To receive the minutes of the Ethical Procurement Subgroup meeting held on 21 February 2019

Decision

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 21 February 2019.

Report of the City Treasurer (Deputy Chief Executive) attached.

This report provides an update on the activities to address Modern Slavery.

The Sub Group considered the report of the City Treasurer (Deputy Chief Executive) that provided an update on the activities to address Modern Slavery.

The main points and themes within the report included: -

·                An update on the amendments to the tender documentation, noting that it was recognised that the contract management arrangements which followed were essential to the effective monitoring of the position and identifying any concerns or issues which might arise;

·                Information on the Ethical Procurement Policy;

·                Information on the arrangements to safeguard against Modern Slavery within the Procurement Process;

·                Noting that the Council had issued an amended Standard Terms and Conditions in June 2019, to include for whistleblowing and the Modern Slavery Act 2015;

·                Information on activities delivered to raise awareness of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 through the Council’s Ethical Procurement Policy; and

·                Providing the voluntary Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement that had been produced, noting that this was a working document which would be reviewed and updated over the next 12 months.

Some of the key points that arose from the Sub Group’s discussions were: -

·                Which areas of activity were at most risk of Modern Slavery;

·                Was there more awareness of Modern Slavery now amongst contractors;

·                What work was being delivered at a Greater Manchester (GM) level to address Modern Slavery;

·                What action was taken following a report of Modern Slavery; and

·                The need to be mindful that there were many different forms of Modern Slavery.

Officers reported that one of the activities most at risk of Modern Slavery was within the construction industry. In recognition of this officers from Capital included in their evaluation of recent tenders for the North West Construction Hub (Medium Value Framework and Small Works Framework) to undertake site visits on tenderers current projects, speaking with managers and operatives, and observe what and where information was made available to those working on site in relation to identifying and reporting modern slavery and whistleblowing arrangements. 

The Procurement Manager Level II advised that Modern Slavery and the ethics of the Council were prominent in all contracts so the importance of these was evident to all suppliers. Officers advised that security contracts and cleaning contracts would be reviewed to ensure that this was reflected also.

The Head of Integrated Commissioning and Procurement stated that overall, larger employers who were legally required to, had adopted appropriate policies and procedures in relation to Modern Slavery, and advice and guidance could be provided to smaller businesses on this issue. He also advised that the Local Government Association had produced guidance for use by procurement teams within local authorities.

Officers advised that the Deputy Mayor for Policing, Crime, Criminal Justice and Fire was working with Greater Manchester Police to address Modern Slavery as a specific piece of targeted work. Members were advised that allegations would be investigated and prosecuted by the police as this was a criminal offence, adding that any breaches of the contract would also be investigated and appropriate action taken.

The Sub Group  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

Report of the City Solicitor attached

This report provides an update on the Council’s Social Value Policy and how equality outcomes are measured and recorded.

The Sub Group considered the report of the City Solicitor that provided an update on the Social Value Policy and how equality outcomes were measured and recorded.

The main points and themes within the report included: -

·                Information on the six objectives that were embedded into the procurement process that had been developed to positively impact on equality outcomes;

·                Information on the Council’s current method for monitoring and measuring Social Value; and

·                Information on the work to develop a Social Value Tracker, incorporating the National Themes, Outcomes, and Measures (TOMs) with the flexibility to incorporate bespoke TOMs to Manchester.

Some of the key points that arose from the Sub Group’s discussions were: -

·                Clarification was sought on how the categories provided in appendix 1 had been agreed;

·                Why were the protected characteristic as defined in the Equalities Act 2010 not included in the list;

·                How had the relationship changed with contractors in their attitude and understanding of Social Value; and

·                When would the data for 2018/19 be available.

The Executive Member for Finance and Human Resources stated that it was important to recognise that the report was a voluntary survey of economic activity and not an equalities survey. Not all organisations completed it. The Executive Member stated that the particular groups identified, such as the over 50s, long term unemployed, ex-services and young people not in employment education or training had been agreed to address specific social and economic issues and barriers.

The Chair recommended that consideration needed to be given to reviewing what was captured and recorded, with particular regard for equality data as social value became embedded in contracts and part of ‘business as usual’ for the Council. A Member commented that it was important to ensure this was undertaken in an appropriate way so as not to be too onerous on suppliers being asked to complete the survey.

