Agenda item

Pre-submitted Members questions are pursuant to rule 12 of the Council & Committee Procedure Rules.

Questions should be submitted by noon on Monday 3 February 2025 to  Democratic Services, democratic.services@adur-worthing.gov.uk   

(Note: Member Question Time will operate for a maximum of 30 minutes.)

A Member asked the following question

Can you explain how the bid by Crawley-based Funding People met the criteria of the COL tender in ways that led to them being awarded the contract in preference to a local bid from a partnership of Sussex Community Foundation and Community Works?

Response:

We carried out a competitive process to select the successful organisation based on the criteria and timescales outlined in the specification.

We reached out via different channels: our website, social media and email both via our Procurement and Participation channels to VCSE organisations and to major local organisations from other sectors who could signpost to organisations that may be interested.

We assessed and scored the bids put forward based on the different criteria in the specification. The evidence we used were the bids put forward and the interview panels that shortlisted organisations were invited to.

We had developed consistent scoring definitions for each of the criteria allocated so that we knew upfront what constitutes a poor/average/good/excellent response for each of:

Participation

Delivery

Impact

Expertise

Price and Social Value

The outline of what each of the above criteria include are outlined in section 7: method statement of the specification.

A Member asked the following question

I understand that although there are Environmental, Social & Governance principles and limitations on the type of investments the Council makes, the council does invest some funds on a rolling basis within the treasury function for an average period of around 10 days which are difficult to get disclosure on.  It is possible therefore that we may invest in some institutions via the Money Market Fund that invest in defence, which will include arms sales. Can you confirm if there is anything specific in the investment principles set out in the annual treasury management strategy to say that investment in the arms trade is not permitted, if not could there be, and if there is how can it be adhered to within the treasury function?

Response:

The Council’s Treasury Management Strategy Statement (TMSS) sets out how funds are invested, with a strong emphasis on security, liquidity, and yield. Investments are primarily placed in highly credit-rated money market funds (as you have referenced) for short periods, often overnight. Due to the nature of these investments, it can be difficult to trace exactly where funds ultimately end up within the wider banking system.

The Council does consider Environmental, Social, and Governance (or ESG) principles when selecting investment counterparties. (Other parties engaged in our financial transactions). There is currently no specific prohibition on investments linked to the firearms or weapons industry however the council does investigate all ESG factors and seeks to avoid investments in tobacco and controversial weapons financing. Additionally, where possible, fossil fuel investments have been avoided—for example, the decision to avoid Barclays due to its significant funding of new fossil fuel exploration.

Introducing a formal restriction on arms trade investment within the TMSS would present a significant operational challenge to the Treasury team. Treasury investments are not the same as discretionary investment funds; they must prioritise security, liquidity and yield. A rigid policy against certain sectors could limit investment options, particularly given the relatively small scale of the Council’s investments which could expose the council to undue risk by relying on a small pool of counterparties. This, in turn, could impact the Council’s ability to manage cash flow efficiently and minimise borrowing costs, essentially meaning the Council’s strategy is not compliant with the CIPFA (Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy) code of practice.