NOTES OF EVIDENCE

 

 

Meeting

Policy Commission for Economy, Tourism, Regeneration and Transport

Ref

E.PC. 14/03/07

Date   

14 March 2007

Time

18.00 hours

Place

Committee Room 1, County Hall, Newport, Isle of Wight

Purpose of meeting

Formal Public Meeting

 

Attendance     

Commission

Cllrs Jonathan Fitzgerald-Bond (Commissioner), Henry Adams, Ivan Bulwer, Charles Hancock, John Hobart and Arthur Taylor

Cabinet

 

Cabinet Secretariat

 

Other Councillors

 

Officers

Mr Eddie Brown, E Procurement Project Manager

Mr Andy Fahey, Business Transformation Manager

Miss Andrea Lisseter, Committee Services

Miss Vanda Niemiec, Overview & Scrutiny Team

Mr Dave Moore, Planning Projects Team Leader

Mr Bob Streets, Programme Lead for Compliance

Mr John Spencer, Purchasing Manager

Stake holders

Mr Norman Arnold, Chairman of the Isle of Wight Branch of the Federation of Small Businesses

Apologies

Cllrs Lora Peacey-Wilcox, David Pugh & Alan Wells

Agenda Items

 

1          To agree the notes of the previous meeting

1.1         The notes of the meeting held on 14 February 2007 were agreed subject to the inclusion of Cllr Ivan Bulwer in the meeting attendees.

2          To invite Members to declare any interest they might have in the matters on the agenda

2.1         There were no declarations of interest.

 

3          To receive evidence from Norman Arnold, Chairman of the Isle of Wight Branch of the Federation of Small Businesses, on the Island Ports Sustainability Enquiry (E01/06)

3.1         The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) nationally has approximately 200,000 members and a budget of £25 million. The FSB represents approximately 900 small businesses on the Island and is the largest representative for businesses on the Island. A small business is classified as one which has 500 employees or less. The FSB received 200 responses from their members regarding Island ferry services and ports.

 

3.2         The main views of Island FSB members are as follows:

 

·            There were complaints regarding the cost of ferries. High ferry fares have an impact on Island businesses importing and exporting their goods.

·            Some members believed the size of the ports to be too big and have too much traffic while others thought the ports were not big enough and were inefficient with poor access. 10% of members complained that the ports were too big and had too much traffic. 90% either made no comment or were satisfied.

·            Some members thought that high fares resulted in a better service and were concerned that cheaper fares could result in a less frequent service.

·            Members asked why Island ferries are not subsidised. The Island was stated to be the only major habited Island in the EC which does not receive any grants towards the cost of ferries. A document on the cost of severance was referred to in relation to this.

·            There were concerns that more operators may lead to less choice not more. There was a desire for ferries to continue to run during night time hours as large goods often need to be transported during anti-social hours.

·            There was a view that ferry companies should be embraced as opposed to criticised.

 

3.3         Cllr Hancock gave an update on the ports enquiry. Since the last meeting of the Commission, meetings had been held with representatives from Hampshire County Council Highways Authority, Southampton City Council and Portsmouth City Council. A questionnaire had been published in the One Island magazine and on the Council’s website. To date 459 paper replies had been received and there had been 117 responses on the website. The closing date was 23 March 2007 and further responses were welcome. The blue paper would be completed by June 2007.

4          To receive evidence from Norman Arnold, Chairman of the Isle of Wight Branch of the Federation of Small Businesses, on the Small Business Support Enquiry (E5/06)

4.1         The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) identified the following areas where local authorities could help small businesses

 

·            business rates

·            buying and selling locally

·            regulations

·            reducing crime

·            planning

·            consulting the FSB

 

4.2         Local Authorities have powers to reduce business rates in certain circumstances.

 

4.3         The Council could promote the Small Business Rate Relief and Automatic Business Rate Relief Schemes to make small businesses aware of the benefits available to them.

 

4.4         The Council could help in areas such as reducing charges for outside seating.

 

4.5         Local Authorities could support small businesses by procuring more goods and services from local businesses.

 

4.6         Local Authorities can help reduce administrative costs for small businesses by providing help and guidance resulting in less enforcement.

 

4.7         The FSB have good working relationships with Isle of Wight Council officers who provide advice and guidance, in particular the Trading Standards and Environmental Health departments.

 

4.8         Local Authorities could give higher priority to reducing crime against businesses.

 

4.9         Local Authorities could relax planning regulations to allow business to install, for example, CCTV and metal shutters.

 

4.10     Regional Planning and Local Development Frameworks should reflect small business needs.

 

4.11     Local Authorities should consult small businesses and should schedule meetings at times which allow working people to attend and/or serve as Councillors.  The FSB recognise that the IW Council has addressed these issues and welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the Commissions enquiries.

 

4.12     FSB members have benefited from assistance through the Isle of Wight Economic Partnership. This was thought to be a good investment by the local authority. 

 

4.13     There are no formal links between the FSB and Town and Parish Councils.

 

4.14     Some FSB Members benefit from the Isle of Wight Music Festival in respect of catering, security, clearing up, camping and transportation.

 

4.15     The Purchasing Manager for the Isle of Wight Council stated that approximately 65% of the Council’s spend is with small businesses and approximately 46% of this is spent on the Island.

5          To receive a presentation on

e-procurement

in relation to the Procurement Part 1 Enquiry (E4/06)

5.1         The Commission received a presentation from the E Procurement Project Manager which explained e procurement and the function and purpose of procurement cards.

 

5.2         The main purpose of the e procurement system was to provide a central web based application where officers could search for a product, find the best value item, and purchase electronically. The web based application allowed suppliers to upload their catalogues in order to allow Council officers procuring goods to see a full range of products and purchase immediately. The system allowed payment to be received by the supplier with a few days and much faster than the current paper system. The new system would eliminate paper invoices when fully implemented.

 

5.3         The purpose of procurement cards was to allow officers who regularly purchase low value items, such as ferry tickets, to be able to pay for these with the card. Payment would be automatically received by the supplier within a few days. Each officer issued with a card would require written permission from their line manager and Head of Service and would have a maximum limit on the card. Misuse by an officer would result in disciplinary action.

 

5.4         It is anticipated that the new systems will deal with an estimated 35,000 orders, which represents approximately 26% of the Council’s annual procurement spend.

 

5.5         The project would be fully implemented by the end of April 2007.

 

5.6         There had been no problems with the electronic system so far.

 

5.7         The biggest risk to the project was identified as misuse of the procurement card by an officer, however, there were controls on the cards and the bank would cover the costs of any fraud.

 

5.8         To date 220 procurement cards had been issued. The limit on the cards was dependent on the individual officer’s spending need and would be agreed at the time of application by their line manager and Head of Service. It was anticipated that up to 350 cards would be issued in total.

 

5.9         The system, once fully implemented, will speed up payment to the supplier.  Currently, the old and new systems are running in parallel. The current standard payment period is 30 days.  

 

5.10     The cost of the procurement card transaction is paid for by the supplier. It is favourable to suppliers as they are guaranteed payment within a few days.  

 

5.11     At present suppliers do not offer the Council settlement for fast payment, but there is the potential in the future for negotiations on this, in particular with large contracts.

 

5.12     The project has been implemented in a phased approach and has involved widespread training. Paper accounts would be withdrawn shortly.

 

5.13     Procurement cards were useful for purchasing outside of the marketplace where goods might be cheaper.