Venue: Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation, Barnsdale Way, Grove Park, Enderby, Leicester, LE19 1ES
Contact: Mr. P. Hitchings (Tel. 0116 305 6038) Email. peter.hitchings@leics.gov.uk
No. | Item | |
---|---|---|
Minutes: The Minutes of the meeting held on |
||
Urgent Items. Minutes: The Chairman reported that there were no urgent items for
consideration. |
||
Declarations of Interest. Minutes: The Chairman invited those who wished to do so to declare an
interest in respect of items on the agenda.
No declarations were made. |
||
Exclusion of the Public. Minutes: RESOLVED: That under
Section 100(A)(iv) of the Local Government Act 1972
the public be excluded from the meeting on the grounds that it will involve the
likely disclosure of exempt information during consideration of the following
item of business entitled: ‘Legal
Claim Update’ (Paper ‘G’) as defined in paragraphs 3, 5 and 10 of Schedule
12A of the Act; and, in all circumstances of the case, the public interest in
maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the
information. |
||
Legal Claim Update (Exempt Minute 107 also refers). (Exempt report of the Consortium Secretary) Exempt under Paragraphs 3, 5 and 10 of Schedule 12A Minutes: The Management Committee received an exempt report of
the Consortium Secretary, which provided an update on the legal claim made
against ESPO. A copy of the exempt
report, marked ‘G’ is filed with these minutes. The exempt report was not for publication by virtue of
paragraphs, 3, 5 and 10 of Section 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. RESOLVED: That the latest position in relation to the legal
claim be noted. |
||
Annual Audit Letter 2010/11. (Joint Report of the Interim Director and Consortium Treasurer) Additional documents: Minutes:
|
||
Annual Audit Plan 2011/12. (Joint Report of the Interim Director and Consortium Treasurer) Additional documents: Minutes: The Management Committee considered a joint report of the
Interim Director and Consortium Treasurer, the purpose of which was to provide
details of the scope of the audit to be undertaken by ESPO’s
external auditor, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, for the
audit year of 2011/12. A copy of the
report, marked ‘C’, is filed with these minutes. Arising from discussion the following points were noted: (i)
The proposal to increase PwC’s
misstatement reporting threshold from £1000 up to £83,000 (5% of PwC’s audit materiality level) was welcomed on the basis
that this was a more appropriate level strategically; (ii)
There was no inherent conflict of interest with
regard to auditors of Leicestershire County Council also undertaking audit
functions for ESPO. The Management
Committee was advised that, should a conflict of interest arise then
appropriate action would be taken promptly to ensure that this did not
compromise the work of auditors working for either organisation; (iii) As
ESPO operated under Joint Committee arrangements a host authority was required
to undertake tasks which allowed the continued effective
administration of the organisation, including finance and legal services. The Chairman
thanked Mr Bacon and Ms Kennedy for their contribution to the meeting. RESOLVED: That the contents of
the Audit Plan 2011/12 be noted. |
||
Forecast Outturn 2011/12 and Budget 2012/13. (Joint Report of the Interim Director and Consortium Treasurer) Minutes: The Management Committee considered a joint report of the
Interim Director and Consortium Treasurer, the purpose of which was to provide
the Management Committee with detailed Forecast Outturn for 2011-12 and
proposed budget for 2012-13. A copy of
the report, marked ‘D’, is filed with these minutes. Arising from discussion the following points were noted: (i)
Development of a 4 year financial plan and 4 year
strategy was continuing which would complement the annual budget reports which
were presented to the Management Committee, to give a longer term view of ESPO’s position; (ii)
In the longer term it was intended for ESPO to
develop its strategy of low margin and high volume; this was reflected in the
fact that cost increase was linked to income increase. The strategy was designed to ensure, and was
consistent with, the organisation’s objectives of providing value for money for
customers rather than seeking to maximise profits; (iii)
It was noted that ESPO was a Department for
Education preferred supplier on the basis that it was a not for profit
organisation. Were ESPO to review this
strategy it was likely that this relationship would be damaged; (iv)
Reserves were unusually high partly to ensure
security against the legal claim against ESPO (minute 107 refers) and partly
because other significant activities, such as pay harmonisation, had been
delayed and so had not yet incurred spend;
(v)
The Management Committee was advised that,
subject to the outcome of the legal claim against ESPO, it was intended to
release outstanding dividends to Member Authorities. Following a resolution to the claim a report
would be presented to the Management Committee which would include
recommendations on a way to move forward; (vi)
A concern was expressed about the costs for HR
services. The Committee was advised that
ESPO was purchasing HR support from Leicestershire County Council, as the
servicing authority, because HR requirements had increased to the extent that ESPO’s traditional capacity was insufficient to deal with
