In accordance with the Council’s adopted Procurement Strategy, the report seeks Cabinet approval for the Procurement Procedure Rules for Essex Procurement Partnership to be recommended onto Full Council for adoption, replacing the Council’s current Procurement Procedure Rules, contained with the Rules of Procedure set out in Part 5 of the Council’s Constitution.

 

The report also provides an update of the activity within the Essex Procurement Partnership and the Local Government Reorganisation for Greater Essex, Procurement and Contracts System Working Group.

RESOLVED that Cabinet -

 

(a)     approves in principle, the draft Procurement Procedure Rules, as set out in Appendix A to report A.1, as developed by the Essex Procurement Partnership, of which Tendring District Council is an active Member Authority, for recommendation onto Full Council for adoption;

 

(b)     authorises the Corporate Director (Law & Governance), being the responsible Officer for the Council’s corporate procurement function and the Council’s statutory Monitoring Officer, to make any necessary minor amendments and to produce a final draft of the Procurement Procedure Rules, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Assets and Community Safety, for Full Council to consider;

 

(c)     recommends to Council that the final draft Procurement Procedures Rules be adopted, replacing the Council’s current Procurement Procedure Rules, as contained with the Rules of Procedure set out in Part 5 of the Council’s Constitution;

 

(d)     endorses the review to be undertaken by both Internal Audit and the Audit Committee to ensure the Council’s corporate governance requirements continue to be maintained through the new Rules and lessons learnt have been captured;

 

(e)     notes the update of the activity within the Essex Procurement Partnership and the Local Government Reorganisation for Greater Essex, Procurement and Contracts System Working Group; and

 

(f)       notes Officers will present the outcome of the detailed analysis of the Council’s Contracts Register in due course in readiness for the transition phases of LGR.

In accordance with the Council’s adopted Procurement Strategy, Cabinet considered a report of the Assets & Community Safety Portfolio Holder (A.1) which sought Cabinet’s approval for the Procurement Procedure Rules developed through Essex Procurement Partnership to be recommended onto Full Council for adoption, thereby replacing the Council’s current Procurement Procedure Rules, contained with the Rules of Procedure set out in Part 5 of the Council’s Constitution. The report also provided a high-level update of the Local Government Reorganisation for Greater Essex, Procurement and Contracts System Working Group.

 

Members were aware that Tendring District Council (TDC) formed part of the Essex Procurement Partnership (EPP) (Cabinet 21 February 2025 minute no. 128 referred) through its agreement to enter into a Collaboration Agreement for the delivery of joint procurement services for a three-year period together with:

 

·      Braintree District Council

·      Castle Point Borough Council

·      Epping Forest District Council

·      Essex County Council

 

Those Parties had agreed through the Collaboration Agreement to create common procurement documentation including common tender documents, a shared set of procurement rules and a procurement strategy. Following Cabinet’s recommendation, Full Council had adopted the Procurement Strategy on 25 March 2025 (minute no. 132 referred).

 

The Parties had also agreed, at the time as an interim measure, to adopt the EPP Procurement Rules where they were not in conflict with the Constitution of each Party.  The Parties had agreed with the objective of moving to formal joint procurement procedure rules to be embedded within their organisations over the period of the Agreement.

 

Cabinet was informed that reducing duplication was included within the rationale for collaboration both within the Collaboration Agreement and Procurement Strategy, as:

 

“Both in terms of procurement activities but also in documentation and adherence to procurement rules, allowing the Parties to focus on additional cost saving activity.  This will also provide benefit to the entire supplier community, particularly Small to Medium Enterprises and Voluntary sector organisations, reducing the time to understand bid documents.”

 

Through its decision making in 2025, Cabinet and Council had been informed that following adoption of the Procurement Strategy, a review of the Procurement Procedure Rules which had commenced and was in progress, would follow for approval, to meet the partnership’s collaborative objectives.

 

Cabinet recalled that the Portfolio Holder for Assets and Community Safety, being the Executive member responsible for procurement, represented this Council at the Member Advisory Group (MAG) with elected members from each local authority.  The MAG had been established in September 2023 and provided executive member oversight of the EPP by reviewing the performance of EPP in delivering against its objectives and acting as both critical friends and champions of the partnership. 

 

It was reported that the MAG had met in January 2026, when Officers had informed Members that the draft Procurement Procedure Rules had been designed to provide a framework of best practice for all procurement activities to deliver against the Procurement Rules and support the Councils in achieving value for money and delivering the Councils’ corporate objectives.  The draft documentation, at that time, were being refined further for EPP purposes, following a review undertaken by TDC’s Corporate Director (Law and Governance) and the Corporate Governance, Performance and Procurement Manager.

 

Members were made aware that in February 2026, the Leader of the Council & Portfolio Holder for Finance and Governance had received a report detailing the impact of the levels for tender exercises on the Council’s resources and capacity and being potentially disproportionate to increased costs for purchasing costs and services.  Following consideration of the report, the Leader of the Council had granted for an interim period, an exemption applying to all procurements with the value of £50,000 - £100,000 to follow the Council’s Request for Quotation Rules, as set out in the Council’s Procurement Procedure Rules.  That exemption remained in place until the Council formally considered the revised Procurement Procedure Rules, which at the time were being drafted by the Essex Procurement Partnership, in accordance with the Council’s adopted Procurement Strategy and Collaboration Agreement. 

