Welland Procurement provides a procurement service to the public sector – managing procurements, managing risk and helping to deliver quality and value. Welland support multiple public sector organisations and are hosted by Melton Borough Council.

The team manage procurements across all categories and values. They recognise the importance of high-quality procurement at a time when many public sector
organisations find it hard to fund an in-house procurement resource.

The teamwork across a number of Councils to ensure best practice, collaboration and cost efficiencies.

This Procurement Strategy has been written in conjunction with Welland Procurement.

The recent economic climate combined with national initiatives means that there is a continued focus on procurement to deliver high quality goods, services and works at
the best possible value. This focus has resulted in a growing emphasis on streamlined, efficient and effective procurement processes that deliver whilst complying with
relevant legislation and regulation.

1.2 Context

1.2.1 The National Procurement Strategy

The 2018 National Procurement Strategy focuses on areas that are now emerging priorities to local government:

• Showing leadership: engaging councillors and senior managers, working with partners and engaging strategic suppliers.
• Behaving commercially: creating commercial opportunities, managing contracts and relationships and managing strategic risk.
• Achieving community benefits: obtaining social value, engaging local SMEs, and enabling VCSE engagement.

This strategy sets out the Council’s local ambition within each key area, as the National Procurement strategy recognises that a “one size fits all” approach does not reflect the local needs, visions and priorities. By using the National “Key Areas” as a framework for our strategy, this will ensure our approach to procurement can be tracked against nationally recognised standards.

This strategy also incorporates the national priorities as set out in the 2021 National Procurement Policy Statement, relating to social value; commercial and procurement
delivery; and skills and capability for procurement.

It is recognised that the environment is fast-changing and that local and national developments, such as Brexit, may require changes in the strategy.

1.2.2 Transforming Public Procurement - Green Paper

The proposals in this Green Paper are intended to shape the future of public procurement in this country for many years to come.

The government’s goal is to speed up and simplify the UK’s procurement processes, place value for money at their heart, and unleash opportunities for small businesses, charities and social enterprises to innovate in public service delivery.

It is recognised that the environment is fast-changing and that local and national developments, may require changes in this Strategy. Reviews will be conducted on at least an annual basis, but if amendments to Procurement legislation are made prior to the next planned review date, this document will be reviewed to ensure it is in alignment.

1.2.3 Covid-19

A Procurement Policy Note (PPN) has been published by the Crown Commercial Service which sets out provisions under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 available to organisations that need to make urgent arrangements for supplies, services and/or works during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Council must keep proper records of decisions and actions on individual contracts, as well as publishing appropriate award notices and entries on to the Council’s contracts register.

Maintaining current service provisions by extending contracts may prevent disruption and allow Council Officers, Welland Procurement and suppliers to deal with the current situation. Delaying certain procurement processes will enable recovery plans to be established. It is unlikely that face to face events (such as market engagement, site visits, presentations and dialogue meetings) will be able to go ahead until the last quarter of 2021. There will be a greater need for the Council to switch to telephone conferences or virtual meetings beyond the end of this crisis, and adopt more resilient working practices.

Moving forward, the Council needs to ensure that strategic risk is considered as part of contract management, assessing the risks to the Council of future disruption and how to get back to ‘business as usual’. Questions that should be addressed include:

• What are the biggest risks to the contract and the Council?
• What are the essential elements of the contract?
• What work can be done with suppliers to mitigate the risks?
• What are the fall back options for the contract? These may include identifying frameworks for direct award opportunities, assessing the ability for internal delivery or using Regulation 32 of the Public Contract Regulations for a direct award due to urgency.
• Is there a business continuity plan in place, how regularly is it reviewed and what changes are being made to it in light of recent events?

2 Introduction

This strategy will promote effective procurement across the Council. Every aspect of the procurement process and practice must be aimed at delivering best value for the benefit of the people of the local area.

This strategy also sets out how the Council will adopt a strategic approach to sustainable procurement based on national and regional drivers, best practice and recommendations on sustainable procurement.

Local Authorities are required to deliver value for money public services and ensure continuous improvement in the way that activities are carried out, having regard to a combination of efficiency, economy and effectiveness. Procurement has a crucial role to play in delivering our strategic objectives and in improving the quality of the services delivered to our community. Government has highlighted that the development of a clear procurement strategy is a key step in achieving value for money and in delivering on the demanding efficiency targets that have become a part of central Government spending reviews.

