Since July 2022 Scarborough Council has spent almost £400,000 on services and products that fell outside its usual contract procedure 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”.


Scarborough's Alpamare Waterpark Could Have New Owner by Autumn
Mixed Reactions To Sir Robert Goodwill's Appointment As Yorkshire Bathing Water Partnership Chair
Smiley and Sad Face Speed Signs Set to Remain Banned in North Yorkshire
No Date For Delayed Opening Of Scarborough NHS Diagnostics Centre
Whitby Town Sign Promising Defender Stan Hewitt Following Bridlington Town Departure
New Owner Sought For Scarborough's Alpamare Water Park
No Redundancies Expected As Bridlington Care Unit Staff To Be Redeployed Across Local NHS
North Yorkshire Councillors Urge Mayor To Reconsider Highway Funding Reallocation
Scarborough Athletic Reveal Pre-Season Fixtures As Council Updates On Pitch Repairs
Anglo American Says Woodsmith Project Boosts Regional Economy By Nearly £2 Billion
Scarborough And Whitby MP Welcomes Red Diesel Duty Cut
Two Yorkshire Coast Councillors Appointed As Chair And Vice-Chair Of North Yorkshire Council







Comments
Add a comment