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ESPH _ Guide to Public Services (Social Clauses) Act 2012 (May 2012) 1 of 6

EastSussexProcurementHubGuidetothePublicServices(SocialClausesAct)2012Introduction

ThePublicServices(socialclauses)Act2012receivedRoyalAssentinMarch

2012. This guide explains to commissioning andprocuringofficers in the

EastSussexProcurementHub.

theimplicationsoftheactoncontractsandprocurement,

howto

assess

the

impact

of

social

and

community

benefits

and,

how to implement and measure social benefits within

contracts.

ItalsoprovidesupplierswithinformationonwhattheActmeansforthem.

TheDetail

UndertheActallpublicbodiesinEngland&Walesarerequiredtoconsider

how the services they commission and procure might improve the

economic, social andenvironmentalwellbeingof the area.TheActonly

appliestoservicescontractsalthoughitshouldbenotedthatlargescaleor

long term capitalworks contracts equally offer an opportunity to create

socialbenefits,suchasapprenticeships,employmentfromunemployment

lists and engagement with particular community groups (i.e. schools,

disabilityforums).

Socialbenefit involves lookingbeyond thepurchasepriceof servicesand

intowhatvalue themoneybeingspent translates intootherwiderpolicy

goals.ItasksIf1isspentonthedeliveryofservices,howcanthatsame

1beusedtoproduceawiderbenefittothecommunity?

TranslatingPolicyintoSocialValuethroughprocurement

InmanycasesthepoliciesandplansofaCouncilinvolvethefollowing:

Challengingpoverty


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Ensuringthatthemostvulnerablepeopleinourcommunities

receivethesupporttheyneed

Improvingthechancesinlifeofthemostdisadvantaged

Contributing to the economic, environmental and social

sustainability of Eastbourne, Hastings, Lewes, Rother or

Wealden.

WhilsttheActdoesntintroduceanynewregulation,itsitsalongsideother

lawsandpracticestoreflectandreinforcecurrentpractice,aimingtomake

itclearerwhereSocialValuecanbecreatedandcultivatediscussionand

innovationinprovidingthosebenefitswhencommissioningservices.

The current EU Procurement Framework makes it clear that social

requirements can be fully embraced in commissioning and procuring

servicesproviding

certain

criteria

are

met:

Social requirements should reflect policy adopted by the

publicbody.

Social requirements shouldbecapableofbeingmeasured in

termsofperformance.

Socialrequirementsdrafted inthespecificationorevaluation

criteriabecome partofthecontract.

Social requirements should be defined in ways that do not

discriminateagainstanybiddersacrosstheEuropeanUnion.

Inadditiontwokeyoverridingfactorsshouldbetaken intoaccountwhen

defining what social benefits are desired in any contract. Are the

requirementsrelevanttothedeliveryoftheserviceandisValueforMoney

stilldeliveredby its inclusion? ItshouldbenotedthatValue formoney is

not determined just by price and inclusion of other factors such as

economic community benefit may bejustifiable in determining whether

ValueforMoneyisachieved.

Wheredoes

Social

Value

fit

within

the

procurement

cycle?

Key to delivering any social and community benefits throughout the

lifetimeofacontractistoensurethatthemarketisinaplacetobeableto

deliver them and understanding what is reasonable for the market to

deliver.Thisinvolvesengagementwithsuppliersandthecommunityduring

thecommissioningstage.

Equally, the qualification of a supplier should include an assessment of

suppliersability,

capacity

or

experience

of

delivering

such

benefits.

The


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specificationshould includethesebenefitsandthemethodsbywhichthe

Councilseesthembeingachieved.Finally,measurementofwhetherthese

benefitsarebeingdeliveredshouldbe included inthecontracttermsand

overseenbyKPIs(KeyPerformance Indicators)andcontractmanagement

disciplines.

Therearefivekeyareas:

Preprocurement: Before commencing a procurement a

contracting authority should consider the subject matter of

thecontractand identifyanynoncommercialconsiderations

whicharerelevantandappropriatetobetaken intoaccount,

forexample,whenscopingtheproject,decidingonpackaging,

drafting specifications, sustainability and lifecycle

requirements and selecting the contract structure. Technical

specificationsmust

however

be

linked

to

the

subject

matter

of

thecontract.

Contract terms: by the incorporation of social and

environmentalrequirementsintothecontracttermsincluding

any special conditions. However, consider any cost

associated with including such terms and whether essential

andaffordable.

Selection stage: consider rights to reject applicants, for

example relevant convictions. Does the delivery of the

contractrequire

particular

technical

expertise?

Will

the

contractorberequiredtocomplywithparticularpolicies,e.g.

environmentalmanagement?Selectioncriteriamustbenon

discriminatory,proportionateandlinkedtothesubjectmatter

ofthecontractandinaccordancewiththecriterialistedinthe

Regulations.

Awardstage:socialandenvironmentalissuesmaybeincluded

within the award criteria of a most economically

advantageous tender process provided it is linked to the

subjectmatter

of

the

contract

and

expressly

referred

to

in

the

OJEU contract notice and the tender documents. Consider

how such issues will be evaluated and any applicable

weightings.

Postaward:whatisexpectedfromsuppliersindeliveringthe

contract? How will you monitor any noncontractual

obligations and derive any benefits, for example training or

apprenticeshipopportunities?


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Whatshouldsuppliersdo?

Undoubtedlypublic sectororganisationswillbe including agreater focus

onhowthesupplychainhelpassistitinmeetingitspolicyobligationsand

deliveringtheseareas inthe future.Youshouldthinkaboutthe following

toput

you

on

afirm

footing

to

tackle

these

areas

and

that

they

can

effectivelybeaddressedinyourfuturebids.