In the context of this strategy and the procurement process, obtaining ‘best value for money’ means awarding a contract to a bid which provides the optimum combination of whole life costs and benefits to meet the customer requirements. This is not necessarily the lowest price bid and requires the evaluation of the ongoing resource/revenue costs as well as any initial capital investment. Consideration must be given to social, environmental, economic and other strategic objectives in evaluation of the bids.

Value for money and efficiency targets will not be achieved if the Council fails to approach competition positively, taking full account of the opportunities for innovation and genuine partnership. These are all available from working with others in the public, private and voluntary sectors. Where it can, the Council is committed to working with local suppliers, notwithstanding the achievement of a number of other procurement objectives.

This strategy document is a high-level statement of principles and policies and is subject to the Council’s Financial Regulations and Contract Standing Orders and is supported by an internal Procurement Toolkit, which sets out in more detail the procurement methods and practices for staff.

3 Showing Leadership

3.1 Engaging Councillors

Councillors should be engaged in the leadership and governance of council procurement and commercial activity. This includes both the cabinet/portfolio holders and overview and scrutiny members.

When councillors are fully engaged with procurement and commercial matters, the quality of decision-making is better and oversight and accountability are improved. Among other things, councillor engagement leads to better project delivery and better outcomes for the local community.

National Procurement Strategy the Council is working at:

Minimum

Councillors Regard procurement and commercial issues as purely operational matters.

Developing

The council is exploring the best approach to councillor engagement in procurement and commercial matters.

Mature

Councillor engagement is delivering better results on some projects.

Leader

Councillor engagement is delivering better results across all procurement and commercial activity.

Innovator

Councillor engagement is contributing to the success of a combined authority/ group of councils' project or another innovative project.

The Council currently meets this by:

ensuring significant reports on projects and associated contracts go to Cabinet where required
ensuring lead Members are involved in key procurement activity (often with delegated decisions)
ensuring Members have the necessary skills to maintain oversight

This strategy does not look to the Council to be a Leader or Innovator within this area, as there is currently an appropriate balance between Councillor engagement and ensuring a fair and transparent procurement process is run.

3.2 Engaging Senior Managers

It is key that Managers (at all stages of decision-making) benefit from procurement advice at early stages of a procurement process, ensuring a decisive impact on the outcome of a procurement exercise.

National Procurement Strategy the Council is working at:

Minimum

Senior management regard procurement and commercial issues as purely operational matters.

Developing

The council is exploring the best approach to obtaining procurement and commercial input into decision-making.

Mature

Senior managers engaged with procurement and commercial issues, routinely taking advice at key decision points.

Leader

Council demonstrating better results from early procurement and commercial advice on projects.

Innovator

Council procurement and commercial advice valued by leaders of combined authority/ group of councils' projects or in connection with an innovative project.

The Council currently meets this by:

engaging with all internal stakeholders to ensure a good definition of the requirements.
engaging with Welland Procurement prior to any procurement process, and involving the Procurement Lead in key decisions and meetings.
encouraging staff to engage with Senior Managers at the planning phase of a procurement process.
engaging with Welland on significant projects such as the crematorium and Bingham Hub projects.
carrying out long term service planning with Welland Procurement.
holding training sessions with nominated staff/managers to ensure better engagement with procurement resulting in more informed decisions (covering aspects such as the Council’s Standing Orders).
early identification of procurement activity via annual service plans.
having specific key contacts within Welland Procurement, to establish open channels of communication.

The Council is looking to improve its engagement with other authorities where appropriate. In some areas it has done this such as the acquisition of refuse vehicles with other Nottinghamshire authorities.

3.3 Working with Partners

The aim is to have a “one team” approach to the design and implementation of procurement processes. The Council should strive to work as a single team to make the best use of limited resources and with departments working together, this can lead to innovative solutions and better results.

National Procurement Strategy the Council is working at:

Minimum

There are teams but they work in isolation from commercial and procurement advisers.

Developing

Council acknowledges the business case for a cross council approach to design and implementation of solutions and is seeking to encourage this.