 

High level Introduction to the new draft Procurement Procedure Rules (“the Rules”):

 

Cabinet was advised that the draft Procurement Procedure Rules, as set out at Appendix A, were new and if approved would replace the Council’s existing Rules. However, through development of the Rules, elements of the existing rules had been included where considered necessary to do so.

 

The new Rules were designed to provide a framework of best practice for all procurement activities which supported the Council in achieving value for money and delivering the Council’s corporate vision and priorities. 

 

All Councils within EPP remained the Contracting Authority in all cases and the decision makers with regards to procurement activity and contract management.  The Rules would apply to each member of the Partnership, following approval and adoption by the Councils, with the exception of Essex County Council whose Procurement Policy closely mirrored these.

 

Part 1 of the Rules, as set out in Appendix A, detailed the Roles and Responsibilities applicable to all Members and Officers, Part 2 set out the Rules for all Tenders and Request for Quotations when conducting procurement activity and Part 3 was specifically for the EPP.

 

The Rules would form part of the Council’s Constitution and so would apply to all Council Officers who would need to familiarise themselves with their contents prior to commencing any procurement-based activity.  Following adoption of the Rules, training would be provided across the Council, which would include, at a high level, to Members.

 

It was important to note that these Rules related to procurement activity and that the Council’s other Procedure Rules, such as Financial and decision making/governance requirements remain unaffected and still applied.

 

It was reported that the EPP had a suite of process documents known as the “Procedures” which supported delivery of the Procurement Procedure Rules and the Council’s adopted Procurement Strategy.

 

In producing new Rules, they had had to reflect the National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS) which set out the UK Government’s strategic priorities for public procurement and explained how contracting authorities must support their delivery.  The NPPS was a statutory requirement under section 13 of the Procurement Act 2023, the latest version of which had come into effect on 24 February 2025.

 

It was pointed out that the Rules mirrored the NPPS in their focus on the following key strategic priorities:

 

·      Delivering Value for Money

·      Driving Economic Growth

·      Enhancing Social Value

·      Supporting Net Zero and Environmental Goals

·      Improving Supplier Access and Market Diversity

·      Commercial Capability and Innovation

 

Cabinet was advised that Authorities must consider the NPPS in all procurement decisions and document how NPPS objectives had influenced their choices, and align processes with growth, social value, and capability goals.  This was a new statutory requirement and would be necessary for all procurement activity irrespective of value (i.e. both below the Procurement Act 2023 threshold and above).

 

Members were reminded that one of the main objectives of the Rules was to ‘build’ on existing procedure rules as part of ensuring that the Council’s procurement activities and tenders continued to be carried out in accordance with the legislation, and in particular applying the principles of value for money, best value, public benefit, transparency, integrity, protection from fraud, fair treatment, consideration of SME, equal treatment and non-discrimination. Those principles also applied to both procurements above the UK public procurement thresholds and those below.

 

It was highlighted that the new Rules included a section on Spend Thresholds providing a classification of the sourcing activity (procurement route) based on contract value.  This determined the correct process and established who led the procurement process. The spend threshold was the first factor considered but Officers would need to consider the complexity of the requirement.  If the requirement involved significant resources to implement, deliver, or manage for example, then spend alone might not be the determining factor.

 

The Rules provided different values to the existing rules and increased the Request for Quote process from £49,999 to £100,000 reflecting on inflation, resources and capacity.  However, good governance and value for money was still provided through a number of controls.

 

It was recommended that, upon adoption by the Council and training to Contracting Services across the Council, the Council’s Internal Audit Team and the Audit Committee review the Rules and operational requirements to ensure the Council’s corporate governance requirements were being maintained.  Any suggested revisions would be reported to Cabinet by the end of 2026/27, ready for the next financial year.

 

Cabinet was informed that through Local Government Reorganisation, the Procurement and Contracts workstream across Greater Essex had been active and updates had been provided within the Portfolio Holder’s report, with recommendations on next steps.

 

To reduce duplication and to ensure that the Council had up to date, appropriate and proportionate controls, systems and standards to manage procurement risk and to comply with legal requirements:-

 

It was moved by Councillor Kotz, seconded by Councillor Stephensonand:-

 

RESOLVED that Cabinet -

 

(a)     approves in principle, the draft Procurement Procedure Rules, as set out in Appendix A to report A.1, as developed by the Essex Procurement Partnership, of which Tendring District Council is an active Member Authority, for recommendation onto Full Council for adoption;

 

(b)     authorises the Corporate Director (Law & Governance), being the responsible Officer for the Council’s corporate procurement function and the Council’s statutory Monitoring Officer, to make any necessary minor amendments and to produce a final draft of the Procurement Procedure Rules, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Assets and Community Safety, for Full Council to consider;

 

(c)     recommends to Council that the final draft Procurement Procedures Rules be adopted, replacing the Council’s current Procurement Procedure Rules, as contained with the Rules of Procedure set out in Part 5 of the Council’s Constitution;

 

(d)     endorses the review to be undertaken by both Internal Audit and the Audit Committee to ensure the Council’s corporate governance requirements continue to be maintained through the new Rules and lessons learnt have been captured;

 

(e)     notes the update of the activity within the Essex Procurement Partnership and the Local Government Reorganisation for Greater Essex, Procurement and Contracts System Working Group; and

 

(f)       notes Officers will present the outcome of the detailed analysis of the Council’s Contracts Register in due course in readiness for the transition phases of LGR.