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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED To consider excluding the public from the Meeting for the following items of business, pursuant to Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 as part D involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 12 and 13 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A to the Act; and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. The meeting then resumed in public session. In response to a question raised by Councillor Dennison regarding the different cost structures and the similarity between Derby City Council and Pembrokeshire County Council contracts, the Head of ICT advised that the full details were not discussed as the questions were around the programme itself and the credibility and reliability of ICS.AI. He further advised that they could not comment if Derby City Council had purchased the full suite. The Chair then invited Councillor Anji Tinley to make a final address to the Committee. Councillor Tinley thanked the Cabinet Member for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies for the revised wording of the recommendation and, suggested that future papers presented to Council should provide greater clarity to Members including explanations of all the acronyms including G-Cloud. The Cabinet Member for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies thanked Councillor Tinley for the comments and committed to ensuring that documents provide greater clarity and explanation in future. Moved by Councillor Michael John; Seconded by Councillor Steve Alderman. The vote, undertaken by way of a roll-call, was carried. The votes were recorded as follows: For the Motion: Councillors Steve Alderman, Pat Davies, Alan Dennison, Jonathan Grimes, Michael John, Michael James, Bethan Price and Steve Yelland [8] Abstain: Councillor Huw Murphy [1] There were no votes against. RESOLVED That Decision a) made by Cabinet on 6 July 2026 be upheld; and Decision b) be referred back to Cabinet with the following recommended revision: That delegated authority be granted to the Director of Resources to engage in future collaboration options co-ordinated or instigated by the WLGA in respect of a wider approach to Artificial Intelligence across Wales where it is considered to be advantageous to the Council. This could include, but is not limited to, entering into collaboration agreements with WLGA, other local authorities and Welsh Government; participating in a collaborative procurement arrangement and entering into subsequent contracts up to the financial threshold for Directors as set out in the Contract Procedure Rules; and making applications for grant funding up to the financial threshold for Directors as set out in the Financial Procedure Rules.
Councillor Anji Tinley, Leader of the Independent Group was in attendance as Signatory of the Call-In.
There were no declarations of interest received.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED To consider excluding the public from the Meeting for the following items of business, pursuant to Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 as part D involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 12 and 13 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A to the Act; and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. The meeting then resumed in public session. In response to a question raised by Councillor Dennison regarding the different cost structures and the similarity between Derby City Council and Pembrokeshire County Council contracts, the Head of ICT advised that the full details were not discussed as the questions were around the programme itself and the credibility and reliability of ICS.AI. He further advised that they could not comment if Derby City Council had purchased the full suite. The Chair then invited Councillor Anji Tinley to make a final address to the Committee. Councillor Tinley thanked the Cabinet Member for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies for the revised wording of the recommendation and, suggested that future papers presented to Council should provide greater clarity to Members including explanations of all the acronyms including G-Cloud. The Cabinet Member for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies thanked Councillor Tinley for the comments and committed to ensuring that documents provide greater clarity and explanation in future. Moved by Councillor Michael John; Seconded by Councillor Steve Alderman. The vote, undertaken by way of a roll-call, was carried. The votes were recorded as follows: For the Motion: Councillors Steve Alderman, Pat Davies, Alan Dennison, Jonathan Grimes, Michael John, Michael James, Bethan Price and Steve Yelland [8] Abstain: Councillor Huw Murphy [1] There were no votes against. RESOLVED That Decision a) made by Cabinet on 6 July 2026 be upheld; and Decision b) be referred back to Cabinet with the following recommended revision: That delegated authority be granted to the Director of Resources to engage in future collaboration options co-ordinated or instigated by the WLGA in respect of a wider approach to Artificial Intelligence across Wales where it is considered to be advantageous to the Council. This could include, but is not limited to, entering into collaboration agreements with WLGA, other local authorities and Welsh Government; participating in a collaborative procurement arrangement and entering into subsequent contracts up to the financial threshold for Directors as set out in the Contract Procedure Rules; and making applications for grant funding up to the financial threshold for Directors as set out in the Financial Procedure Rules.
