A meeting of the Cabinet Member Signing is scheduled to consider an administrative amendment to a previous decision regarding merchant acquirer services. The meeting will also address the filming of council meetings.

Administrative Amendment to Merchant Acquirer Re-Procurement

The primary item scheduled for discussion is an administrative amendment to the re-procurement of merchant acquirer services. This concerns a report initially approved on 6th May 2026, which contained an error in the company name. The report scheduled for discussion seeks to correct references to Global Pay or Global Payments to the correct legal entity, GPUK LLP.

Merchant acquiring services are essential for the council to process debit and credit card payments across its services, handling approximately £86 million in annual card income. The current arrangements are reported to be financially unsustainable, with projected annual costs of around £1.021 million significantly exceeding the available budget. The proposed amendment aims to ensure the council can proceed with securing improved commercial terms and addressing a budget pressure.

The report outlines that the re-procurement is being conducted via the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) Framework 6325 Payment Acceptance, Lot 1, with the existing provider. This approach is intended to secure materially improved commercial terms, reduce annual costs from approximately £1.02 million to £490,000, and deliver savings of around £530,000 per annum. This is presented as a way to address the current budget gap while ensuring compliance with procurement regulations and maintaining service continuity.

The report also details that the proposed approach aligns with the council's corporate priorities, including ensuring value for money, financial sustainability, and delivering efficient, resident-focused services. It is noted that this is a commercially focused re-procurement exercise aimed at securing improved pricing and contractual terms without disrupting income collection processes.

The report includes comments from statutory officers, including Finance, Procurement, and Legal and Governance. The Finance department notes the administrative amendment and confirms no changes to previous financial comments. Strategic Procurement supports the amendment, highlighting the efficiency and compliance benefits of using the CCS Framework. The Director of Legal and Governance (Monitoring Officer) sees no legal reasons preventing the approval of the recommendation. An Equalities screening has also been conducted, which identified no direct adverse impacts on protected groups, as the decision is a back-office commercial one that does not alter service eligibility or payment methods.

The meeting is scheduled to be attended by Councillor Johann Beckford, Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Services. The report pack for this discussion can be found here.

Filming at Meetings

Information is also scheduled to be provided regarding the filming and recording of council meetings. Attendees are informed that meetings may be filmed or recorded for broadcast via the council's website or by other attendees. While efforts are made to avoid filming public seating areas, members of the public attending should be aware they may be filmed or recorded by others. Those participating in the meeting, such as making deputations or asking questions, are likely to be filmed. By attending, individuals consent to being filmed and to the possible use of these images and sound recordings. The Chair of the meeting has the discretion to terminate or suspend filming if it is deemed disruptive or prejudicial to proceedings. The agenda frontsheet for this meeting is available here.