Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor R D Butroid (Executive Councillor for People Management, Legal and Corporate Property) and Councillor C J Davie (Executive Councillor for Economic Development, Plannig and Environment).

Apologies for absence were also received from Heather Sandy, Executive Director – Childrens Services and Martin Samuels, Executive Director – Adult Care and Community Wellbeing.

There were no declarations of interest at this point in the meeting.

The Executive Councillor for NHS Liaison, Integrated Care System, Registration and Coroners announced that official confirmation had been received from the Ministry of Justice that the Coroners Service had now become the Greater Lincolnshire Coroners Service.  Thanks were extended to all officers involved, including the Senior Coroner, Paul Smith.

The Chief Executive reported that the Leader and Chief Executive of West Lindsey District Council had recently met with the Minister regarding progressing with the plans for the development of RAF Scampton.  There would be an agreement for a reduction in the number of people who would be housed at the camp, this would allow the development to occur simultaneously.  It was expected that the first cohort of people would arrive in summer.

In relation to devolution, the Chief Executive reported that a report had been presented to the Full Council in March 2024, and a letter had been sent to the Secretary of State asking for consideration to be given to the results of the consultation and the Statutory Instruments.  A response was expected in the summer, and then the combined authority would be established in October 2024.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting of the Executive held on 5 March 2024 be signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

(To receive a report by the Executive Director – Place which sets out a proposed course of action in respect of the re-procurement of the Council’s Library Service and seeks approval from the Executive to progress the re-procurement)

1.    That the re-procurement of the Council’s Library Service contract, via the Competitive Procedure with Negotiation (CPN) for commencement on 01 April 2026, be approved.

2.    That the retention of the current delivery model be approved.

3.    That authority be delegated to the Executive Director – Place, in consultation with the Executive Councillor for Fire and Rescue and Cultural Services and the Leader of the Council, to determine the final form of the contract, and approve the entering into of the same.

The Executive Councillor for Fire & Rescue and Cultural Services introduced a report which set out a proposed course of action in respect of the re-procurement of the Council’s Library Service as the Council’s contract with Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) was due to expire on 31 March 2026 with no further options to extend.

The Commercial and Procurement Manager presented the report and highlighted that the Council had a statutory obligation to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service.  The current contract with Greenwich Leisure Ltd commenced in 2016 following two judicial reviews over the proposed service model and its delivery.  It was reported that the current service model had saved £1.8m at the point of outsourcing and had been seen as a great success by customer, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Council.

The Executive was advised that within the new contract it was intended to retain the current model of libraries and hubs and it was recommended that a like for like service was procured. It was noted that a competitive tendering process should provide the Council with best value.

It was also highlighted that there was no requirement to carry out a public consultation unless substantial changes to the service provided were proposed.

Councillor N H Pepper, Chairman of the Public Protection and Communities Scrutiny Committee was in attendance via Microsoft Teams to present the comments of the Committee following its consideration of this report at its meeting on 19 March 2024 where the Committee unanimously supported the recommendations to the Executive.  The Committee supported the existing libraries model and it was confirmed that both cost and quality of the submission would be taken into consideration during the tendering process.   Concerns were raised regarding a situation where the returned bids were higher than the budget and reassurance was given that the Council would hold discussions with potential suppliers and would be able to identify the reasons for any significantly higher than expected bids.

(NOTE: Councillor R G Davies joined the meeting at 10.40am)

During discussion by the Executive, the following was noted:

·       The Libraries Service had been very successful with the current provider, but it was acknowledged that it was controversial when it was introduced.

·       Members and officers were pleased with how the library service had progressed since the first library service contract, and it was noted that the Lincolnshire libraries model had been used as an exemplar by the DCMS and Baroness Sanderson.  It was also noted how some libraries and hubs had become community cohesion services as well, and were greatly valued by their communities.

·       The Assistant Director – Communities advised that whilst there had been many successes with the current provider, there were areas which would benefit from further negotiations and discussions, such as the rural service.  This had moved from being very unenvironmentally friendly service with large vehicles to a more agile and frequent mobile service.

·       Officers advised that the procurement process would not be too prescriptive as they were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 76.

(To receive a report by the Deputy Chief Executive & Executive Director – Resources which provides an overview of the updated IT Service Delivery Model and seeks approval for the corresponding changes in the sourcing approach, and seeks authorisation from the Executive to commence a procurement)

1.    That the following changes to the IT Service Delivery Model and sourcing approach be approved:

a.    The procurement of a contract for the outsourcing of all operational IT services currently provided by the incumbent to a single external supplier.

b.    The procurement of a contract for the outsourcing of Security Operations to an independent specialist external supplier.

c.     The procurement of a contract for the engagement of an external partner (“Flexible Delivery Partner”) to support the Council in delivering IT technical design and delivery.

2.    That the carrying out of the necessary procurement processes to secure the services of the external suppliers and the Flexible Delivery Partner referred to in paragraph 1 above, be approved.

