Birmingham 7 th March Buying Better Outcomes Mainstreaming equality considerations in procurement.

Birmingham 7th March

Buying Better OutcomesMainstreaming equality considerations

in procurement

Session One

The Equality Act 2010

Dr Karen Jochelson, Director of Economy and Employment Programme,

Equality and Human Rights Commission

The Equality Act 2010

• Streamlines and simplifies

distils nine Acts into one harmonises definitions and exceptions

• Strengthens

generic Equality Duty on public bodies bans age discrimination extends positive action harmonises upwards protection across strands

Public Sector Equality Duty (the general duty)Public authorities, in the exercise of their duties, must have due regard to the need to:

• eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation

• advance equality of opportunity

• foster good relations Act refers to tackling prejudice and promoting

understanding

Public Sector Equality Duty

Some guidance in Act re what advancing equality of opportunity means:

•removing or minimising disadvantage

•taking steps to meet the needs of people with a protected characteristic that are different from needs of those not sharing the particular characteristic

•encouraging people with a protected characteristic to participate in public life or other activities where participation disproportionately low

The Specific Duties(English and cross border public authorities)

Public authorities subject to the specific duties must publish:

• one or more specific and measurable equality objectives, at least every four years

• information to demonstrate compliance with the general equality duty, at least annually must include, in particular, information relating to your

employees (for authorities with 150 or more staff) and others affected by your policies and practices such as service users

left to public authorities to decide how to demonstrate their compliance

the information must be accessible to the public

The PSED and procurement

The general duty applies to commissioning and procurement:

It applies to all contracts, regardless of value

You cannot delegate your duty to the contractor

It has implications for the procurement process:

You must have had due regard to the 3 aims of the general duty when procuring and be able to demonstrate compliance

This means ensuring that contractors are required to provide any relevant information you will need to be able to demonstrate compliance

PSED Review• Government planned to report in April

but now expected spring/summer 2013• Collecting a range of information to

establish whether the duty is operating as intended

• Qualitative and quantitative research to be commissioned

• Steering group first met in December 2012, the EHRC Chair is a member Baroness O’Neill involved

Role Of Procurement in Equalities, Peter Howarth SOPO/SBV

Buying Better Outcomes

Session Two

Equality through Procurement

Can it be done whilst still achieving VfM

Yes It CAN

Corporate Need and Strategic Fit

Organisations Vision and ObjectivesIncluding Equality

Organisation Plan and Strategy

Directorate Service Plans

Contract Procedure Rules

Procurement Strategy

Financial Regulations

Procurement Contracts

What a good corporate approach to equalities and procurement involves

• is genuinely corporate and strategic - relates to and refers to your corporate objectives, looks across the authority for wider (community) benefits, has visible commitment

• brings together equalities, procurement and service managers - joint work or at least joint thinking

• mainstreams equalities considerations into procurement process

• is consistently implemented/used across the organisation

• addresses all the stages of the process

DEMAND/MARKETMANAGEMENT

BENEFITSREALISATION

COST CONTROL &REDUCTION

COMMUNITYOBJECTIVES & VFM

The PVP Community Gain

Economy

Efficiency

Effectiveness

Community gain• The procurement should be advancing and contributing to

your organisation’s objectives - in this case those relating to equality

• Effective demand management should direct use to the right customer segments

• Benefits realisation should ensure equalities benefits are not only identified but achieved

• Cost control and reduction can be achieved by demonstrating effective equalities management can result in overall budgetary savings and increased value for money

8. Closure / Review 1. Identify Need

2. Develop Business Case

3. Define Procurement Approach

4.Market Supplier Appraisal5. Tender Evaluation

6. Award Contract

7. Manage Implementation of Contract

The Procurement Cycle and Equality

The Procurement Business Case

• Are equality and diversity requirements being considered thoroughly at the procurement business case stage?

(It may demonstrate that there no need to do anything)

• Are all of the criteria normally considered at this stage being addressed:

Strategic fit - does the inclusion of equality and diversity measures add value to and meet your organisation’s vision and objectives? If so it is adding benefit

Cost/benefits - what are the costs involved and do they justify the expected benefits. How can these extra benefits be realised?

The Procurement Business Case cont.

Affordability - can you afford to undertake this or will extra resources need to be identified elsewhere?

Achievability - is what you are requesting reasonably achievable or are you creating unnecessary red tape and bureaucracy? Will it prevent smaller suppliers bidding?

Options - what options are available to the organisation and what impact may they have in terms of addressing Equality and Diversity issues?

Risk - what are the risks involved and who should be responsible for them?

Going to Market• At this stage your organisation will be evaluating your

supplier and market options

• Is supplier diversity considered? could you develop diverse and competitive sources of supply

from small firms, ethnic minority businesses, social enterprises and voluntary and community organisations?

• Have the implications of how you bundle contract requirements and the way you advertise opportunities (to attract a wider range of suppliers) been considered?

• If you use PQQs, is a simple one being used for lower value contracts and have information requirements been tailored to size of supplier?

Going to Market• Is your organisation thinking how to encourage larger

suppliers to work with smaller sub-contractors who may be better equipped to provide a service or product for your staff or residents

• Is it quite clear what you are trying to achieve in your invitation to tender with regard to equalities and what they will be required to do and monitor?

sufficient information should be provided to help suppliers arrive at a suitable submission to meet your requirements

• The criteria used for your evaluation can include equality criteria, but must relate to the subject matter of the contract and relate to performance.

• Have equalities contract terms/ clauses been included?

Realising the Benefits• One of the most difficult aspects is actually identifying and

realising the potential benefits you create• As part of your performance management process

are these being identified as targets and clearly recorded to demonstrate that benefits have been

realised and have contributed to policy outcomes and the community

• Have benefits gained by the supplier, in terms of reputational value, of access to a larger workforce pool and ultimately a wider customer base, been captured and recognised?

• It is sometimes forgotten in the quest for VfM that not all added value has a £ sign in front of it. Try to find ways of recording other benefits such as improved social relations and reduced social stigma. A number of tools to measure value have now been developed e.g. the SROI model .Try to keep it simple

• .

Barriers to effective implementationMyths and perceptions:• EU regulations do not allow it

• equalities often not relevant

• building equalities into procurement is not compatible with VFM

• doing so places burdens on suppliers and public bodies

Organisational/cultural factors:• who is responsible for compliance?

need for clear corporate approach and consistent processes

• silos – between departments and partners - differing views

These can all be overcome

Equality through Procurement

Can we do it whilst still achieving VfM Yes we CAN