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Decision Maker: Executive Councillor for Open Spaces and City Services
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Is Key decision?: Yes
Is subject to call in?: No
Matter for Decision: To consider the Leisure
Management Contract – A revised approach to encourage the payment of a living
wage.
Decision
of Executive Councillor for Arts, Sport and Public Places;
The Executive Councillor resolved to
i.
Agree that the invitation to tender (ITT) documentation for
the leisure contract should:
a) Identify
strong support for the payment of Living Wage in this contract;
b) Highlight
the benefits that the Council believes this will provide;
c) Include evaluation criteria
that measure the performance of bidders in areas where the benefits of paying
the Living Wage will be demonstrated.
ii. Amend the previous decision relating to the
capped annual fee for the contract and raise this by £25,000 to £675,000 per
annum.
Reason
for the Decision:
As
per the officer report
Any
alternative options considered and rejected:
Not
Applicable
Scrutiny Considerations
The committee received a report presented by the Head of
Arts and Recreation, regarding the “Leisure Management Contract – A revised
approach to encourage the payment a living wage”. The Head of Legal Services
presented the legal aspects of the report.
The Executive Councillor addressed the committee and
outlined the reasons why he was supportive of the proposed recommendations.
The committee made the following comments on the report
i. Clarification was requested on whether
the tender documentation highlighted the potential benefits for the
environment, if payment of the living wage enabled staff to live closer. The
Head of Arts and Recreation agreed to revisit the ITT and make the link
clearer.
ii. The Head of Legal Services was asked
whether it would be possible to ring fence the proposed uplift, so that it
could only be used to facilitate the payment of the living wage. Clarification
was also requested on the nature of any potential challenge. The Head of Legal
Services explained that it would be possible for the procurement process to be
challenged through the domestic and European legal system. The committee were
advised of the implications of a successful challenge based on EU procurement
regulations. The committee were also advised that whilst it would not be
possible to ring fence the £25,000, it would be possible to exert moral
pressure on applicants through ITT process.
iii. Clarification was requested on to what
extent the proposed uplift in the contract value had been made public. The
Recreation Services Manager explained that whilst the figure currently paid to
SLM was commercially sensitive, some information was publicly available through
the procurement process. The Head of Arts and Recreation highlighted the
historic variation in the contract value.
iv. Councillor Blencowe expressed concern
that the correct process had not been followed at the Scrutiny Committee, and
that the statement from the Executive Councillor should have been made after
deliberation by the Scrutiny Committee and not before. The Executive Councillor
acknowledged the concern.
v. An explanation of the relative weighting
for different elements of the contract was requested. The Recreation Services
Manager provided an overview of the evaluation criteria. The committee were
advised that the questions were worded to encourage the payment of a living
wage.
vi. Following a question from the
committee, the Recreation Services Manager confirmed that the potential for
reduced turnover of staff was included in the procurement documentation.
The Scrutiny Committee considered and endorsed
recommendations unanimously.
The
Executive Councillor approved the recommendations
Conflicts of interest declared by the Executive
Councillor (and any dispensations granted)
N/A
Publication date: 01/03/2013
Date of decision: 05/12/2012