppliers and, based on the criteria and scoring methodology set out in the tender documents, a full evaluation of all compliant offers had been carried out with the confirmed overall scoring achieved by each supplier detailed in Appendix 2 to the report.

Based on the evaluation undertaken, and in line with the advertised criteria and weightings set out in the report, it was recommended that a multi-supplier framework arrangement be awarded to 34 suppliers, as outlined in Appendix 2 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 segmentation tool, the framework had been classified as class C. 

It was noted that in the Community Benefits paragraph of the report, the reference to ‘Of the recommended suppliers, all four have committed to delivering these benefits.’ should read ‘Of the recommended suppliers, all 34 have committed to delivering these benefits.’

DECIDED: 

(a) That the award of the framework agreement for asbestos related works and services, as detailed in Appendix 2 to the report, be approved; and

(b) That it be noted in the Community Benefits paragraph of the report, the reference to ‘Of the recommended suppliers, all four have committed to delivering these benefits.’ should read ‘Of the recommended suppliers, all 34 have committed to delivering these benefits.’

There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive of Scotland Excel advising that Clydesdale 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 Clydesdale Housing Association Limited to become an associate member of Scotland Excel, with an annual membership fee of £1,160, 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 Irvine 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 Irvine Housing Association Limited to become an associate member of Scotland Excel, with an annual membership fee of £3,875, 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 Linstone 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 Linstone Housing Association Limited to become an associate member of Scotland Excel, with an annual membership fee of £2,435, 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 Lochfield Park 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 Lochfield Housing Association Limited to become an associate member of Scotland Excel, with an annual membership fee of £930, 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 the Jane Moore Trust 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 the Jane Moore Trust to become an associate member of Scotland Excel, with an annual membership fee of £550, be approved, subject to completion and signing of the agreement documentation.

There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive of Scotland Excel relative to the organisation’s response to the consultation on ‘Assessing the impact of the Procurement Reform Act’ published by the Economy and Fair Work Committee in June 2023. 

The report intimated that the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 introduced a range of duties on public bodies to consider how procurement could be used to improve the wellbeing of local areas including the impact on the economic, social and environmental health of the area. The Act also sought to reduce barriers to entry for small businesses, third sector organisations and supported businesses to participate in public procurement.

The report advised that the consultation sought views on a broad range of themes covered by the Act to assess whether it was achieving these aims. The draft response to the consultation was appended to the report. 

It was noted that, since publication of the report, further feedback had been received and would be included in the response to the Economy and Fair Work Committee.

It was proposed that the following wording be added to question 10 of the response: ‘That as part of the UK’s exit from the EU the opportunity to simplify procurement mechanisms relating to the creation of contracts for alternative energy sources be considered.’. This was agreed. 

DECIDED:

(a) That the content of the report be noted;

(b) That it be noted that the further feedback received would be included in the response to the Economy and Fair Work Committee;

(c) That the following wording be added to question 10 of the response: ‘That as part of the UK’s exit from the EU the opportunity to simplify procurement mechanisms relating to the creation of contracts for alternative energy sources be considered.’; and

(d) That the response, as amended, be submitted to the Economy and Fair Work Committee.

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 had been approved at the meeting of the Joint Committee held on 9 December 2022. The strategy was supported by annual operating plans and the report provided an update on operating plan activity between 1 July and 30 September 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 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 Executive Sub-committee would be held remotely on MS teams at 9.30 am on 17 November 2023.