The Procurement Manager informed the Sub Group that Social Value monitoring was currently the responsibility of contract managers and the development of a Social Value Tracker that incorporated the TOMs would standardise this process, noting that the tracker would require suppliers, contractors and service providers to update and upload evidence of delivering their social value commitments throughout the contract period. She stated this tracker was currently in development and would be tested before being rolled out. The Chair stated that the Sub Group would welcome the opportunity to review and comment on the development of the tracker before it went live.

The Social Value Project Manager for Highways stated that the monitor would provide a better data set at a directorate level as the tracker would be a more formal and meaningful system of recording Social Value activity and information. The Procurement Manager added that not every directorate had a dedicated Social Value officer.

The Social Value Project Manager for Highways informed the Members of the positive outcomes delivered in relation to Social Value by engaging in positive conversations with contractors in the Highways Service. She described that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

Report of the Director of Capital Programmes

This report provides an update on how social value is being delivered through the Town Hall Project with a focus on the approach and activity undertaken by the management contractor.

The Sub Group considered the report of the Director of Capital Programmes that provided an update on how social value was being delivered through the Town Hall Project with a focus on the approach and activity undertaken by the management contractor.

The main points and themes within the report included: -

·                Providing an update on the project, noting The Our Town Hall project was currently moving towards the latter stages of the design process, with notice to proceed and the start of construction works expected to begin in early 2020;

·                Information on the appointment of the management contract, noting that unique to the Our Town Hall project was that fact that it was explicitly part of the management contractor’s role to maximise the number of opportunities created for Manchester residents and businesses to benefit from the project;

·                Information on the engagement activities with the supply chain;

·                An update on the Council’s oversight of procurement;

·                How social value was driven through the supply chain, noting that all contractors working on the project must provide a named lead person who was responsible for ensuring delivery of social value outcomes for their work package;

·                An update on the social value delivered to date;

·                An update on local spend to date;

·                An update on the delivery of qualifications and professional membership;

·                Information on school, college and higher education engagement;

·                Information on the M Futures programme, noting that this was the flagship higher level apprenticeship scheme for the project and provided a unique opportunity for apprentices to gain broad experience of working in professional roles in construction;

·                Information on the number of work placement, time banking and volunteering opportunities;

·                Activities around equality and diversity;

·                Information on the external evaluation of the social value delivered that had been undertaken by the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES); and

·                Next steps.

Some of the key points that arose from the Sub Group’s discussions were: -

·                Had engagement work been undertaken with organisations such as the Chamber of Commerce and the SME Club (Small to Medium Enterprise);

·                What were the outcomes of the Audit assessment of the Lendlease package procurement due diligence process;

·                Further detail was sought regarding the reported 50 new qualifications across the project;

·                The need to target those Manchester residents from the most deprived areas to offer training and employment opportunities;

·                Consideration needed to be given as to how to creatively use volunteering time to deliver projects in the community;

·                Health and safety of staff was an important consideration;

·                Recognising the perceptions of working within the construction industry it was important to encourage females and Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) residents of Manchester to apply for opportunities presented through the delivery of this project;

·                Could Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) be reviewed and amended as the project progressed;

·                What training had been provided to enable work package managers and procurement managers to maximise social value within their area;

·                Further information was requested on how contractors were selected and who had oversight of this process;  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

Report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit

To review and agree the Work Programme for the Subgroup.

The Subgroup was invited to consider and agree the work programme.

Members requested that at the next meeting the Sub Group consider a report on

specific work packages in relation to Social Value and the Our Town Hall Project. This

report would include particular reference to whistleblowing arrangements and Trade

Union recognition.

Members requested that following a request from the Neighbourhoods and Environment Scrutiny Committee, a report on the Biffa contract be added to the work programme for consideration at an appropriate time.

Members requested that a report on Ethical Procurement and Security contracts be added to the work programme for consideration at an appropriate time.

Members requested that a report that provided an analysis of the impact of Ethical Procurement on different Council Departments be added to the work programme for consideration at an appropriate time.

Decision

To agree the Work Programme subject to the above amendments.