Agenda item

To seek approval for the Authority’s Procurement Plan 2022/2023 to proceed with the relevant procurement exercises throughout the financial year and award contracts in accordance with UK public procurement legislation to the most advantageous tenders. The procurement exercises which will commence in the remainder of financial year have been identified and are set out at Appendix 1 to the report.

(Cllr Clark declared a Registerable Personal Interest in the following item of business)

Cabinet considered a report seeking approval to the Authority’s Procurement Plan 2022-2023 to proceed with the relevant procurement exercises throughout the financial year and award contracts in accordance with UK public procurement legislation to the most advantageous tenders.

The Authority continued to spend a considerable sum on third party goods and services. The Authority’s Constitution required that prior to any procurement commencing which exceeded £500,000 Cabinet approval must be obtained. Once the budget was approved by Full Council the third-party requirements were known. The procurement exercises which would commence in the remainder of financial year 2022/2023 had been identified and were set out at Appendix 1 to the report, the contract start date may be in the subsequent year due to the procurement lead in time. This approach would ensure timely procurements whilst continuing to maintain value for money.

The Authority had sought Social Value within its contracts since the implementation of the Social Value Act 2012, however following the adoption of the Procurement and Commercial Strategy the Authority had strengthened how it worked with its suppliers to jointly deliver this key aspect. Through Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) suppliers were already obliged to deliver social value to minimise the impact they had on the environment and maximise benefits to local economy. Through the Authority’s Procurement and Commercial Strategy this would align to ensure that the Authority aligned with the private sector and work together to deliver Social Value within the Borough.

The Authority adopted its Procurement Strategy in March 2022. Utilising the social value principles within the Procurement Strategy, the Authority would continue to gain commitments of local employment and apprenticeships whenever applicable. The Authority’s tendering process would be streamlined, and better information would be provided to the market. Where appropriate, lower value tenders would be issued. The Authority was seeing an increase in the number of Small and Medium Enterprise’s (SME’s) and local suppliers that it procured with. The procurement exercises due to commence in 2022/23 would continue to give SME’s and local suppliers the chance to work with the Authority, again enabling and encouraging smaller businesses. Working with the Business Forum and the North East Procurement Organisation (NEPO), bespoke workshops would be developed to support SME’s. The principles set out in the Authority’s Responsible Procurement Charter would be embedded in the tender requirements.

The relevant service area would develop tender packages and robust specifications to ensure that the Authority was protected in terms of financial and commercial risk. The duration of the contract would be considered to help shape new and emerging markets; lessons learned from any previous contracts would be considered when developing the tender package. Relevant existing frameworks would be explored if appropriate to the contract. Collaborative regional working would be explored if appropriate to the contract. The contract award criteria would be developed considering social value as appropriate.

Consultation prior to commencing a procurement with the relevant Cabinet Members was key, this would ensure that the Authority’s priorities were achieved through its contracting arrangements. The Authority’s finance team would be engaged to identify any budgetary risks associated with the delivery of the service and any potential mitigations. Its legal team would review the terms and conditions for each procurement to ensure the Authority mitigated any commercial risk. Consultation and engagement with the market and any relevant associations would take place to ensure that the offer to the market is attractive and that a market exists to deliver the goods and services.  An evaluation team consisting of subject matter experts and the procurement team would evaluate each bid received against the published award criteria and in accordance with UK public procurement legislation. Prior to award of any contract the evaluation result would be provided to the Director of Service to approve the award together with financial assurance that the contract value would remain within existing budgets.

The Authority updated its Social Value priorities in April 2022, a pilot exercise was currently being undertaken to help develop a fully managed process as part of the procurement and contract management activity. The Authority’s Social Value Priorities and subsequent outcomes used to measure social value followed the priorities within Our North Tyneside Plan: Thriving, Family Friendly, Secure, Caring and Greener.

Social Value requirements have been an important aspect of the procurement process since The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012, and this had directly resulted in benefits for communities across the borough. It had proven a challenging task however, to ensure that the commitments made through the procurement process were upheld throughout the contract period. The pilot exercise currently being undertaken aimed to ensure that social value was monitored and measured effectively through the Authority’s contract management toolkit. The Authority’s contracted suppliers would each have their own corporate social responsibility approaches; therefore, through contract management the Authority would work to shape their social value objectives towards policy priorities of the Elected Mayor and Cabinet.

Since April 2022, the new Social Value matrix had been piloted across 7 procurement projects across different service areas to ensure the measures were appropriate and enable to engage with the supply chain and review feedback on the Authority’s procurement process. The projects were listed below:

·        Framework for the Supply of Rigid Kitchen Units

·        Solar PV Installations to North Tyneside Council Housing Stock

·        Supply of Energy Performance Certificates to Domestic Dwellings

·        Remodelling Programmed Works

·        Residents & Staff Survey Research Framework

·        Senior Leadership Training

·        Bedding Plants Supply

As detailed in the Procurement Strategy this had focused on the ‘greener’ and ‘caring’ priorities of the Council Plan. Social Value gained for the Borough would be monitored and reported to Cabinet as a minimum on an annual basis.  Retrospective social value commitments had been closely reviewed this year. This had resulted in several positive social value achievements for projects across the borough including £500 being donated to the charity ‘Out of Sight’ who were based in Dudley and work to support children with visual impairments.

Out of Sight said: "The funds were used to provide a treat for families by contributing to a day trip to Blackpool. The donation helped to pay for entry fees into Blackpool Tower, Blackpool Zoo, and Sea Life where I can say the families had just the best weekend. We have never seen so many smiles, this was such a treat for them". Full details are set out at Appendix 2 of the report.

Cabinet considered the following decision options: to accept the recommendations set out in paragraph 1.2 of the report; or alternatively, to not accept the recommendations and continue to consider individual reports for each package of works and/or services. This may delay implementation of essential services and works being carried out.

Resolved that (1) the procurement of the goods and services as detailed in Appendix 1 of the report, be approved;

(2)   the social value created for the borough as set out at Appendix 2, be noted;

(3)   the relevant Director in consultation with the relevant Cabinet Member, Director of

Resources and the Assistant Chief Executive, be authorised to commence the procurements identified and award contracts to those bidders who submit the most advantageous tenders in accordance with UK public procurement legislation

(Reason for decision: The Authority has a duty to obtain value for money. Tendering the opportunities identified in the report will meet the priorities contained within the Procurement Strategy and Our North Tyneside Plan.)