Mature

Designing and implementing solutions as a single team in high value/ high risk projects.

Leader

Designing and implementing solutions as a single team is the council’s normal way of working (policy).

Innovator

Designing and implementing solutions as a combined authority or as a group of councils/ with health, fire, police, housing, VCSEs and other partners.

The Council currently meets this by:

engaging with all internal stakeholders to ensure a good definition of the requirements.
working groups on significant projects enlist the support of a range of departments and expertise.
recognising the benefits of partnership working and the potential efficiencies.
seeking collaborative procurement opportunities with other members of Welland Procurement, particularly in relation to corporate contracts.
integrating the role of Procurement into the Council as standard practice.
having specific key contacts within Welland Procurement, to establish open channels of communication.
information being made easily accessible to staff via the Welland Procurement Portal (highlighted as part of training events) and internal communications.
the creation of simple guidance to accompany the Council’s Standing Orders (internal Procurement Toolkit).

This Council will continue to look at other procurement opportunities via the process of long-term procurement service planning and use of the Council’s Contracts Register.

3.4 Engaging Strategic Suppliers

This is an important exercise for the Council, as this can help improve performance, reduce cost, mitigate risk and harness innovation. This should be carried out across the Council’s various departments to be most effective.

National Procurement Strategy the Council is working at:

Minimum

Firefighting. Ad hoc engagement with important suppliers usually when there is a problem to be resolved.

Developing

Acknowledges business case for improved strategic supplier management and is piloting engagement.

Mature

Delivering programme of engagement with strategic suppliers at council level.

Leader

Playing a leading role in a programme of engagement with strategic suppliers at combined authority/ group of councils level.

Innovator

Playing a leading role in programme of engagement with strategic suppliers at regional/ national level.

The Council currently meets this by:

engaging with incumbents as well as the wider supplier base on some key projects.
ensuring there is easily accessible useful information available on the Council’s website.
ensuring that effective contract management takes place, with every Contract having a named Council representative as the Contract Manager.

The Council’s aim is to improve on this principle over the next four years, and will improve its programme of engagement with strategic suppliers by:

ensuring that where appropriate, projects with a limited interest from bidders, have a pre-procurement market engagement phase with the objective of maximising level of competition as well as ensuring an appropriate service requirement is detailed in the specification and tender documentation.

4 Behaving Commercially

4.1 Creating Commercial Opportunities (income generation)

As the Council deals with legacy of Covid and continues to balance its budget going forward the role of procurement is critical in either directly delivering budget efficiencies or enabling areas to be more efficient and either improving services or assist in the delivery of new services.

National Procurement Strategy the Council is working at:

Minimum

Focused on business as usual and compliance.

Developing

Some high value/ high profile acquisitions examined for creating commercial opportunities.

Mature

Clear understanding of the ways in which new revenue generation opportunities can be created across the commercial cycle. End-to-end policies and processes promoting this approach in place across the organisation.

Leader

Revenue generation and potential wealth creation is a standard part of all contract review meetings. Procurement staff are encouraged to enhance commercial skills and demonstrate commercial behaviours.

Innovator

Organisations work collectively to identify and exploit new commercial opportunities through market shaping, innovative service delivery and shared working with development with partners. Organisations see staff innovation and knowledge/ information utilisation as a commercial opportunity.

As both a former commercial and entrepreneurial council of the year the Council is well placed commercially but will not rest on its laurels. The aim is to adopt a more
commercial approach when reviewing Contracts. Some approaches that the Council will explore include:

seeking collaborative procurement opportunities with other members of Welland Procurement and other authorities. This will be enabled by the long-term service planning and use of the Council’s Contracts Register.
continue looking at options for new revenue streams or reducing costs. Examples include the Crematorium and Leisure Hub projects.

4.2 Managing Contracts and Relationships

Contract and relationship management is the process by which all contracts and variations are managed effectively to control costs, secure the quality and timeliness of agreed outcomes and performance levels, and minimise the occurrence of risks. Poor contractor performance can seriously damage the Council’s reputation and its ability to deliver effective services and support to local communities.

National Procurement Strategy the Council is working at:

Minimum

Compliance driven. Reactive approach to contract and relationship management.

Developing

Identified the need to change and improve. Basic policies, procedures and systems in place.