The Chair welcomed Councillor Anji Tinley, Leader of the Independent Group to the meeting to present the Call-In to the Committee. Councillor Tinley explained that, whilst the signatories of the Call-In want the Authority to embrace all the opportunities that Artificial Intelligence (AI) can bring, they still require the appropriate scrutiny ensuring longstanding value. They were concerned with the Cabinet decision to delegate authority to the Director of Resources with regards to commissioning future AI contracts. ICS had been commissioned to advise the Authority of the AI requirements and were then handed the contract without reviewing any other organisations or going to tender. Councillor Tinley explained that the public need to trust that the market was tested properly prior to spending almost £5m. The Chair then invited the Cabinet Member for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies to address the Committee who advised of the rationale for the Officer advice provided to Cabinet. The Committee were advised that Section 14, Part 3.4.4 of the Constitution outlined the delegated executive functions which gave authorisation to the Director of Resources to discharge those functions for setting, supporting and monitoring the Council’s policies and procedures for managing information and communications technology and digital services and IT and digital access. Resolution B made by Cabinet, enabled the Council to be agile and to participate in any future collaborative work being led by the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA), Welsh Government and any other Local Authority’s across Wales. In addition, it allowed bidding for and access to, any available future funding from the WLGA or Welsh Government. The Cabinet Member for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies clarified that the Authority was a Member of the WLGA with the Leader, Deputy Leader and himself being Executive Board Members. The Committee were further advised that, whilst delegated authority was granted to the Director of Resources, any contracts relating to future collaboration agreements, collaborative procurement arrangements or applications for grant funding would still be subject to the governance requirements and financial thresholds contained in the Constitution, the Contract Procedure Rules and the Financial Procedure Rules. In accordance with Financial Procedure Rule 17.4.11 (a) the Director of Resources had delegated authority for submitting expressions of interest, bids and applications for external funding up to £6m and, in accordance with Contract Procedure Rule 18.1.73 had delegated authority for inviting tenders and awarding contracts for goods and/or services up to £0.3m. The Cabinet Member for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies suggested a revised recommendation to read ‘That delegated authority be granted to the Director of Resources to engage in future collaboration options co-ordinated or instigated by the WLGA in respect of a wider approach to Artificial Intelligence across Wales where it is considered to be advantageous to the Council. This could include, but is not limited to, entering into collaboration agreements with WLGA, other local authorities and Welsh Government; participating in a collaborative procurement arrangement and entering into subsequent contracts up to the financial threshold for Directors as set out in the Contract Procedure Rules; and making applications for grant funding up to the financial threshold for Directors as set out in the Financial Procedure Rules.’ In responding to the second point raised in the Call-In, the Cabinet Member for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies advised the Committee that the contract with ICS.AI would be a direct award of a contract under the Government Commercial Agency G-Cloud 14 Framework Agreement (RM1557.14). This would be for an initial term of three years with an option to extend for a further year with a maximum contract value of £4,950,000. The Committee were advised that G-Cloud 14 was a UK Government framework that provided public sector organisations including local authorities, NHS organisations, educational institutions, emergency services, charities, and devolved administrations with access to pre-approved suppliers of cloud-based services through the Digital Marketplace. In addition, it offered a compliant and efficient route to procure cloud solutions, reducing the time and effort associated with traditional procurement processes. The Committee were advised that G-Cloud 14 allowed streamlined evaluation of suppliers based on service definitions as opposed to traditional tendering. Terms and conditions were pre negotiated and all suppliers were vetted for security, legal compliance and financial standing. G-Cloud 14 enforced strict pricing transparency with the requirement for all suppliers to upload explicit, upfront pricing documents and SFIA (Skills For the Information Age). In addition, G-Cloud 14 supported project stability without vendor lock-in by allowing a maximum call-off term of 36 months (plus a 12-month extension). Following an evaluation using the Government Buying Agency Contract Award Service, ICS.AI were the only suppliers able to meet the full requirement and were invited to meet with the Senior Leadership Team. During this meeting, and prior to fully committing to contract to deliver AI related technology for the Council, ICS.AI were commissioned to carry out an AI Assessment. This assessment would inform a full feasibility business case including benefits and return on investment supported through the use of their AI technology. The AI Assessment was procured under the terms of G-Cloud 14. The final point raised in the Call In states: “We cannot confirm the required public notice was published. Before giving a contract to one