URL: https://democracy.bathnes.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=2266

Decision Maker: Cabinet Member for Resources

Outcome:

Is Key Decision?: No

Is Callable In?: Yes

Purpose: The current Staff Travel Management contract is due to expire at the end of July. Following a procurement process and supplier engagement it is requested that the decision to renew this contract to the preferred bidder from this process.

Content: (1)   To support the re-procurement of a corporate supplier for Staff Travel.   (2)  To note that the Emergency Housing element shall be separately awarded and is not part of this decision. For an interim period of 2-3 months the Emergency Housing element shall continue to be delivered alongside the Staff Travel element.   (3)  To delegate authority to award the contract to the Director of Financial Services, Assurance & Pensions, following the final decision regarding successful bidder(s). The Council initiated a review process to assess the current and future provision of Travel Management, covering staff travel, Emergency Housing and Emergency Planning requirements.   The review process included an investigation into current/historical provision of services and the development of key areas of improvement to existing services.   These key areas for improvement for Staff Travel included:   ·  Improved Contract Management ·  Separation of Emergency Housing from staff travel service with regard to process, reporting and invoicing ·  Improved booking process ·  Confirmation of VFM to the Council, via benchmarking or other means   The review also included reaching a decision on whether or not the services required are consistent with the market offering, and to confirm if contracts are in place with other public sector organisations.   To determine which supplier(s) to engage, there was a Framework investigation to establish the most suitable suppliers in the market.   The initial engagement process was aimed to establish if:   (1)  The market can provide the required services (2)  Available frameworks are likely to be compliant (3)  Suppliers are interested in the contract   There followed a more detailed investigation to assist with the decision on most favourable supplier. This included:   (1)  Demonstration and presentation meetings covering: a)  System look and feel b)  User-friendly for administrators and users c)  Ability to include Staff Travel Policy elements within the platform d)  Provision of Emergency Housing service and separation of administration e)  Cost to council and benchmarking   (2)  Written response to include: a)  Suggested compliant Framework b)  Other frameworks possible c)  Sustainability approach d)  Flexibility and added value   The assessment process included input from officers across the council, representing users of the system and current administrators.   The final assessment was conducted and recommendations agreed on the preferred supplier/s.   Alongside the assessment of suppliers, investigation into the various available frameworks was completed to assess suitability and compliance. As detailed in the report, a number of alternative suppliers were considered within the engagement process.   An open procurement process was also considered but was discounted as there was no apparent benefit to the Council of a protracted procurement process, in a market where a number of framework options exist.   The option not to have a corporate supplier for staff travel was discounted. The Council’s spend for staff travel exceeds the public procurement thresholds and therefore the Council are required to run a compliant procurement process to appoint a supplier(s) for these services. On a practical note, it is also beneficial to have an identified corporate supplier for these services to ensure consistency and alignment with the Staff Travel Policy and also to reduce the staff time spent searching and arranging travel.

Date of Decision: July 31, 2025