3.    That authority be delegated to the Deputy Chief Executive & Executive Director – Resources, in consultation with the Executive Councillor for Highways, Transport and IT, to take all necessary decisions and steps to progress the procurements referred to in 1a, 1b and 1c up to and including determination of the final form of the resultant contracts and award of those contracts.

The Executive Councillor for Highways, Transport and IT introduced a report which provided an overview of the updated IT Service Delivery Model and the corresponding changes in the sourcing approach to enable the Council to make an informed decision about the best way forward for the future delivery of IT services.

The Chief Information Officer (Interim) presented the report and stated that the majority of the Council’s IT service delivery was currently provided by Serco, and this contract was due to expire at the end of March 2026.  The Council’s Executive approved an overall IT Service Delivery Model and sourcing approach on 4 May 2022, however procurement activity was subsequently paused to give the Council time to assess options and rectify a number of risks and issues which were identified in the second half of 2022.  As a result, changes have now been made to the design of the original IT Service Delivery Model in order to address the risks and issues identified.

It was proposed that no significant services were moved in-house, and a single provider would deliver the day to day services.  An update was also provided in relation to the recent recruitment to the service area, and it was noted that the permanent Chief Information Officer would start in post on 7 May 2024, the Head of Cyber Security started at the beginning of April 2024, and the Head of IT Architecture had started at the end of March.  It was highlighted that this would be the first time the Council had recruited a Head of Cyber Security which reflected the challenges faced as well as the importance of this area.

The Executive was advised that there would be a year of transition for this new model and that it would be a significant procurement exercise, and the proposed model would give LCC access to a broader set of providers than pursing a single source model. 

The Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board was in attendance to present the comments of the Board following its consideration of this report at its meeting on 12 March 2024 where the recommendations were supported.  During consideration of the report, a number of questions were raised in relation to long term sustainability, resilience and security and assurances were sought that the contingency plan had been carefully considered.  Overall, the Board was confident that the proposed Future IT Service Delivery Model would address these issues and would have the flexibility to adapt to emerging challenges and also safeguard the continuity and quality of the Council’s IT services.

During discussion by the Executive, the following was noted:

·       There was support for the proposal for separate providers, however there were concerns regarding whether there would be sufficient communication between them.  The Executive was advised that whilst this was low risk for the cyber security element, where one provider was implementing changes determined by another this was acknowledged as a risk.  However, this would be mitigated by the Key Performance Indicators which would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 77.

(To receive a report by the Executive Director – Place which seeks approval from the Executive for the issuing of salt procurement for Lincolnshire County Council through the Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation (ESPO) salt contract framework.  This is a four year framework contract which will be replacing the last ESPO framework contract which ends on 20 April 2024)

1.    That the procurement of gritting salt through the ESPO De-Icing Salt and Associated Products/Services Framework contract Framework (1 May 2024 – 30 April 2028) be approved; and

2.    That authority be delegated to the Executive Director – Place, in consultation with the Executive Councillor for Highways, Transport and IT, to award and determine the final form of contract/s and entering into such contract/s and other legal documentation as necessary to give effect to this decision.

The Executive Councillor for Highways, Transport and IT introduced a report which sought approval for the issuing of salt procurement for Lincolnshire County Council through the Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation (ESPO) salt contract framework.  The Executive Councillor advised that the provision of salt and keeping the roads clear during winter was a necessary service.  It was also noted that there had been significant innovation in the salt industry and the Council used a treated grit salt mix.  This allowed the Council to reduce the amount of salt spread on the network, which also saved a significant amount of money.

The Head of Highways Client and Contractual Management Services presented the report and outlined the reasons and methods of procurement.  It was noted that using the ESPO framework gave the Council improved buying power meaning that there was a lower price per tonne for the salt.

This would be a four-year framework contract which would replace the last ESPO framework which would end on 30 April 2024.  It was noted that there were limited suppliers, but by buying in summer the Council could save some money.

During discussion by the Executive, the following was noted:

·       The current model for purchasing salt was fully supported, but it was queried whether this salt could also be imported.  Officers advised that the type of salt being used was a UK innovation and so could not be purchased from overseas.

·       Queries were raised in relation to how resilient the Council’s salt supplies were and it was noted that the Council had good stock levels, as it was now able to store a further 5,000 tonnes within the salt barns, making the total available 29,000 – 30,000 tonnes.  In 2010, which was an extreme year for weather, the Council used 38,000 tonnes.  Normal usage was around 20,000 tonnes per winter. 

·       The Executive was advised that the Council was in a relatively good place in terms of salt, and options for invest to save projects at the depots were being explored.  Some of the barns were reaching end of life, and there would be a need to discussions around whether to increase the size for any new barns, as well as exploring alternative sites around the County.

RESOLVED

1.    That the procurement of gritting salt through the ESPO De-Icing Salt and Associated Products/Services Framework contract Framework (1 May 2024 – 30 April 2028) be approved; and

2.    That authority be delegated to the Executive Director – Place, in consultation with the Executive Councillor for Highways, Transport and IT, to award and determine the final form of contract/s and entering into such contract/s and other legal documentation as necessary to give effect to this decision.