Council and democracy
Home > Council and Democracy > Decision register
a)
To approve the
acquisition of the Property within the Housing Revenue Account, initially for
intended use as sheltered housing.
b)
To delegate to the
Strategic Director the ability to carry out the final acquisition negotiations
and conclude the purchase.
c)
To delegate to the Head
of Housing the ability to review usage in response to strategic and emerging
needs to determine any change of use following consultation with the Executive
Councillor for Housing, the Opposition Spokesperson and Ward Councillors,
obtaining any required planning approvals.
Decision Maker: Executive Councillor for Housing and Homelessness
Decision published: 16/12/2022
Effective from: 12/08/2022
Decision:
Record of Executive
Decision
Decision of: Councillor Gerri Bird,
Executive Councillor for Housing
Reference: 22/URGENCY/HSC/11
Date of decision: 12.8.22
Decision Type: Key
Matter for Decision: Acquisition of
Property
Why the Decision had to be made (and any
alternative options): A confidential report detailing the
background and financial considerations is considered to be exempt from
publication by virtue of paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local
Government Act 1972.
The
Executive Councillor’s decision:
a)
To approve the
acquisition of the Property within the Housing Revenue Account, initially for
intended use as sheltered housing.
b)
To delegate to the
Strategic Director the ability to carry out the final acquisition negotiations
and conclude the purchase.
c)
To delegate to the Head
of Housing the ability to review usage in response to strategic and emerging
needs to determine any change of use following consultation with the Executive
Councillor for Housing, the Opposition Spokesperson and Ward Councillors,
obtaining any required planning approvals.
Reason for the decision: Details set out in
the confidential report which is considered to be exempt from publication by virtue
of paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.
Scrutiny Consideration: The Chair and
Spokespersons of Housing Scrutiny Committee were consulted prior to the action
being authorised.
Conflict of interest: None.
Comments:
Comments were received by the Vice Chair, Cllr Robertson and Opposition Spokes,
Cllr Porrer which were addressed by the Head of Property Services. No
comments were made by the Chair of the Committee, Councillor Thittala -Varkey
or Vice-Chair Tenant Representative.
Lead officer: Julia Hovells
The approval of the Executive Councillor to continue to purchase gas via the Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation (ESPO) energy framework.
Decision Maker: Executive Councillor for Transformation
Decision published: 09/08/2022
Effective from: 27/07/2022
Decision:
Cambridge City Council
Record of Executive
Decision
Re-procurement of
the Council’s Gas Supplies
Decision
of: Councillor Mike Davey, Executive Councillor for Finance, Resources and
Transformation
Reference:
22/URGENCY/S&R/10
Date
of decision: 27.7.22 Date Published on website: 27.7.22
Decision
Type: Key
Matter
for Decision: The approval of the Executive Councillor to continue to purchase
gas via the Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation (ESPO) energy framework.
Why
the Decision had to be made (and any alternative options):
i.
There is a requirement to re-procure the Council’s gas supply contract
from the 1st of April 2023.
ii.
As the revenue spend on gas has increased and is forecast to be at least
£600,000 per year (estimated £2.4 m over the life of the proposed new contract)
this is a key decision and requires approval from the Executive Councillor.
iii.
It was recommended that the procurement decision was made as an out of
cycle decision rather than wait until Strategy and Resources Scrutiny Committee
on 10th October 2022. Energy prices are
volatile, and ESPO report that gas prices are expected to continue to increase
this year. If the council didn’t join procurement exercise being run by ESPO,
the council’s supply would be procured later this year, and was likely to lead
to higher prices.
iv.
Energy markets are complex so public sector organisations can take
advantage of energy supply framework contracts. These are designed to procure
large volume single supply contracts at more favourable rates than would be
possible if the City Council procured independently with its smaller
consumption.
The
Executive Councillor’s decision:
i.
Approved continuing to purchase gas via the Eastern Shires Purchasing
Organisation (ESPO) energy framework. As outlined in Option 3 of the officer’s
report.
ii.
Approved that the contract period for the provision of gas should run
for four years from the 1st April 2023 to the 31st March 2027.
iii.
Authorised the Director of Neighbourhoods and Communities or Head of
Housing Maintenance and Assets to sign framework documents and approve the
actual gas price tariff when the procurement is completed by ESPO.
Reason
for the decision: Procurement organisations in the public sector can deliver
significant economies of scale across a range of services by combining
requirements of member organisations to secure more favourable pricing than
would be possible for each organisation acting independently. Such
organisations guarantee fully compliant tendering and due to the scale of
procurement they provide specialist procurement and market expertise which is
especially important when dealing with energy markets. The Council already
makes use of this solution and procures gas and electricity at a competitive
tariff via an ESPO framework agreement.
It
was recommended that the use of a Public Sector Framework Agreement represented
the best option for gas procurement at the current time and would enable the
Council to secure pricing for March 2023-24 soon and help budget setting for
next year.
Scrutiny
Consideration: The Chair and Spokesperson of Strategy and Resources Scrutiny
Committee were consulted prior to the action being authorised.
Report:
A report detailing the background and financial considerations is available via
Urgent Decision Briefing Note.
Conflict
of interest: None.
Comments:
Councillor Bennett and Councillor Bick supported the recommendations but raised
concerns about the decision being made through the out of cycle / urgent
decision process rather than being brought to the Strategy and Resources
Scrutiny Committee. The Executive Councillor noted these comments and would
follow up with officers.
Councillor
Robertson raised the following questions:
No, not currently. The gas for Abbey Pools and
Parkside Pools is currently purchased by GLL, the company that runs the pools.
However it is proposed that we change this once we award the new gas contract
so the Council buys the gas direct as we think this will provide better value
for money.
The Recreation Services Manager manages these
projects and has suggested that gas consumption could drop by up to 40% as
result of switching to heat pumps.
The current electricity
contract does not expire until 30/9/24
Lead officer: Will Barfield