Scarborough Council uses almost £400,000 on spending exempt from usual contract rules

Scarborough Council has used special exemptions to make purchases of more than £380,000 that did not comply with its contract procedure rules since July last year.

The authority has various exemptions in place to make purchases for services, goods, products, and materials.

This includes cases where they could only be obtained “from one contractor”, where there is “no genuine competition”, and where they were required “so urgently as not to permit compliance with the requirements of competition”.

The purchases, which are listed in a council report prepared for an upcoming meeting of the audit committee on Thursday, March 23, mainly focus on urgent repairs, support for disabled people such as stairlifts, as well as the purchase of artworks and other services.

Exemptions were used to purchase a boat decking replacement at Peasholm Park for £48,000, for services to run “a programme of work to negotiate a range of empty shop leases and fit them out for artists” from The Old Parcels Office for £47,000, and for the supply and installation of a specialist bath for a disabled facilities grant for £13,360.

According to the report, other purchases included a two-year extension of a contract for the continued use of the Destination Management Solution from the New Mind Internet Consultancy Ltd for £48,000.

The authority also spent £11,500 on artwork from Jo Witney to improve the walls of the Whitby Paddling Pool and £49,850 on “urgent specialist roof repairs” to the Alexandra Bowls Centre from Roofing Consultants Group Ltd.

The council report states that it is “inevitable” that at times the authority can not comply with the contract rules but adds that “the rules require that where this is the case a specific exemption must be obtained”.

Exemptions can be granted by the cabinet and in cases of urgency by individual cabinet members and also by the council’s monitoring officer “under specific grounds provided under the constitution”.

The rules state that where exemptions are obtained “they are reported to the audit committee which offers the opportunity for the amendments to the constitution”.