Chief Executive uses special powers to approve decisions

Steve Rumbelow, Chief Executive of Rochdale Borough Council

Rochdale Borough Council Chief Executive, Steve Rumbelow Chief has used special powers to renew the lease of the Arts and Heritage Centre, Units 3, 4, 5 and 6 Scotts Industrial Estate, and to amend Council’s constitution, Part 3 – Responsibility for Functions paragraph 2 (2), as requested by STAR Procurement, the shared procurement service for Stockport, Trafford and Rochdale.

The renewal of the lease fell under special urgency as ‘any delay likely to be caused by convening a meeting of the Cabinet would have prejudiced the Council’s and/or the public’s interests’.

In accordance with the Council’s special urgency provisions, the Chairman of Corporate Overview & Scrutiny had earlier resolved that the item could be submitted to Cabinet without the pre-requisite 28-day notice and, due to the significant time constraints, exempted the decision of Cabinet from call-in. The Cabinet was not able to convene a meeting to consider this matter within the required timescales.

The report from the Economy Directorate seeking approval for the terms of a new 10-year lease was approved by the Chief Executive on 11 August.

On 8 September, the Chief Executive approved a report from the Acting Director of Resources identifying a request from STAR Procurement for amendments to the Council's Contract Procedure Rules, to permit the implementation of a Risk-Based Sourcing trial.

Changes to the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules are required to ensure the STAR Spend Local project remains compliant with the Council’s Constitution.

The amendment for the Constitution was approved under special urgency as STAR Procurement required a decision by the three participating Authorities no later than 25 September.

It was not possible to convene a meeting of Full Council in time to implement the changes to the Council’s Constitution.