Temporary Recruitment of a Senior Planning Officer

This Transparency Notice is issued in accordance with Section 44 of the Procurement Act 2023 and Regulation 26 of the Procurement Regulations 2024, which require publication of a transparency notice prior to making a direct award.

The Council intends to enter into a direct award for the continued provision of specialist recruitment services with Stonehouse Recruitment Ltd, retaining the same consultant currently engaged on assignment. Services will be delivered by Stonehouse Recruitment Ltd, while the Purchase Order and payment arrangements will be made through Quba Solutions, their authorised factoring company.

The direct award is made under the permitted justification in Schedule 5 (technical reasons), as the continuation of the existing consultant is necessary to maintain service continuity and avoid disruption to the current recruitment programme. The consultant has specialist knowledge of the roles, candidate pipeline and compliance requirements, and replacing them at this stage would result in significant duplication of work, delay and inefficiency.

The proposed direct award will extend the current arrangement for a further 12 months to ensure continuity of service and allow the Council time to plan and implement any future procurement strategy in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023.