To receive and if so determined, to approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 20 July 2016.

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting held on 20 July 2016, 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 were made by Members.

The Committee received a joint report of the Director of Procurement STaR Procurement and the Finance Manager detailing the STaR Revenue Budget for the first quarter of 2016/17.

  RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

The Business Improvement Manager submitted a report advising Joint Committee Members on the HR statistics for STaR Procurement staff for quarter 1 of the financial year April 2016 to March 2017.

The Director of Procurement advised that in comparison with the position at the same time in 2015-16 there had been a dramatic reduction in both average days lost and average long term sickness and the support of Trafford Human Resources was acknowledged.

RESOLVED: That the content of the statistical information report be noted.

The Business Improvement Manager submitted a report providing an update on the Corporate Risk Register for STaR Procurement and advising on the movement in risk items. The report also detailed new risk items added and those risks that were proposed to be removed from the register.

Further to the report, the Director of Procurement commended the work of the team’s data analyst around the deletion of risks.

In relation to the upgraded risk of the release of inappropriate freedom of information (FOI) data, Members enquired about the robustness of the processes in place and the level of information provided in response to commercial requests. The Director of Procurement assured the Joint Committee that responses were ratified and signed off by the Senior Management Team and that to provide for the imminent period between the Director leaving and a replacement commencing in post, the process would temporarily be delegated to Heads of Strategic Procurement. The Joint Committee was also advised that responses to commercial FOI requests included publically available information and that in response to specific procurement requests, mandatory contractual information would be provided to enable companies to be better equipped for bids in the future.

The Committee acknowledge the risks associated with the Director of Procurement leaving and recognised the strong senior team in STaR Procurement.

RESOLVED: That the content of the Risk Register be noted and the changes highlighted in the report be approved.

The Head of Strategic Procurement submitted a report providing an update on progress made to the end of quarter two on the Action Plan that supported the delivery of the STaR Business Plan 2016/17.

The Detailed Action Plan was tabled and for each objective, the Head of Strategic Procurement highlighted the outcomes of the quarter 2 review and the future actions that had been identified.

Members referred to Action 6.4 and enquired whether the Leader of Trafford Council might be able to increase the profile of STaR with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

RESOLVED –

(1)        That the report be noted.

(2)        That the Leader of Trafford Council be advised of STaR Procurement’s objective to secure new partners and increase active involvement in Greater Manchester and asked to engage with the Combined Authority, with a means of securing an item on its agenda.

The Business Improvement Manager submitted a report providing an update on the establishment of a Quality Management System for STaR Procurement.

Members of the Committee acknowledged that whilst it was not the intention to seek formal ISO 9001 accreditation, the proposed Quality Management System was compliant and therefore, would not preclude a move towards certification in the future.

RESOLVED: That the content of the report be noted and that the STaR Procurement Quality Policy Statement set out at Appendix 1 to the report be ratified and signed by the Joint Committee Members.

The Head of Strategic Procurement submitted a report providing a summary of performance at quarter 2 against the key performance indicators of the balanced scorecard.

Members enquired about the achievement of targeted savings in quarters 3 and 4 and the Head of Strategic Procurement confirmed that a progress update on the correlation between the value and expected delivery of savings would be included in the next report.

The Joint Committee was advised that the Social Value statements contained in procurement documentation were being addressed in line with the corporate priorities of the 3 authorities. Members suggested that the wording of what was expected of bidders needed to be more prescriptive to prevent against ambiguous responses.

Highlighting the responses to the customer satisfaction survey, the Head of Strategic Procurement reported that they hoped to address the consistent number of responses which indicated “nether agree or disagree” and it was suggested that the number of questions could be a factor.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

To receive an oral report of the Director of STAR Shared Procurement.

The Committee welcomed and received an oral update report from Andrew White, newly appointed Head of Strategic Procurement on potential new business and clients.

Further to the previous meeting (Minute No. 17 refers), the Joint Committee was informed that a decision from Salford City Council had been put on hold until March 2017 at the earliest.

Rather than taking on more than the service was capable, Members favoured a sustained growth approach to securing new partners and enquired about the development of pathway framework.  

RESOLVED:

(1)        That the update be noted.

(2)        That the incoming Director of STaR Shared Procurement be requested to consider a future framework for new business growth.

To receive an oral report of the Director of STAR Shared Procurement.

The Committee received an oral report from the Director of STaR Procurement providing an update on recent nominations for awards.

Following a proposal of the Leader of Rochdale Council, submissions had been made to the Local Government Chronical Awards in the categories of Best Team; Best Partnership; and Rising Stars.

The service had also been nominated for an iNetwork Connected Procurement award and 3 team members had been nominated and selected as finalists in Trafford Council’s Employee Recognition Awards.

RESOLVED: That the update be noted.

To note that the next meeting is scheduled to be held 2.00 p.m. – 3.30 p.m. on 19 January 2017 in Conference Room 1, Fred Perry House, Stockport.

RESOLVED: That Members note that the next meeting is scheduled to be held at 2.00 p.m. on 19 January 2017 in Conference Room 1, Fred Perry House, Stockport.

The Chairman acknowledged that it was Sharon Robson’s last meeting before leaving to embark upon a new role, and on behalf of the Joint Committee presented the Director with a bouquet of flowers and thanked her for all her tremendous achievements over the past 3 years. In return, Sharon was grateful for the overwhelming support she had received from the Board and the Joint Committee.