9.4. The Council continues to ensure that all direct awards are subject to appropriate governance and approval arrangements. However, the existing fragmented systems and data make reliable reporting difficult.
9.5. This section provides and analysis of direct awards made up of Single Tender Actions and compliant direct awards from Framework Agreements in 2025/26 and 2026/27 to date.
| Directorate | FY25/26 Direct Awards | FY25/26 Awarded Value £'000 | 2026/27 YTD Direct Awards | 2026/27 YTD Awarded Value £'000 | Total Direct Awards | Total Awarded Value £'000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adults, Housing & Health | 9 | 11, 410 | 3 | 200.6 | 12 | 11,610 |
| Children's Services | 1 | 47.4 | 4 | 672.5 | 5 | 720 |
| Culture, Strategy & Communities | 1 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 100 |
| Environment & Resident Experience | 3 | 212.8 | 2 | 207.9 | 5 | 420.8 |
| Finance & Resources | 4 | 182.1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 182.1 |
| Grand Total | 18 | 11.95m | 9 | 1.08m | 27 | 13.04m |
9.6. The Council remains committed to promoting competition wherever possible whilst ensuring continuity of service, compliance with legislation and effective risk management.
10.1. Category Management further defines procurement activity as ‘the process of managing spend through segmenting expenditure into discrete groups of similar or related products and services called categories. The categories are based on the supply market and how it is influenced by procurement and commissioning strategies.”
10.2. Category management is a key element of the Council's wider commercial improvement programme. However, the existing systems and fragmented data does not support the Council's needs and ambitions.