Mature

All basic policies, procedures and systems in place to support contract and relationship management across the organisation and used in all departments.

Leader

Well-developed policies, procedures and systems in place to support contract and relationship management. Used to drive forward planning, cost control and contractor performance.

Innovator

Contract and relationship management recognised by the leadership team as being essential to driving ongoing improvement and better service outcomes. Systems, procedures and staff delivering consistently high results.

The Council currently meets this by:

ensuring contracts have a named Contract Manager for the entirety of the Contract.
ensuring that risks are identified for significant Contracts and suitable contingency measures are put in place.
monitoring overall performance of the Contract to ensure any issues of underperformance are addressed, and any areas of added value are identified as soon as possible.
introducing a “Guide to Contract Management” for staff to access and use.
introducing “Contract Management Training” for staff to access and use.
having a dynamic electronic Contracts Register that is fully visible to the whole Council, with the benefits of:
- being able to be more pro-active in forward planning, so that there is sufficient review of Contracts.
- central contacts within the Council to edit the Contracts Register.
- fully visible to the public, with the ability to export information on current and expired Contracts.
ensuring variations to Contracts are reflected on the Contracts Register.
ensuring exemptions are captured centrally (by Legal Services) so that:
- spend against exemption value can be monitored.
- cumulative value of exemptions can be monitored.
- a central record for any FOI, audit or scrutiny requests can be used.
- there is a record of transparency compliance in relation to the exemption (Contracts Finder Award Notice and Contract Register entry).

By continuing to keep the electronic Contracts Register up to date, the Council will be able to be more pro-active in service planning, so that there is sufficient review of Contracts and that a holistic Contract life cycle approach is taken throughout all departments for key projects.

The Council’s aim is to improve on this principle over the next four years, by benchmarking contracts and processes against other Councils to ensure the market is sufficiently understood and that contract management is an enabler.

4.3 Managing Strategic Risk

The impact of external events (financial/reputational health of a supplier, changes to regulations/legislation etc.) should be mitigated against by the Council, to ensure the quality and continuation of services is not negatively affected.

National Procurement Strategy the Council is working at:

Minimum

Compliance driven. Doing enough to meet statutory requirements.

Developing

Good awareness of issues involved and potential threats with basic systems in place to manage should they occur.

Mature

Taking a proactive approach to strategic risk management with all vulnerable areas identified and mitigating policies and plans in place.

Leader

All vulnerable areas identified and policies and plans in place and shared ownership, transparency and reporting with appropriate contractors.

Innovator

Effective policies and plans in place in all areas, shared with contractors with contingency plans in place and active management of all strategic risks.

The Council currently meets this by:

being a member of the Welland Procurement Unit, who:
- ensure that new Procurement legislation and regulations are circulated to officers, so that the Council can update and amend the Standing Orders.
- ensure that their staff are kept up to date with knowledge and training in relation to Procurement regulations and legislation.
- ensure that their staff can advise on a variety of procurement processes and options, to meet the expected outcomes of the Council.
- ensure that guidance and templates are up to date to reflect best practice.
carrying out due diligence on preferred providers prior to Contracts being entered into (signed).
monitoring spend on the Council’s finance system against the Contracts entered onto the Council’s Contracts Register, to mitigate the risk of off-contract spend.
ensuring systems are in place to target both financial loss and fraud with a proactive approach to issues such as irregular transactions, duplicate payments, and fake creditors/invoices.
understanding the possible impact on all high value/risk contracts and ensuring contingency plans are in place in the event of contract failure, including identifying “back-up suppliers”.
carrying out delivery model assessments (where relevant and proportionate to the contract and/or project), before deciding whether to outsource, insource or re-procure a service.
running pilots for new services (where appropriate to do so), so that the Council can understand the environment, constraints, requirements, risks and opportunities.

5 Achieving Community and Environmental Benefits

5.1 Obtaining Social Value

Social value is the wider financial and non-financial impact to the wellbeing of individuals, communities and the environment from public sector contracts, over and above the delivery of services directly at no extra cost.

National Procurement Strategy the Council is working at:

Minimum

Compliant. Doing just enough to meet the conditions of The Act.

Developing

Compliant but only proactively seeking social value in a few key contracts only.

