Purpose

 
This is a decision to make
changes, to correct minor errors and resolve inconsistencies, to
the Constitution.
 
The Scheme of Delegation to
Officers authorises Directors and Executive Directors to take
procurement-related decisions, including:
 

To award contracts;
and
To exercise an option
to extend a contract.

 
All officer decisions are
subject to the Key Decision threshold, currently £2.2m.
However, this limit does not apply where Cabinet has previously
approved (for example when approving to commence a procurement
process) the contract value and/or that a contract may be extended
for a certain length of time or cost.
 
To clarify this distinction in
the Scheme of Delegation to Officers, to avoid misinterpretation,
and to prevent decisions unnecessarily being taken by Cabinet
twice, section 9.52 of the Scheme of Delegation to Officers will be
amended to add the italicised text below:
 

Paragraph 36: "The
award of contracts (including the selection of a contractor from a
framework). The thresholds listed do not apply where Cabinet has
already approved the contract value at the commencement of a
procurement process."

 

Paragraph 37: "To
exercise an option to extend a contract where the amount or
duration has not previously been approved by
Cabinet".

 
The Scheme of Delegation to
Officers also reserves to the Executive Director of Resources
(Chief Financial Officer) the power to write off debt owed to the
council. However, this is impractical for the small values which
may be required to be written off. These decisions only require the
Chief Financial Officer's approval when a debt needs to be written
off other than in accordance with the council's Debt Management
Policy. Therefore, section 9.52, paragraph 9 of the Scheme of
Delegation to Officers will be amended to add the following
italicised text: "To agree to write off a debt owed to the Council,
other than in accordance with the council's Debt Management
Policy."
 
Finally, section 9.51 of the
Scheme of Delegation to Officers requires amendment to reflect the
updated management structure of the council, as follows:
 

Executive Director of
Resources: Finance and Commerce, People, Law and Governance,
Strategy and Transformation, and Digital.
Director of Finance
and Commerce: Financial Management, Corporate Finance and
Accounting, Commercialisation, Procurement, Payroll, Pension Fund,
Asset Management and Facilities Management.
Director of Strategy
and Transformation: Business Intelligence, Strategy and Policy,
Change, and Communications and Public Affairs.

 

Content

 
Heloise MacAndrew, Director of
Law and Governance, took a decision to make the following changes
to the council's Constitution, to correct an error or resolve an
inconsistency:
 
i) 
For clarification, to amend Section 9.52, paragraph
36 (Scheme of Delegation to Officers) to: "The award of contracts
(including the selection of a contractor from a framework). The
thresholds listed do not apply where Cabinet has already approved
the contract value at the commencement of a procurement
process."
 
ii) 
For clarification, to amend section 9.52, paragraph
37 (Scheme of Delegation to Officers) to: "To exercise an option to
extend a contract where the amount or duration has not
previously been approved by Cabinet".
 
iii) 
For clarification, to amend section 9.52, paragraph
9 (Scheme of Delegation to Officers) to: "To agree to write off a
debt owed to the Council, other than in accordance with the
council's Debt Management Policy."
 
iv) 
For accuracy, to amend section 9.51 (Scheme of
Delegation to Officers) so the areas of responsibility for the
Executive Director of Resources, Director of Finance and Commerce,
and Director of Strategy and Transformation are
corrected.