Thinkabout yourprevioushistoryand currentpractices.Youmay

already measure the social value you create, but dont realise it.

Employment fromdisadvantagedorvulnerablegroups,engagement

withtrainingschemes,spendwithyourlocalsupplychain,promptor

early payment, involvement with local schools or colleges,

sponsorship,pioneering sustainableR&Dor leading initiatives (such

asfair

trade

or

ethical

investment).

Contactyourcouncil.Helpthemunderstandthebenefitsthatcanbe

created within their community, understand their policies and

corporate objectives. Youmay even be able to helpwork up their

priorities and criteria watch this space for a East Sussex

ProcurementHubSupplierseventintheAutumn!

Howdoyoumeasureyoursuccess.Ifyouconductsurveyswithyour

suppliersandclientsoryourstaff,thesecouldprovideusefulpointers

totheaddedbenefitsyouaredeliveringtothewidercommunity.

Planahead.

Use

the

forward

plan

of

the

East

Sussex

Procurement

HuborCentralGovernmentsPipeline tounderstandwhat it is they

willbebuying,when,andplanaccordingly toshow thesocialvalue

youcanoffer.

Dont forget.Ensureyoustillareable tooffervalue formoneyand

meettheserviceperformancerequirementsofacontractthiswill

stillbetheoverridingdeterminationofwhethertoawardacontract.

Usingprocurementtodriveoutsocialvaluesinservices.

In selecting sustainability or social criteria it is important to maintain a

structurethatiseasilymarkedandrecognisesthepossibilitythatresponses

might vary considerably. The greater the clarity of the sustainability,

economicand social themes identified, then theeasier theevaluationof

responsescanbecome.Clearlyspecifyingsocialvaluecanalsobeauseful

waythroughwhichresponsescanbeshapedas itshouldberecognised

that many bidders might have only emerging awareness of the full

spectrumofsocialvalueissues.


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Theprequalificationstageisonewhichisgovernedbyclearconstraintson

thetypeofquestionswhichcanbeasked.Fromapracticalpointofview,

given the likelihoodofa largenumberof responses toevaluateand time

andcostissues,itisalsosensibletoasklimitedandclosedquestionswhich

relatetoeconomic,environmentalandsocialissues.Thisstageisthemore

appropriateone

at

which

to

obtain

Policy

statements

and

clear

factual

evidence, relating to your socialvalue themes.Prequalification selection

criteriamustrelatetotheabilityandsuitabilityofatenderertoperforma

contract.

Laterprocurementstagesallowforadeeperinterrogationofacompanys

planned methodologies for responding to economic, environmental and

socialclauses.Theawardcriteriashouldtestwhichofthetenders ismost

economicallyadvantageous.

In general, with all economic, environmental and social clauses

consideration should be given as to how the ultimate outputs can be

monitored and measured either through key deliverables or key

performance indicators. If adesiredoutcome isnotmeasurable it is less

likelytobesuccessfullydelivered.

Keyexamplesonceyouhaveworkedoutwhatisrelevanttothe

specificationandcommissionareasfollows:

Asksuppliers

to

outline

all

the

community

benefits

they

can

offertheCouncilwhenprovidingthecontract.Onlythose

benefitsthatrelatetothesubjectmatterofthecontractitself

canbetakenintoaccountintheevaluationofthetender.

Althoughthejudgementofrelevanceisamatterforthe

council,aninnovateapproachshouldbeencouragedtowards

howthosebenefitsrelatetothesubjectmatter.

Whatevidencedosuppliershavefordeterminingthat

materialscomefromasustainablesource

Askfor

evidence

on

how

the

services

will

be

carried

out

in

asustainablemannerandplansforcontinuousimprovementin

sustainabilitythroughoutthelifeofthecontract.

AskhowtheywouldsupportyourCouncilsparticulartargets.

I.e.increasethesupplierbaseinEastSussex(orLA)byx%or

reducelongtermunemploymentbyx%,orreduceCO2

emissionsbyx%

Askifthecompanycanofferanyaddedvalueaspartoftheir

bid.Particularlywithregardtosupportingtraining/learningof

staff(especially

if

TUPE

involved)

or

support

towards

SMEs


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Askwhatanorganisationsapproachtodeveloping

apprenticeshipsisandprovidedetailsofthenumberof

apprenticesenrolledeachyear(inwhatcapacity)

Directlyask,ifawardedthecontractwhatcontributiondo

theyenvisagebeingaddedtotheeconomyofHastings,

Eastbourne,Lewes,

Rother

or

Wealden.

Bewaryofusingparticulartermswithinyourprocurementsuchaslocal

ConclusionsandNextSteps

InsummarytheuseofSocialClausesincontractsaretobeencouragedand

therearealreadyplentyofexamplesofwheresuppliershavecontributed

directlytolocalcommunities,operateinasustainablemannerorimprove

theeconomic

standing

of

East

Sussex.

The

Act

does

not

introduce

anything

thatdidnotalreadyexistincurrentlawandregulation.However,the

measurementandtargetingofsuchbenefitsshouldbeimproved,and

servicescanevenmoreeffectivelytackletheseissuesinthefuture.

Itshouldalsobeaskedifwhatweareaskingfromoursuppliersisreflected

intheCouncilsownpolicies,andthereareanumberofgapswhichneedto

beaddressedinthisarea.

TheEast

Sussex

Procurement

Hub

will

also

undertake

areview

of

the

procurementofspecificcategoriesandserviceareasandprovidefurther

guidanceonpracticalclauseswhichare,orarenot,relevantforinclusionin

contractsbySeptember2012.

IanRoadnight

ProcurementAdvisor,

EastSussexProcurementHub

Documents

East Sussex