Agenda item

1.      Mr Michael Bridger (Strategic Commercial and Procurement Lead) introduced the report and explained that it covered performance during 2025/2026 and was aligned with the Council’s new Commercial Strategy. He reported that the Council had delivered £54.4 million in financial benefits during the year and had increased spending with Kent-based suppliers by £33 million, bringing local spend to 62%. He stated that these achievements reflected collaborative working between the Commercial and Procurement Division, Finance and service directorates. He also noted that the report identified areas for improvement, particularly around reducing retrospective waivers and increasing participation from voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations.

2.      Further to questions and comments from Members the discussion covered the following:

(a)     Concerns were raised about the reduction in spending with VCSE organisations. Mrs Maynard, Chief Procurement Officer, explained that while spend with VCSE organisations had reduced slightly, the Council remained committed to securing best value for taxpayers while maintaining a diverse provider market. She noted that many VCSE providers operated at significant scale, particularly within adult social care, and that procurement decisions continued to focus on value for money. She confirmed that spending with the sector would continue to be monitored closely. Mr Bridger added that officers were increasing pre-market engagement activity to ensure VCSE organisations had earlier notice of procurement opportunities, recognising that smaller organisations often had fewer resources to prepare bids.

(b)     Regarding the increase in waiver requests, Mr Bridger explained that some waivers were necessary due to urgent health and safety requirements, service continuity needs or limited supplier markets. Ms Maynard confirmed that the time between a waiver being identified and submitted had reduced, indicating improvement in compliance and earlier engagement by services. She also explained that the Council was developing an overarching commissioning plan to improve forward planning and help prevent avoidable waivers.

(c)     Mr Bridger confirmed that retrospective waivers remained a particular area of focus and that officer training and monitoring arrangements were being strengthened to reduce the need for them in future. Ms Maynard added that retrospective waivers did not necessarily mean expenditure had already occurred and that, in many cases, officers were still able to intervene to ensure best value was achieved. She also highlighted that urgent works, such as emergency repairs to school buildings, could legitimately require retrospective waiver approval.

(d)     Mr Watts advised that reports from the Commercial and Procurement Division were helping the Corporate Management Team challenge and support directorates more effectively. He noted that improved reporting enabled management action to be taken where procurement processes had not been followed appropriately, whilst also helping to identify wider operational pressures affecting services.

(e)     Regarding cross-authority cooperation, Mr Bridger explained that the Council worked closely with other county, district and borough councils, as well as central government departments, and expected this collaboration to continue and develop further. Mr Watts added that strengthened internal governance arrangements, including the Contract and Procurement Oversight Board, were improving cross-directorate collaboration and scrutiny of major contracts. He noted that these arrangements were already delivering benefits and would become increasingly important in preparation for Local Government Reorganisation.

3.         RESOLVED to note the report.