1

Summary

1.1

This report seeks approval for the expected programme of contracting activity to be undertaken by County Supplies and the Corporate Procurement (CPCS) team for the period through to September 2009.

1.2

This report does not link directly to the delivery of the Corporate Strategy, but the tendering programme has a direct impact on the management of the Council's resources.

Recommendations:

1. That the Building, Land and Procurement Panel advises the

Executive Member for Policy and Resources that approval be given

to the schedule of forthcoming contracts for the period up to

September 2009 as detailed in Appendix 1.

2.

List of Forthcoming Contracts

2.1

The programme of work expected to be undertaken over the next 18 months is listed in Appendix One. Over 180 individual contracts are listed with an estimated total annual value of around £78 million (including expenditure by external clients). A great number of these contracts are not linked to specific one-off purchases or projects, but are in fact framework arrangements that will service the ongoing requirements of a large number of individual budget holders for routine goods and services. As such, the contract values are simply estimates and expenditure will be determined by the actual commitments made by budget holders.

2.2

The `portfolio' of contracts has continued to grow and a number of these new items are identified in the appendix. The value of this work is in excess of £10 million and includes a mixture of genuinely new corporate contracts and work taken-on on behalf of departments and schools. Where specific projects are commissioned by departments, confirmation that appropriate funding is available within approved budgets will be sought.

2.3

A number of the arrangements described in this report refer to the Central Buying Consortium (CBC), of which the County Council is a member. The aim of the CBC's joint purchasing activity is to secure economies of scale through the aggregation of requirements and to reduce the burden of public sector tendering and contract administration on suppliers. County Supplies conducts roughly 25% of its purchasing activity through the CBC and in such cases the award of contracts is jointly agreed by the purchasing staff of the participating authorities. In procedural terms, the `master agreement' is let in accordance with the constitution and standing orders of the lead authority. The CBC has begun to develop wider links with other large public sector buying organisations and contracts are increasingly likely to be arranged with the involvement of these organisations. At present, the most developed relationship is with the Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation (ESPO) based in Leicester and their involvement is identified in a number of the contracts listed in the appendix. For the period under review, nearly one-third of the contracts will be let on a collaborative basis involving these partners.

2.4

The programme of work includes a number of contracts which may in practice be extended rather than re-tendered when the initial contract period expires (subject to satisfactory performance and agreement over terms). Such extension periods will have been provided for during the original tender exercise.

2.5

Around one-third of the contracts relate to site specific arrangements for cleaning and catering or are contracts made on behalf of external customers.

LINK(S) TO CORPORATE STRATEGY

Yes

No

Hampshire safer and more secure for all

X

Maximising well-being

X

Enhancing our quality of place

X