Mature

Taking a proactive approach to integrating social value into procurement and commissioning.

Leader

Social value embedded into corporate strategy and have comprehensive frameworks for management and delivery.

Innovator

Social value is a core operational metric, integrated into all directorates/ departments and activities with regular reporting against targets.

The Council currently meets this by:

using Welland Procurement to deliver innovative procurement processes, where appropriate.
reporting on use of (and spend with) local providers, via the Council’s Contracts Register and Finance system.

The Council’s aim is to improve on this principle over the next four years by:

ensuring any procurement evaluation process considers areas such as localism, added value and/or sustainability factors.
ensuring soft market engagement takes into consideration what the market as a whole can offer, to ensure that the social value criteria within the Specification is proportionate and relevant to the Contract.
reserving service contracts (below public procurement threshold) to local/SME bidders (note this will be done on a case by case basis, as per the Council’s Standing Orders).
considering the national priority outcomes alongside any additional local priorities (where it is relevant and proportionate to do so), including:
o creating new businesses, new jobs and new skills;
o tackling climate change and reducing waste; and
o improving supplier diversity, innovation and resilience

5.2 Engaging Local SMEs and Businesses

Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are businesses with fewer than 250 employees, and a turnover of less than £50million. Micro-businesses are businesses with 0-9 employees, and a turnover of less than £2million.

These businesses play a major role in creating jobs and generating income for those on low incomes; they foster economic growth, social stability and are a source of innovation. Importantly as well the Council is committed to providing contracts to local employers, in and around the Borough. The Council will engage actively with suppliers and the third sector and use procurement to help deliver corporate objectives including any economic, social and environmental objectives.

Procurement legislation currently limits the Council’s ability to favour local businesses and community groups, but there are ways in which it can help reduce the barriers facing local businesses and the third sector.

National Procurement Strategy the Council is working at:

Minimum

Council does not see any benefits to be gained from SME engagement.

Developing

SME organisations are engaged in a few key contracts only.

Mature

Taking a proactive approach to integrating SME organisations into procurement and commissioning.

Leader

SME engagement is embedded into corporate strategy.

Innovator

SME engagement is a core operational way of doing business, integrated into all directorates/ departments and activities with regular reporting against targets.

The Council currently meets this by:

being part of the East Midland Tender Portal, which ensures the Council’s e-procurement system is effective, easy to use and matches those used by neighbouring Authorities.
breaking down Contracts into Lots, where it is appropriate to do so.
providing detailed, specific and timely feedback to all businesses that request it in order to improve a business’s bidding capabilities.
maintaining an online Contracts Register, so that SMEs can approach current providers regarding sub-contracting opportunities, as well as being able to plan for re-procurement exercises.

The Council’s aim is to improve on this principle over the next four years by:

ensuring that regular training opportunities and supplier pre-engagement activity is available for small businesses where appropriate ie for the provisions of ‘below threshold’ services where an SME or voluntary and community social enterprises (VCSE) has the technical expertise and capacity and does not present significant financial or reputational risks to the Council.
providing further information on the Council’s website on how to tender, how to write a bid and other useful guidance.
adding standard Clauses within Conditions of Contract, so that if a Provider were to sub-contract, this would need to be done as per the Council’s Standing Orders (seeking quotes from local suppliers)
against the Council’s Standing Orders to ensure staff are approaching local suppliers where appropriate.

5.3 Enabling VCSE Engagement

Voluntary, Community Social Enterprise refers to organisations that include small local communities, voluntary groups, registered charities, foundations and trusts; otherwise referred to as third sector organisations.

National Procurement Strategy the Council is working at:

Minimum

Organisation does not see any benefits to be gained from VCSE engagement.

Developing

VCSE organisations are engaged in a few key contracts only.

Mature

Taking a proactive approach to integrating VCSE organisations into procurement and commissioning.

Leader

VCSE engagement is embedded into corporate strategy.

Innovator

VCSE engagement is a core operational way of doing business, integrated into all directorates/ departments and activities with regular reporting against targets.

The Council currently meets this by:

5.4 Environmental Sustainability

The role of commissioning, procurement and contract management in delivering local and national priorities is set out in the ‘National procurement strategy for local government in England’ and been reinforced in the UK Government Green Paper ‘Transforming public procurement’ and the subsequent National procurement policy statement.