the necessary workload. Two members of
staff who had previously worked within ESPO had been absorbed into
Leicestershire County Council’s HR function in order that a more effective
service was provided to ESPO; (vii)
Inflationary pressures had reduced the volume of
products stored in the warehouse. As a
result ESPO required fewer warehouse operatives. ESPO responded by working on the basis of
employing agency staff to ensure that the planned reduction in staff levels was
managed so as to avoid redundancies; (viii)
With regard to catalogue advertising (as
detailed in Appendix 1A of the report) ESPO was making efforts to advertise
both branded and unbranded goods together to encourage customers to choose the
cheaper of the two; usually the unbranded product. This practice would ultimately help to reduce
costs. A difficulty with this approach
was that frequent customers were often reluctant to try a new but cheaper
alternative product and instead preferred to purchase tried and tested, but
more expensive products; (ix)
The Vehicle and Equipment Reserve comprised the
cyclical replacement of ESPO equipment; (x)
Replacement of the current (xi)
Members would benefit from budget reports in
future being presented in more detail including greater information with regard
to the assumptions underpinning the headline figures presented. RESOLVED: (a)
That the report and appendices be noted; (b)
That the Forecast Outturn for 2011/12 be noted; (c)
That the budget for 2012/13 be approved; and (d) That a Subcommittee be established to work with the Director and Consortium Treasurer prior to consideration of the 2013/14 budget to ... view the full minutes text for item 110. |
||
(Report of the Interim Director) Additional documents:
Minutes: The Management Committee considered a report of the Interim
Director, the purpose of which was to provide an update to members on
developments since the Committee last met on Arising from discussion the following points were noted: (i) The Management Committee had a significant role to play in managing risk. It was therefore suggested that members might need to consider risk records in detail more regularly in order to fulfil this function. (ii) It was expected that a new Partnership Agreement would be put in place by Autumn 2012. An update on progress would be provided to members at the next meeting of the Management Committee. RESOLVED: That the contents of the report be noted. |
||
Employee Terms and Conditions Update. (Report of the Consortium Secretary) Minutes: The Management Committee considered a report of the
Consortium Treasurer, the purpose of which was to provide an update on the
consultation and negotiations being undertaken by the Servicing Authority in
relation to the proposed modernisation of its Terms and Conditions with the
workforce and recognised Trade Unions, and to provide information on the final
proposals to Terms and Conditions which impact specifically on ESPO staff, as
members of that workforce. A copy of the report, marked ‘F’, is
filed with these minutes. The Management Committee was advised that negotiations
regarding the bonus scheme were progressing; it was expected to report back to
the Committee outcome at the next meeting. RESOLVED: That the contents of the report be noted. |
||
Dates of Future Meetings - 2012. Minutes: The Management Committee considered the proposed schedule of
meeting dates in 2012, which had been previously circulated to members. It was noted that the meeting of the Management Committee
previously scheduled for It was suggested that in future a 10.30 start time for all
meetings would be better and it was seen as convenient for members. RESOLVED: That the schedule of meetings in 2012 be approved as
follows: |
||
Exclusion of the Public. Minutes: RESOLVED: That under
Section 100(A)(iv) of the Local Government Act 1972
the public be excluded from the meeting on the grounds that it will involve the
likely disclosure of exempt information during consideration of the following
item of business entitled: ‘Supplementary Report Informing the Forecast Outturn
2011/12, Budget 2012/13 and Progress Report of the Director.’ (Paper
‘H’) as defined in paragraphs 3 and 10 of Schedule 12A of the Act; and, in all
circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption
outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. |
||
Supplementary Report Informing the Forecast Outturn 2011/12, Budget 2012/13 and Progress Report of the Director. (Exempt Joint Report of the Interim Director and Consortium Treasurer) Exempt under Paragraphs 3 and 10 of Schedule 12A Minutes: The Management Committee received an exempt joint
report of the Interim Director and Consortium Treasurer, which set out further
supplementary information to Item 6, Forecast Outturn 2011/12 and Budgets
2012/13. A copy of the exempt report,
marked ‘H’ is filed with these minutes. The exempt report was not for publication by virtue of
paragraphs 3 and 10 of Section 12A of the Local government Act 1972. It was suggested that the content could benefit from
being displayed more clearly.
Furthermore, all reports presented to the Management Committee might
benefit from standardising the way
in which figures were presented. It was
noted that the Subcommittee established to determine future presentation of
budget information would have an opportunity to discuss any changes which were
required. RESOLVED: That the report and appendices be noted. |