To receive and if so determined, to approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 9 August 2018.

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting held on 9 August 2018, be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Members to give notice of any interest and the nature of that interest relating to any item on the agenda in accordance with the adopted Code(s) of Conduct.

No declarations of interests were made by Members.

To receive a report of the Assistant Director, STAR Procurement.

The Joint Committee received a report of the Assistant Director, STAR Procurement detailing STAR’s performance against its Key Performance Indicators (5-STAR) and Management Indicators for the period 2018-19 Quarter 1.

The Joint Committee discussed the ratified savings on page 8 of the agenda. Members questioned whether the target was ambitious enough considering the majority of this had been achieved in the first quarter of the financial year. Officers advised that savings were categorised depending on when contracts were formally signed, and that a large portion of the achieved saving for 2018/19 quarter 1 was carried over from the previous financial year. It was suggested that an item to explain STAR’s financial arrangements with respect to savings be brought to the next Joint Committee meeting to help Members better understand how this worked. When setting targets, Members and Officers agreed on the importance of engaging all partners at an early stage of the process.

Members also asked why no targets were set against the Communities section on page 11 of the agenda. Officers explained that this information was part of the wider Social Value (SV) target set out on page 9 of the agenda. Members were advised of the difficulty with measuring SV as no formal methodology currently existed for this. However, STAR hoped to be part of a Greater Manchester pilot scheme being considered to explore ways in which SV could be formally measured. Members were excited at the prospect of being able to quantify SV as part of the procurement process and looked forward to more information in relation to this.

Members asked about the relationship between STAR and the procurement services provided to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), and asked whether STAR had a charging policy for their services. The Director of STAR Procurement requested that an item on this be added to the agenda of the next Joint Committee meeting, as STAR would welcome Members’ input on how its relationship with the GMCA should be developed. STAR currently led on a significant percentage of GMCA procurement activities, particularly in the Health and Social Care arena, and it would be important to ensure the relationship with GMCA was clearly defined as it was ad hoc at present. Members agreed that arrangements should ensure that STAR member authorities benefitted as fee paying members, and that STAR should take advantage of any other beneficial opportunities where available.

RESOLVED:

1)    That the report be noted.

2)    That an item explaining STAR’s financial arrangements with respect to savings be brought to the next Joint Committee meeting.

3)    That an item on STAR’s charging policy and relationship with the GMCA be brought to the next Joint Committee meeting.

To consider a report of the Assistant Director, STAR Procurement.

The Joint Committee received a report of the Assistant Director, STAR Procurement summarising the previous decisions in relation to STAR’s branding and style guide, as well as detailing proposals for future branding.

The Joint Committee agreed on the importance of retaining the current STAR name and branding. STAR’s brand had been built up over time and was now well recognised within the procurement industry. It was agreed that any change to the name would be detrimental to STAR Procurement.

Members discussed the proposed new strapline. Members liked the proposal, but a request was made to amend the word collaborative” to “cooperative”. Following discussions, it was agreed that the new strapline should read “STAR – Leading transformation through procurement and cooperation”.

RESOLVED:

1)    That the current STAR Procurement branding and name be retained.

2)    That the STAR ‘strapline’ be amended to “STAR – Leading transformation through procurement and cooperation”, as per the discussion at the meeting.

To receive a report of the Procurement Business Partner.

The Joint Committee received a report of the Procurement Business Partner providing an update on STAR’s position in relation to the Charter Against Modern Slavery. All STAR member authorities had recently signed up to (or were in the process of signing up to) the charter, and the report detailed the procedures already in place at STAR to combat modern slavery prior to the charter’s adoption. The report also summarised the activities and tasks required to be completed for STAR to be compliant with the charter.

Members welcomed the Authorities’ adoption of the charter, and felt this was an opportunity for STAR to lead the way on an important issue. Referring to the minutes of the previous meeting which discussed lines of communication between Elected Members and STAR in relation to Council motions, Members were assured that STAR would enact any measures agreed by the Authorities. The request for lines of communication was to ensure STAR was aware of any impending changes so these could be implemented accordingly.

Referring to appendix 2 of the report, Members requested that the information presented be clearer. Some sections of the project had a status of ‘not started’, however these were highlighted in green which would suggest the action was either complete or on course for completion. Members advised of the importance of ensuring reports were clear for monitoring purposes and to ensure these were accessible for members of the public. Officers agreed with Members’ assessment and would address the concerns raised.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

To confirm the arrangements for the next meeting(s).

The next meeting of the STAR Joint Committee was scheduled to be held at Trafford Council at 2:00pm on Wednesday 13 February 2019. The Member from Tameside advised that this may clash with another meeting at their Authority, and asked whether alternative dates could be explored. Officers agreed to look into the possibility of rescheduling the meeting.

RESOLVED: That the meeting arrangements be noted.

Any other item or items which by reason of special circumstances (to be specified), the Chairman of the meeting is of the opinion should be considered at this meeting as a matter of urgency.

(a) Local Investment Work Stream

[The Chairman agreed to accept this item as a matter of urgent business to allow a timely update on the situation to Board members]

Members requested an update on the progress of the Local Investment Work Stream. The pilot scheme conducted at Rochdale Council had been in operation for a year, and STAR had been successful in increasing the Authority’s local spend from 12% to 23%. All STAR Authorities would be given the opportunity to implement the scheme, and discussions with Stockport and Trafford on their respective schemes would begin soon. The benefits of the scheme were highlighted, as well as the challenges in making local businesses ‘match fit’, ensuring that the appropriate benchmarking exercises were conducted, and that the schemes were within the legal parameters of EU legislation.

            RESOLVED: That the update be noted.