This highlights the delivery of social value and sustainable procurement, including economic, social and environmental outcomes, such as:

creating new businesses, new jobs and new skills in the UK.
improving supplier diversity, innovation and resilience.
tackling climate change and reducing waste.

Sustainable Procurement is a critical issue; we have to ensure our natural resources are used efficiently, waste is avoided, and carbon emissions are minimised wherever practicable. Our spending decisions are therefore an important instrument in tackling climate change both by reducing our emissions associated with purchasing goods or services and also ensuring that our buildings and infrastructure are resilient to climate change.

Contracts must meet the Council’s needs for works, goods and services in a way that minimises damage to the environment, while achieving value for money. Any consideration in relation to sustainability must be relevant and proportionate to the contract/requirement being procured, and could include:

reducing supply chain emissions.
reducing energy and resource consumption.
sustainable transport.
considering upcycling/recycling options as part of disposal at the end of a contract.
minimising the use of not previously exploited, cultivated, used material / maximum use of recycled materials.
including recognised environmental standards as part of the specification.
consulting with stakeholders and environmental managers.

Rushcliffe Borough Council must meet its needs for goods, services, works and utilities in a way that achieves value for money on a whole life basis in terms of generating benefits not only to the organisation, but also to society and the economy, whilst minimising damage to the environment.

When procuring goods or services that have (or could have) a significant negative impact on our carbon emissions either through significant energy or water use or the generation of waste, such as, but not limited to; large equipment, vehicles or refurbishment works you must build the potential carbon impact into the business case (seeking advice as appropriate from the Environment Team Manager who will ensure benefits are captured).

When appointing suppliers, the following should be considered by contractors, that they:

have calculated their own carbon footprint.
are accredited to an environmental standard (such as ISO14001 or ISO50001).
are registered members of organisations such as the “Supply Chain Sustainability School”.
can provide a full life cycle assessment of their products.

For smaller items, or where the impact is likely to be minimal and advice is not sought, the following should be considered:

Minimise the purchasing of any single use plastic items, opting instead for sustainable alternatives such as paper, card or bamboo.
Is there a more energy efficient alternative available on the market? Often lower energy use items have a longer product life which negates any additional upfront cost (for example, LED bulbs).
Is there an option to purchase items which have been made from recycled material (such as paper items)?
The impact of transportation – can the same item be purchased locally instead of shipped / flown in from another country?
The packaging of the item;
o Does the supplier have a packaging takeback scheme?
o Can you order larger pack sizes to reduce the amount of packaging per unit?
o Collect and reuse packaging and protective materials where possible.
o The use of sustainable wrapping where appropriate instead of plastic wrapping.
o Can you buy products that are available in concentrated forms?
o Does the manufacturer use branded pallets to ensure clear ownership and encourage repatriation?
o Avoid polystyrene packaging as it cannot be easily recycled or reused.

The Council will look to achieve the above by following the Local Government Association’s toolkit for sustainable procurement (launched in November 2021). This is a response to the National Procurement Policy Statement, which was published in June 2021.

6 Securing Value for Money

As well as working to the Principles and Key Areas of the National Procurement Strategy, the Council is still committed to ensuring the value for money is embedded into the Council’s procurement ethos.

Competition: legislation and the Council’s own Standing Orders provide for competition at any value of procurement over £10,000. Even below that value there is a responsibility to ensure that value for money is considered. Whichever type of competition being used, it is conducted fairly, transparently, equitably and without discrimination.

E-Procurement: the use of an e-procurement system can help to streamline and simplify processes for both the Council and potential bidders. Over the next four years, the Council will work with Welland Procurement, looking at its existing systems, taking them further to ensure that the procurement process is fully online (online questionnaires, evaluation and audit record).

7 Contact details

If you have any questions or comments regarding this Strategy, please contact:

Peter Linfield (Director of Finance and Corporate Services)
plinfield@rushcliffe.gov.uk

Gemma Dennis (Service Manager – Chief Executives)
gdennis@rushcliffe.gov.uk

Welland Procurement Unit
Amy Myers (Head of Procurement)
amyers@melton.gov.uk

Accessible Documents

Procurement Strategy