To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 23 May 2024.

Decision: That the minutes of the meeting held on 23 May 2024 be approved as a correct record.

Report of the Chief Executive.

This report outlines the planning and governance arrangements for the implementation of the existing and the final duties of the Elections Act 2022 for Manchester. It also provides an overview of key lessons learned from the May 2024 local and mayoral elections, as well as initial preparation for the upcoming UK Parliamentary General Elections and other electoral administration statutory exercises.

The committee considered a report of the Chief Executive which outlined the planning and governance arrangements for the implementation of the existing and the final duties of the Elections Act 2022 for Manchester. It also provided an overview of key lessons learned from the May 2024 local and mayoral elections, as well as initial preparation for the upcoming UK Parliamentary General Elections and other electoral administration statutory exercises. 

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Key points and themes within the report included: 

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• Providing an introduction and background to the Elections Act 2022; 

• The changes that came into effect at the May 2023 local election and the May 2024 local and mayoral elections; 

• Progress with voter ID, accessibility and online absent voting applications; 

• Changes to postal vote handling rules and voting rights for British citizens living overseas and EU citizens; 

• Community engagement and communications for 2024 elections; 

• Governance and capacity; 

• Lessons learned from the May 2024 elections for the General Election; and 

• The polling district review and annual canvass, which would take place after the General Election. 

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Some of the key points and queries that arose from the committee’s discussions included: 

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·        Welcoming the planned improvements in communications at future counts; 

• Noting that delays at the count in May were caused by the mayoral election, and querying why; 

• Whether the Council could take any learning from European Parliamentary elections for future combined polls;  

• The confidence of officers that the process for reapplying for a postal vote every 3 years would be improved;   

• Delays to the government application portal;  

• Expressing concerns that electors in some areas of the city did not receive postal vote packs until near to polling day;  

• What personal and demographic information was recorded when a voter was turned away from a polling station due to lack of sufficient ID; 

• What feedback had been received from the Manchester Disabled Persons Forum and whether any adaptation requests had been received which the Council was unable to accommodate; 

• Concerns over conduct at polling stations in some areas of the city and at the count; and  

• Querying why the count was scheduled around Friday prayers. 

The City Solicitor introduced the report and stated that the Elections Act created additional challenges for the Council’s Electoral Services Unit, particularly in polling stations as a result of the requirement for voters to produce ID. She stated that the team had met these challenges well but acknowledged there was always room for learning, such as better communication at the election count which would be rectified in future by using pre-prepared Tannoy announcements, and she reiterated that feedback from the local and mayoral elections in May 2024 had been noted to ensure a better experience at future counts.  

The City Solicitor also highlighted changes to the eligibility criteria for overseas electors which had caused additional registration pressures. She expressed concern about the possibility of a high return of postal votes on polling day but provided assurances to the committee that officers were working with Royal Mail to ensure the timely turnaround and return of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43.

Report of the City Treasurer.

This report updates the committee on the recent launch of the Council’s Contract Management System and how the Council manages major contracts.

The committee considered a report of the City Treasurer which detailed the recent launch of the Council’s contract management system and how the Council managed major contracts. 

Key points and themes within the report included: 

• The background to the procurement of the contract management system, which was a ‘software as a service’ product from Atamis; 

• The functions of the system and how these would be used to manage the Council’s contracts; 

• Main issues and next steps for implementation;  

• How the rollout of the system would be promoted and the longer-term developments;  

• How the Council had been strengthening the governance of major contracts; and 

• Highlights of the Council’s major contracts in the last quarter.  

Some of the key points and queries that arose from the committee’s discussion included: 

• Noting that over 1,100 contracts had been added to the new system, and querying whether this was the majority of the Council’s contracts; 

• Who was responsible for monitoring contracts and what contingencies were in place if this person was unavailable; 

• The driving force behind implementing this change; 

• How officers would monitor whether the system was used to its full capacity;  

• Noting that Atamis’ user guide was substantial, and querying whether Council staff were expected to read this; 

• What feedback had arisen from testing and how this had been addressed; 

• How governance was built into the system;  

• Who was responsible for contracts commissioned jointly by the Council and partners;  

• Whether the new contract management system allowed for issues with capacity and skills to be flagged with a supplier, specifically referencing the Housing Maintenance and Repairs contract; 

• How the benefits of implementing the system would be evaluated; 

• What was meant by a call-off contract; and  

• How much money the Council would save by implementing the new system.  

In introducing the report, the City Treasurer stated that the Council spent a significant amount of money through its contracts and that the investment in a new contract management system allowed for greater efficiencies, with some benefits already being realised.  