company without competition, a public notice explaining why is required. Nothing in the decision confirms this happened.” The Cabinet Member for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies explained that this statement arose from a misunderstanding of how the contract will be let. G-Cloud 14 was let under PCR (2015) Public Contract Regulations which was not subject to the new notice regime for the Procurement Act 2023. In summary, the Cabinet Member for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies advised that point B of the resolution should be amended as highlighted in order to provide greater clarity around the delegated authority granted to the Director of Resources. The Chair thanked the Cabinet Member for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies for his comprehensive response and clarified the recommendation to the Committee. The Chair then invited the Head of ICT to address the Committee who provided further clarity on the timeline of events. The Committee were advised that market research had commenced in February 2025 when the decision to source a pre-built solution rather than building in house was made recommended to the Senior Leadership Team. In response to a question raised by the Chair regarding the identification of companies, the Head of ICT explained that through the process, they met with a lot of large organisations to fully understand AI and compiled a list of their requirements. ICS.AI were identified as the only provider that could meet all of the requirements and that the Authority would be able to provide a direct award. The Head of ICT emphasised that this was not just new technology but a directional change. In addition, it was clarified that G-Cloud 14 was let under the public contract regulations and there was no requirement to advertise the award. He further advised that G-Cloud 15 was currently being revised. In response to a question raised by Councillor Alan Dennison regarding how many other Authorities were using this system, the Head of ICT explained that a platform had been built for Councils and Local Authority’s including Derby City and Telford. It was also being used in Scotland and that four Authority’s in Wales had gone through the full assessment process with Pembrokeshire six months ahead. The Head of ICT also advised that a lot of work had taken place and discussions with the Chief Executive of Derby City Council. Councillor Dennison commented that this information would have been useful prior to the decision. In response to a concern raised by the Chair regarding a three-month clause mentioned by the Cabinet Member for Planning and Highways during the Cabinet meeting, the Head of ICT explained that G-Cloud 14 made the Contracts Terms and Conditions and that the Authority had very little influence however, there was the ability to terminate a contract with 30 days’ notice. In order for more detailed contract costs to be discussed, the Chair Moved that the meeting move to private session; Seconded by Councillor Alan Dennison. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED To consider excluding the public from the Meeting for the following items of business, pursuant to Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 as part D involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 12 and 13 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A to the Act; and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. The meeting then resumed in public session. In response to a question raised by Councillor Dennison regarding the different cost structures and the similarity between Derby City Council and Pembrokeshire County Council contracts, the Head of ICT advised that the full details were not discussed as the questions were around the programme itself and the credibility and reliability of ICS.AI. He further advised that they could not comment if Derby City Council had purchased the full suite. The Chair then invited Councillor Anji Tinley to make a final address to the Committee. Councillor Tinley thanked the Cabinet Member for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies for the revised wording of the recommendation and, suggested that future papers presented to Council should provide greater clarity to Members including explanations of all the acronyms including G-Cloud. The Cabinet Member for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies thanked Councillor Tinley for the comments and committed to ensuring that documents provide greater clarity and explanation in future. Moved by Councillor Michael John; Seconded by Councillor Steve Alderman. The vote, undertaken by way of a roll-call, was carried. The votes were recorded as follows: For the Motion: Councillors Steve Alderman, Pat Davies, Alan Dennison, Jonathan Grimes, Michael John, Michael James, Bethan Price and Steve Yelland [8] Abstain: Councillor Huw Murphy [1] There were no votes against. RESOLVED That Decision a) made by Cabinet on 6 July 2026 be upheld; and Decision b) be referred back to Cabinet with the following recommended revision: That delegated authority be granted to the Director of Resources to engage in future collaboration options co-ordinated or instigated by the WLGA in respect of a wider approach to Artificial Intelligence across Wales where it is considered to be advantageous to the Council. This could include, but is not limited to, entering into collaboration agreements with WLGA, other local authorities and Welsh Government; participating in a collaborative procurement arrangement and entering into subsequent contracts up to the financial threshold for Directors as set out in the Contract Procedure Rules; and making applications for grant funding up to the financial threshold for Directors as set out in the Financial Procedure Rules.
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