Issue - meetings

To recommend to the Cabinet Member that delegated authority be given to the Corporate Director of Strategic & Corporate Services to execute the flexible energy procurement frameworks on behalf of KCC for the period October 2016 to September 2020, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Commercial and Traded Services

(1)       Mr Bryan Sweetland, Cabinet Member for Traded Services, introduced the report which provided an overview of the procurement process undertaken by LASER to renew the flexible frameworks for the period October 2016 – September 2020.

(2)       Nigel Hartnup, Assistant Director, LASER gave a presentation which explained the history, the current flexible purchasing arrangements at LASER, the benefits of the current arrangements and details of the proposed renewals. He invited Members to visit the LASER team.

(3)       As a result of comments made and questions raised, officers said that:

i.          The savings of £273k per annum reflected the figure by which LASER had outperformed the average market price in the past four years despite relatively benign market conditions;

ii          LASER faced competition from other public sector buying organisations, which historically had been regionally based, and a central government equivalent that offered the framework but not the ‘downstream’ services.  In addition some private sector companies offered similar services but generally only to private sector clients;

iii         LASER would seek to expand its market share and offered services increasingly to other public sector organisations such as the NHS, Police and Fire Authorities and Housing Associations.  In addition LASER had a sister company, Lumina, which provided similar services to the private sector.

(4)       The Committee was pleased with the proposed decision and with the work conducted by LASER to date.

(5)       RESOLVED that the proposed decision be endorsed.