Agenda item

To consider a report from the Director of Resources and Housing inviting the Scrutiny Board to consider an update report on social value in procurement following previous consideration in January 2020 that focussed on social value guidance for commissioners in the Council.

The report of the Director of Resources and Housing invited the Scrutiny Board to consider an update report on social value in procurement following previous consideration in January 2020 that focussed on social value guidance for commissioners in the Council.

In attendance for this item were:

·  Cllr. James Lewis – Deputy Leader of Council and Executive Member for Resources

·  Neil Evans – Director of Resources and Housing

·  Kieron Dennett - Head of Commercial in Procurement and Commercial Services

·  Sasha Walton - Procurement Officer

Members were provided with the following information:

• A really robust social value guidance has been created for commissioners which includes; best practice for social value champions within the Council, case studies on how social value helps customers in communities, the objectives and also a step by step process on how to use social value in procurement. A Social Value Board has also been established which is chaired by the Director of Resources and Housing.
• On the 1^st April 2020, the Council went into a contract with the Social Value Portal. This portal will support the Council to deliver to social value commitments, provide good data in one place and enable the proper presentation of information to our requirements from suppliers;
• The Team have utilised the national Themes, Outcomes and Measures (TOMs) approach. A set of bespoke TOMs have also been created in consultation with all Directorates across the Council to ensure that all their priorities are covered. The TOMs were appended to the report. It was noted that the TOMs would be reviewed on an annual basis to ensure that they remain fit for purpose;
• The Social Value Portal and the TOMs help the service to evaluate contracts, performance manage contracts and provides live reporting at a community level;
• A smaller set of TOMs are used to assess contracts under £100,000;
• 120 staff have been trained, with 5 officers who are super users of the portal. It was also noted that engagement sessions had also been undertaken with partners of the council;
• Leeds City Council feeds into the national Social Value Conference where Leeds has the ability to showcase the work that is being undertaken in the city;
• At present work is being carried out to create a social value matrix to assist the team to prioritise the workload for this year.

Examples from another council who have been using the portal for a longer period were provided, they showed how using social value in procurement can be beneficial to the Council and wider community.

Responding to Members questions the Board were provided with the following information:

·  There had been no impact on the procurement process with timescales for tenders being met;

·  Use of social value would not be at the detriment of council services;

·  TOMs were identified on a procurement by procurement basis;

·  Employment practices were being identified and this would be an area that would be picked up in the review;

Members requested more information in relation to NT18a.

RESOLVED -  To note the content of the report.