View/download the Procurement Strategy 2015-18 [PDF 550KB]

Procurement Strategy 2015-18

1. Introduction

2. Purpose of Strategy

3. The Vision for Procurement

4. Procurement Hub

5. Training and Development

6. Relationships with Suppliers

7. Equality

8. Our Conduct

9. Action Plan

Contact: Caroline Leatherday, Business Support Manager
Email: procurement@derbyshiredales.gov.uk
Telephone: 01629 761 105
Address:
Derbyshire Dales District Council
Town Hall
Matlock
Derbyshire  DE4 3NN

Derbyshire Dales District Council supports the Fair Trade Initiative

1 Introduction

1.1 The aim of this Procurement Strategy is to reflect the Council's initiatives to remove unnecessary complexity from processes and procedures and to retain only those that add value to the services we deliver.

1.2 The increasing pressures on budgets have made the procurement activity a vital factor in the successful delivery of services and the Council recognises that it should adopt best practice to maximise the benefits available from all commercial arrangements. Improvements are expected to lead to cashable financial savings as well as operational efficiency gains.

1.3 Procurement is different from buying. Buying is done on a day-to-day basis, sometimes from a contract put in place following a procurement process, other times from commercially available catalogues or company websites.

1.4 Procurement is a strategic process that follows a clear pattern starting with identifying a need right through to reviewing the delivery of the contract and learning any lessons for future procurements.

1.5 Competitive procurement remains the cornerstone of the Council's procurement approach but there will be circumstances where a direct contract with a sole supplier will be appropriate.

1.6 There have been some significant changes since the last strategy was published, namely:-

• The new Public Contracts Regulations 2015 came into force at the end of February 2015. These are intended to make procurements quicker, simpler and less costly to run.
• The Local Government Association has published a new National Procurement Strategy for Local Government in England 2014 which sets out a vision for local government procurement and encourages all councils in England to engage with the delivery of outcomes in four key areas; making savings, supporting local economies, leadership and modernising procurement. This strategy is consistent with the themes from the National Procurement Strategy 

1.7 This Strategy is intended to provide a high-level view about our direction of travel and the principles that we will follow. We hope that you will find this a useful document as you engage with us, and we with you, in the future.

2 Purpose of the Strategy

The strategy aims to:
2.1 Increase value for money (defined, for the purposes of this Strategy as the best whole-life cost and quality ratio to fulfil the stated requirements) and reduce processing costs.

2.2 Take a long-term strategic view of the Council's procurement requirements, including the potential for innovative funding and the opportunity for working with other authorities especially for goods and services which can be procured more cost-effectively in a collaborative group.

2.3 To minimise harm to the environment and to promote conservation of natural resources in any procurement decisions.

2.4 To assess the risk associated with each procurement project in order to achieve a balance with commercial outcomes and placing risk where it is best managed.

2.5 Support businesses local to the Derbyshire Dales through a range of initiatives including:

• Making it simpler to do business with the Council;
• Reduce the bidding burden on suppliers.
• Have regard to the impact on small/local firms of the way in which a procurement is structured.
• Providing clear information about selling to the Council on our website; Using local advertising portals such as Source Derbyshire http://www.sourcederbyshire.co.uk to focus the attention of locally based firms.
• Contracts for all categories of procurement where the cost is over £10,000 will be published on the Contracts Finder website.

3 The Vision for Procurement

The vision for Procurement — where we want to be - is to enable the Council to procure what it needs to deliver the best services possible within its available resources. To do this we have adopted the following Strategic Themes for the period covered by the Strategy.

3.1 Strategic Theme 1
Straightforward:

• To make procurement as straightforward as possible for the Council and potential suppliers, in particular to improve access for local suppliers and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and to eliminate anything that does not add value to the procurement.
• Take a more corporate approach to procure items to maximise the benefits of economy and scale.

3.2 Strategic Theme 2
Professional:

• Continue to embed professional procurement and contract management skills across the Council. This goes hand in hand with moves to increase the commercial perception of the Council.
• Ensure all procurement activities are carried out in accordance with the Council's Contract Standing Orders and Financial Regulations and procurement legislation and regulations (EU and UK).

3.3 Strategic Theme 3
Support a vibrant local economy:

• Give opportunity to local and SMEs to participate by increasing visibility of our procurement plans and opportunities.

3.4 Strategic Theme 4
Strategic:

• Working in collaboration with the Derbyshire Purchasing Consortium to improve and develop sound procurement practices and innovative solutions to promote sustainability and value for money, making use of clear and detailed procurement/purchasing data, collaboration and partnership opportunities.

4 Procurement Hub

4.1 The purpose of the Procurement Hub is to import and share knowledge and good practice to ensure that the District Council operates in a risk free environment.
The objectives of the Procurement Hub are:

• To have an overview of the use of technology to streamline procurement processes
• To make it easier for suppliers to do business with the authority
• To review the relevance and effectiveness of the Procurement Strategy and Contract Standing Orders
• To identify areas for collaborative working to produce more cost effective and innovate procurement solutions.
• To create capacity through joint delivery of significant procurement projects.
• To annually review the role and function of the Corporate Hub.

5 Training and Development

5.1 The Council acknowledges that all members and officers responsible for making procurement decisions need the appropriate skills, knowledge and guidance in order to make the right decision and achieve continuous improvement. Accordingly members and employees with procurement responsibilities will be:-

• Given the appropriate training in order to undertake effective procurement and purchasing;
• Employees will be made aware of their responsibilities under the corporate procurement framework and related policies through induction and the PDR process.
• Advised on the budgetary implications of procurement decisions; and
• Consulted on proposed future changes to the Corporate Procurement Strategy.

6 Relationships with suppliers

6.1 In longer-term contracts, the Council will incorporate provisions for continuous improvement both within the contracted service and to the benefit of the community it is serving.
6.2 In higher value contracts the specification will challenge contractors to demonstrate other methods of contributing to improving the economic, social and environmental well-being of Derbyshire provided they relate to the contract.
6.3 New suppliers may be required to ensure that they possess the necessary economic and financial capacity to perform the contract.
For example:

• the new supplier may be required to have a certain minimum yearly turnover, including a certain minimum turnover in the area covered by the contract;
• provide information on their annual accounts;
• have an appropriate level of professional risk indemnity insurance.

7 Equality, Economic, Social & Environmental

7.1 The Council will take social, equalities and environmental factors into consideration alongside financial factors in decision-making. The business case will address equalities issues and sustainability issues to identify whether there is scope to improve the environmental, economic and social impacts of the proposed contract.
7.2 In procuring contracts, the District Council aims to ensure that all businesses have fair access to opportunities to work with the Council. In the delivery of these contracts, we will ensure that evaluation models, specification of services, contract conditions, quality requirements and monitoring procedures fully address equalities issues. To help us achieve this, we will ensure compliance with equalities legislation (The Equality Act 2010 and Public Services (Social Value) Act (2012)) and use positive action provisions in assessing the commitment of tendering firms to the aims and values of the Council's Equality and Diversity Policy.
7.3 The District Council's Procurement also requires officers of the District Council to:

• undertake a (proportionate) Equality Impact Assessment when planning a procurement when appropriate and consider equalities issues as well as economic and sustainability issues within the business case for projects;
• make provision within the tender specification (where appropriate) to include equality related award criteria or specific equalities outcomes to reflect the needs of different services users.

8 Our conduct

8.1 In all our dealings in the procurement process, the Council will preserve the highest standards of honesty, integrity, impartiality and objectivity and shall comply with the Council's Codes of Conduct, Contract Standing Orders and Financial Regulations at all times.

9 Action Plan (September 2015 - September 2018)