Agenda and minutes

To approve the Minutes of the meeting held on 11 February 2015 as a correct record.

The Minutes (copies of which had been circulated) of the meeting held on 11 February 2015 were approved as a correct record.

Councillors and officers to declare any interests which they have in any of the items on the agenda for the meeting.

No declarations of interest were made.

To consider a report of the Monitoring Officer

The report sets out a number of proposed changes to the Constitution under the headings of Contract Procedure Rules and Scheme of Delegation – Officers and Executive which have been triggered by the set of rules which harmonise the procedures to be followed by Stockport, Rochdale and Trafford Councils before entering into contracts (the Contract Procedure Rules).

The Working Party is requested to consider and comment on the proposals for changes to the Constitution set out in Appendices A and B of the report.

Officer Contact: Craig Ainsworth on 0161 474 3204 or email: craig.ainsworth@stockport.gov.uk

The Monitoring Officer submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) setting out a number of proposed changes to the Constitution under the headings of Contract Procedure Rules and Scheme of Delegation – Officers and Executive which had been triggered by the set of rules which harmonise the procedures to be followed by Stockport, Rochdale and Trafford Councils before entering into contracts (the Contract Procedure Rules).

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

·         There was a need for more information on pre-tender inspections.

·         The Contract Procedure Rules only covered cost changes and there was no procedure for handling different types of modification of a Contract or Framework Agreement.

·         If the number of contractors increased substantially without a select list then the processing costs to the Council would increase.

·         A number of Council Officers, including the Internal Audit and Risk Manager, had been involved in the process of harmonising the Contract Procedure Rules from the three authorities from the outset.

·         The Contract Procedure Rules adhered to the Council’s policy on opposing construction forms that engaged in blacklisting, as agreed by the Council Meeting on 11 September 2014.

RESOLVED – That the comments of the Working Party be submitted to the Corporate, Resource Management and Governance Scrutiny Committee for consideration.

To agree a date for the next meeting of the Working Party.

RESOLVED – That the next meeting of the Working Party be held at 6.00pm on 22 July 2015.