The Strategic Lead (Commissioning) stated that the implementation of a new contract management system was integral to ensuring compliance with upcoming procurement legislation and was critical to the future management of contracts. He acknowledged that this was a significant change, and that training had been provided to users in addition to user guides and ongoing support from the Integrated Commissioning team. The Procurement Programme Manager stated that the main motivation in implementing the new contract management system was to gain an overview of contracts and spend and that work was ongoing to ensure that the system met the requirements of all departments that managed contracts. She highlighted that the new system enabled the monitoring of spending and key performance indicators (KPIs).  

Members were advised that over 400 members of staff were currently using the system with over 1000 contracts being migrated over. These constituted the majority of the Council’s contracts, with 10% yet to be added to the system.  

The Procurement Programme Manager explained that each contract had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.

Report of the City Treasurer.

This report discusses the additional flexibilities provided for in the Procurement Act 2023 which will support the Council’s work to drive social value creation through its contracts and how these flexibilities might be applied to future contract opportunities within the Council, along with related considerations and risks. The report also sets out the emerging plan and direction of travel for social value work more generally in the Council.  

The committee considered a report of the City Treasurer which detailed the additional flexibilities provided for in the Procurement Act 2023 to support the Council’s work to drive social value creation through its contracts, and how these flexibilities might be applied to future contract opportunities within the Council.  

Key points and themes within the report included: 

• Providing an introduction and background to the Council’s procurement process and social value;  

• The new Procurement Act 2023 and the main issues and changes this will have on social value and ethical procurement;  

• How the Council was preparing for the new legislation; and 

• The next phase for social value in Manchester.  

Some of the key points and queries that arose from the committee’s discussion included: 

• How the Council ensured that priority groups benefitted through invitations to tender and social value;  

• How much emphasis was placed on value-for-money in the new legislation;  

• How ethical considerations were taken into account through procurement; and

• Whether a supplier could challenge the Council applying equality, diversity and inclusion reporting requirements to contracts following advice against this in the Procurement Act 2023 policy statement. 

In response to queries, the Strategic Lead (Commissioning) explained that work had been undertaken with services to refine the asks around social value when going out to tender, including how suppliers would target priority groups and the specific commitments and KPIs that they could provide. Responses to these questions were then scored as part of the contract award process.  

The Strategic Lead (Commissioning) recognised the importance of value-for-money when awarding contracts but stated that there had been a change in language used to avoid fixating on price. He explained that the Procurement Act 2023 reaffirmed value-for-money as a key priority but stated that the Council had always interpreted value-for-money to include social value.  

In response to a question regarding ethical considerations, the committee was advised that the Council was bound by the Local Government Act 1988 but there had been examples of where the Council was able to consider the ethical value of contracts, such as with Russian suppliers following the invasion of Ukraine.  

The Strategic Lead (Commissioning) explained that the Procurement Act 2023 was the first example of national government outlining policy priorities for local authorities to statutorily consider through procurement and he stated that the Council took a pragmatic approach to this. He stated that the Council would comply with the law whilst remaining proportionate and mindful of longstanding inequalities within the city that could be improved through social value.  

Decision: 

That the report be noted.   

Report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit.

This report provides the Committee with details of key decisions that fall within the Committee’s remit and an update on actions resulting from the Committee’s recommendations. The report also includes the Committee’s work programme, which the Committee is asked to amend as appropriate and agree.

The committee received a report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit which provided details of key decisions that fell within the Committee’s remit and any items for information previously requested by the Committee.  

The Chair advised members that a report on the Our Town Hall project would be deferred to September to allow for a more substantial report to be submitted. 

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Decision: That the report be noted. 

The officers consider that appendix 1 to the Contract Management System report contains exempt information as provided for in the Local Government Access to Information Act and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. The Committee is recommended to agree the necessary resolutions excluding the public from the meeting during consideration of this item.

Decision:  

That the press and public be excluded during consideration of the following item which involved consideration of exempt information relating to the financial and business affairs of particular persons and the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.  

The committee considered a confidential appendix to the Contract Management System report, which was a contractual document that demonstrated an example of how social value was delivered through a contract. 

The committee also received a demonstration of the contract management system and the Chair suggested that an additional demonstration be provided outside of the meeting for all members.  

In response to a query regarding how members could receive information on certain contracts, the Strategic Lead (Commissioning) explained that the Social Value Governance Board was looking into ways to link with members, residents and voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations.  

Members were advised that social value was promoted through reports to the committee and that a series of case studies were being developed to highlight this work.  

Decision: 

That the appendix and demonstration be noted.