Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive apologies for absence.

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None

To consider any business, which by reason of special circumstances, the Chair proposes to accept, under Section 100(b)(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

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None

Please indicate if there are any interests which should be declared.  A declaration of an interest should indicate the nature of the interest (if not already declared on the Register of Interests) and the agenda item to which it relates.  If a disclosable pecuniary interest is declared, the member should withdraw from the room whilst the matter is discussed.

These declarations apply to all Members present, whether the Member is part of the meeting, attending to speak as a local Member on an item or simply observing the meeting from the public seating area.

Coucnillor P Kunes declared a non pecuniary interest in item 8 as he knew the first contractor.  He abstained in the vote on the item.

Councillor P Kunes declared a non pecuniary interest in item 8 as he knew the first contractor.  He abstained in the vote on the item.

To receive any Chair’s correspondence.

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To note the names of any Councillors who wish to address the meeting under Standing Order 34.

Members wishing to speak pursuant to Standing Order 34 should inform the Chair of their intention to do so and on what items they wish to be heard before a decision on that item is taken.

Councillors C Joyce, J Moriarty and  J Rust for agenda item 8

Councillors C Joyce, J Moriarty and  J Rust for agenda item 8

To receive any comments and recommendations from other Council bodies which meet after the dispatch of this agenda. 

Nothing new

Nothing new

The Cabinet is asked to consider excluding the public from the meeting under section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 for consideration of the item below on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined by paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act, and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

PRIVATE ITEM

Details of any representations received about why the following reports should be considered in public will be reported at the meeting.

RESOLVED: That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act.

RESOLVED: That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act.

RESOLVED:            That the signing of framework agreements with the contractors named in the report, subject to completion of due diligence checks on these businesses be approved, and that delegated authority be approved for the substitution of alternative contractors if any of the listed contractors fail to pass those checks.

Reason for Decision

To ensure that the Council obtains best value for the grants that it administers for aids and adaptions work for elderly and vulnerable people and to ensure compliance with procurement regulations.

Cabinet considered the report which was deferred from the previous meeting to allow due diligence checks to be carried out on some of the contractors. The report explained that a tender process had been carried out to establish a framework agreement for aids and adaptions works managed by Care & Repair.   The majority of the works carried out under the proposed framework were level access showers and external access ramps and hard-standings.  Most of these works were grant funded.

Cabinet received information on the due diligence carried out, although some contractors had still to submit information.

Under standing order 34 Councillor Rust addressed the Cabinet on the steps taken to ensure the framework was robust.

Under standing order 34 Councillor Joyce asked whether the Monitoring Officer had a recommendation regarding a contractor.  The Monitoring Officer explained the Cabinet’s discretionary ability to exclude a contractor but that she would not make a recommendation. 

Under standing order 34 Councillor Moriarty asked if the issues discussed were evident prior to the Corporate Performance Panel considering the item. He commented that the recommendation was different to that which came to the Panel.

The Chair confirmed that issues were not evident prior to the Panel meeting.  Cabinet members had raised some questions which had led to the item being deferred from the previous Cabinet meeting.

In response to questions on the monitoring of contractor performance during the life of the framework the Care and Repair Manager confirmed that each job was managed by Technical Officers from start to finish, monthly monitoring meetings were held with contractors and any concerns raised and resolved.  She confirmed that it was within her authority not to award work to specific contractors if they were not delivering satisfactorily.  It was noted that the contracts undertaken were between the householder and the contractor. Customer satisfaction surveys were also completed for each job.

The Procurement Manager confirmed that it was possible to suspend or remove contractors from the framework if they were not performing. 

It was acknowledged that Care and Repair was an important service for vulnerable disabled people of all ages.

Cabinet was satisfied with the information provided in the report and the inclusion of the contractor now discussed.  It was noted that officers would chase those contractors who still had to provide the necessary information.  In the event that the necessary information was not provided the Care and Repair Manager and Procurement Manager would arrange due diligence for further contractors to be added to the list. 

Councillor Kunes abstained from voting on the matter.

RESOLVED:            That the signing of framework agreements with the contractors named in the report, subject to completion of due diligence checks on these businesses be approved, and that delegated authority be given to the Care and Repair Manager and Procurement Manager for the substitution of alternative contractors if any of the listed contractors fail to pass those checks.

Reason for Decision

To ensure that the Council obtains best value for the grants that it administers for aids  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB208