Councillor Paul Oldham (Highland Council) and Councillor Dennis Leask (Shetland Islands Council).

There was submitted the Minute of the meeting of the Executive Sub-committee held on 20 February 2026.

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 submitted to the meeting of the Scotland Excel Chief Executive Officers Management Group (CEOMG) held on 9 March 2026, a copy of which 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 to 6 February 2026. The report advised that at the end of period 11, Scotland Excel was projecting a £0.135 million underspend against budget by year-end in its core activities and an expected increase of £0.064 million in project reserves.

DECIDED: That the report be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Treasurer relative to the Annual Audit Plan 2025/26 for Scotland Excel which outlined Azets planned activities during the audit of the 2025/26 Annual Accounts, a copy of which was appended to the report. The report intimated that the Audit Plan outlined the responsibilities of Scotland Excel and Azets; the assessment of key challenges and risks; and the approach and timetable for completion of the audit. The report advised that the proposed audit fee was indicated at £12,878 for the current financial year.

R Lister, Director – Public Sector Audit, Azets, highlighted the key messages of the Annual Audit Plan 2025/26 and responded to questions raised by members.

DECIDED: 

(a) That the Annual Audit Plan 2025/26 by Azets, as appended to the report, be noted; and

(b) That the proposed audit fee of £12,878 be approved.

There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive of Scotland Excel relative to the award of a second-generation framework for Engineering and Technical Consultancy for a period of 48 months. 

The report intimated that during the previous tender process for the framework for Engineering and Technical Consultancy, the decision was taken not to proceed as Scotland Excel was satisfied that improvements could have been made to the tender documents and further clarity given regarding the procedures to be followed. This decision was made in accordance with Regulations 85(7) and 85(8) of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 and an abandonment notice had been published on 2 July 2025. A new approach was developed incorporating extensive stakeholder engagement to ensure the framework aligned with market expectations and supported strategic objectives.

The report advised that as part of the strategy development and through consultation with the User Intelligence Group (UIG), the framework contained nine lots, as detailed in Table 1 of the report. The report summarised the outcome of the procurement process and advised that the framework had been advertised with an estimated total value of £160 million over the 48 months, equating to a spend of £40 million per annum. Appendix 1 to the report detailed the participation, spend and savings summary for those participating in the framework.

Tender responses had been received from 82 tenderers and a summary of the offers received and the scoring achieved by each tenderer was detailed in Appendix 2 to the report. It was noted that three tenderers failed to meet the requirements of the non-scored commercial section in relation to ‘salary banded rates’ and that one tenderer did not pass the qualification section and that all four tenderers were therefore deemed non-compliant. 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-consultant framework arrangement be awarded (in whole or in part) to 39 tenderers, as outlined in Appendix 2 to the report, subject to satisfactory conclusion of insurance checks. 

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 categorisation tool, the framework had been classified as class B.

DECIDED: That the award of the framework agreement for Engineering and Technical Consultancy, as detailed in Appendix 2 to the report, be approved.

There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive of Scotland Excel relative to the award of Secure Care Services contracts for a period of up to 60 months comprising an initial period of 36 months with options to extend for up to a further 24 months. The report noted that the estimated annual spend over the five-year period was £250.4 million. 

The report intimated that in Scotland, secure care services were currently provided by four independent charitable organisations, and that national and local government accessed these services through the national contracts hosted by Scotland Excel, which took the form of separate negotiated contracts entered into with each organisation. The existing contracts had been extended for two 12-month periods with the current extension concluding at the end of March 2026. The report provided detail on the context within which the new contracts had been developed and the procurement process. 

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 contracts had been classified as class A.

DECIDED: 

(a) That three providers be awarded contracts commencing from 1 April 2026, as outlined in Appendix 2 to the report;

(b) That it be noted that negotiations with St Mary’s Kenmure, the fourth provider, continued; and

(c) That delegated authority be awarded to the Chief Executive of Scotland Excel, or the Director of Strategic Procurement in the Chief Executive’s absence, to award a contract to St Mary’s Kenmure relative to this exercise subject to satisfactory conclusion of negotiations on terms to be agreed. The Executive Sub-committee would be advised as to the outcome.

There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive of Scotland Excel advising that Eildon Housing Association Limited had applied 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 Eildon Housing Association Limited to become an associate member of Scotland Excel, with an annual membership fee of £4,816, 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 Tollcross Housing Association Limited had applied 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 Tollcross Housing Association Limited to become an associate member of Scotland Excel, with an annual membership fee of £3,686.40, 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 Scotland Excel’s Business Intelligence Strategy 2026/29 which outlined the vision, priorities, and approach that would be taken to the continued development of business intelligence within the organisation, a copy of which was appended to the report. The Strategy set out Scotland Excel’s vision and approach to using data to deliver more effective and efficient services for members and highlighted Scotland Excel’s commitment to using data to ensure that frameworks and services reflected the needs of members against a constantly evolving local government, procurement and commissioning and public service landscape.

DECIDED: That Scotland Excel’s Business Intelligence Strategy 2026/29 be approved.

There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive of Scotland Excel relative to Scotland Excel’s proposed response to the Scottish Government’s consultation on the future of secure care, a copy of which was appended to the report. 

Reference was made to resource availability issues in rural areas; graduated levels of secure care; staff availability; court orders and consequential reduction in access for welfare cases; and ad-hoc ‘unplanned’ placements.

DECIDED:

(a) That the wording used in the response be reviewed to ensure definitions were fully/widely understood and that the terms of the response be strengthened by incorporation of the comments and feedback from members; and

(b) That the revised response be submitted to the Scottish Government.

There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive of Scotland Excel relative to supporting employee attendance and highlighting the absence rate in the organisation and the support mechanisms implemented to support staff members. The report intimated that Scotland Excel worked to an absence target of below 4% and provided detail on the latest absence figures for the 12-month period to January 2026 which showed an average rate of 2.9%.

DECIDED: That the contents of the report be noted.

DECIDED: That it be noted that the next meeting of the Executive Sub-committee would be held at 9.30 am on 24 April 2026.