Oadby and Wigston Borough Council

The Audit Committee discussion centers on a backlog in audit work (22-23 and 23-24), resource and staffing pressures in both internal and external audit, governance assurances amid cost pressures, and plans to recover licensing income. Key procurement-relevant themes include potential expansion of audit capacity (staffing or external procurement), governance funding uncertainty from central government, and market concentration for audit providers.

The Development Control Committee discussed a council-owned extension at 12 Davenport Avenue. Key points included adherence to the 45-degree daylight rule and the Residential Development SPD, with officers confirming policy compliance, and the council acting as the applicant. The committee approved the application by motion to permit.

The Policy, Finance & Development Committee discussed current budget pressures, ongoing procurement implications, and governance controls. Key items include pressures from the national pay award and leisure centre contract costs, staffing and agency spend in planning, ongoing negotiations with the leisure operator (SLM), treasury management and short-term investments, homelessness expenditure, and concerns over budget variances and formatting in the annual budget book.

Meeting date: 2023-06-22. Key procurement-related discussions include: (1) Energy Efficiency Grants: council announced 1.5M funding for private home energy efficiency measures via a Local Authority delivery program, implying future procurement of installers/contractors for insulation, PV, and heating works. Quote: “we've actually currently brought into the air in 1.5 million pounds of funding to fund Energy Efficiency measures into private homes…” (2) Food safety service planning: plan prioritizes high-risk premises and catching up on inspections post-pandemic, which could affect staffing and service procurement decisions. Quote: “the plan for the coming year … priority this year is to balance that with catching up with those premises to make sure that they are being all compliant with the rules.” (3) Reporting and oversight: Defra air quality reporting is planned, with a forthcoming report on measurements and interventions. Quote: “bring a report to a later community submit a report to defra on all our measurements and all the measures that we're taking to try and reduce and improve air quality within our area.” (4) Revisit inspection fee: a chargeable revisit inspection is mentioned, with unclear fee figures requiring clarification. Quote: “this financial year it's actually set at 170 million.” (5) Follow-up detail requests: officers will provide more detailed information on energy improvement grants after the meeting. Quote: “what I'll do I can get more detail … I'll send that separately after the meeting for you here.”

Based on the Service Delivery Committee meeting held on 2023-06-13, procurement and expenditure considerations focused on replacing a void-property refurbishment contractor, planning capital works for cemeteries, and IT/digital improvements to move to paperless committees. Key items include: (1) a potential procurement/contractor replacement for void properties and planned cemetery capex; (2) a drive to benchmark costs for replacement kitchens and bathrooms; (3) a move to paperless committees with an Amber status indicating ongoing implementation; and (4) a need to report capital bids for cemeteries later in the year. These discussions signal upcoming contract opportunities, budget allocations, and IT investments to support service delivery.

Key procurement-related discussions at the AGM 2023/24 focused on governance and oversight that influence procurement decisions: (1) changes to council body membership sizes, with debate on efficiency versus scrutiny; (2) consideration of increasing the Capital Projects subcommittee size from five to six to improve capital project scrutiny; (3) the process for appointments to outside bodies (Village Hall Fund, Educational Foundation, University of Leicester Botanical Gardens Oversight Board), including a contest if nominations exceed available posts; and (4) funding pressures affecting capital projects and broader procurement capacity. A fundraising note by the outgoing mayor is also mentioned but not a procurement decision.