Purpose

The Council carries out procurement of various types of work in relation to its housing function. Eastern Procurement operates a framework suite specialising in the social housing sector. Maximising the effectiveness of the Council's procurement is fundamental to the future sustainability of the service. It is proposed to enter into the access agreements with Eastern Procurement in order to be able to evaluate the potential benefits of procuring from their framework deals.
There is no cost to entering into the agreements and no obligation to purchase. The agreements include confidentiality provisions which are commercially important to the provider. Entering into the agreements will allow the Council to obtain the rates and supplier details for a range of pertinent works and services in order to evaluate their competitiveness and benefits compared with other options.

Decision

To enter into access agreements with Eastern Procurement

Alternative options considered

Option 1 - not entering into the access agreements - not proposed - we would not be able to access framework details to see if they are advantageous.
Option 2 - entering into the access agreements - proposed - we will not be able to access framework details to see if they are advantageous.