Agenda and draft minutes

Agenda and draft minutes

Overview and Scrutiny Ethical Procurement and Contract Management Sub Group - Friday, 4th October, 2019 10.00 am

Venue: Council Antechamber, Level 2, Town Hall Extension

Contact: Mike Williamson 

Items
No. Item

21.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 241 KB

To receive the minutes of the Ethical Procurement Subgroup meeting held on 31 July 2019

Minutes:

Decision

 

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 31 July 2019.

22.

Our Town Hall Work Package Procurement Strategy pdf icon PDF 253 KB

Report of the Director of Capital Programmes attached.

 

This report provides an update on the Our Town Hall work packages procurement strategy and includes a number of case studies as illustrative examples of the strategy in practice.

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Sub Group considered the report of the Director of Capital Programmes that provided an update on the Our Town Hall work packages procurement strategy. The report provided Members with a summary of the strategy that was being used and included a number of case studies as illustrative examples of this process in practice.

 

The main points and themes within the report included: -

 

·                Information on the arrangements for the Councils oversight of procurement;

·                Information on the works package procurement process;

·                Noting that the Council’s Ethical Procurement Policy was embedded into the contract with Lendlease, and a monitoring framework was being developed with Unite and Lendlease to ensure that this and the Unite Charter is appropriately reflected throughout the project supply chain;

·                Case studies; and

·                Forecast position and progress in delivery of social value to date.

 

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

 

·                It was commented that Members were expecting information on the full list of works packages and requested that this be provided to Members following the meeting;

·                The thought that had been given to delivering social value fom the project was impressive;

·                There was concern in relation to lack of Trade Union Membership information available for employees;

·                There was a need to attract more women and people of ethnicity to job opportunities associated with the project;

·                There was concern that here was no reference to the Council’s declared climate emergency on any of the works packages and that this should be reflected;

·                Assurance was sough that Lendlease would accept other Trade Union representatives on site other than Unite;

·                If they occurred, how would unacceptable practices within the supply chain be addressed/monitored;

·                What measure would be taken to ensure all staff on site were aware of the health and safety requirements;

·                It was commented the Trade Unions would appreciate the promotion of training and apprenticeship opportunities;

·                What, if any, plans were in place to provide opportunities for people to develop skills within specialist areas of work (eg craft work) and connected to this what would be the future opportunities to work in these areas once the project was completed;

·                It was suggested that the appropriate promotion of heritage projects that were to be undertaken was to be explored in order to keep the public engaged with the project;

·                How would the Green Agenda be addressed by the project;

·                What was the expectation in terms of energy reduction within the building once the project had been completed;

·                Concern was raised in relation to the implications of Brexit and the potential increases to labour and construction costs and had any detailed analysis on the implications of this been undertaken;

·                How would NG Bailey deliver the significant social value commitment targets as part of the MEP works package and what were the potential barriers to achieving these targets;

·                Was there any specific approach being taken  to provide employment opportunities on the project to ex-offenders;

·                Was there any specific reasons why the apprenticeship targets were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

23.

Our Town Hall Equality and Diversity Update pdf icon PDF 230 KB

Report of the Director of Capital Programmes attached

 

This report provides an update on the monitoring and recording of diversity within social value deriving from the Our Town Hall Project.  The report also provides an update on whether specific Key Performance Indicators (KPI's) can be established to monitor this activity.

Minutes:

The Sub Group considered the report of the Director of Capital Programmes that provided an update on how the monitoring and recording of diversity within social value could be reported, and if specific Key Performance Indicators (KPI's) could be established to monitor this activity following a previous recommendation from the Sub Group.

 

The main points and themes within the report included: -

 

·                Providing a narrative, noting that it was expected to see the diversity of the city reflected in the people who were engaging with the project’s social value activities and opportunities;

·                Recognising the wider national issues around diversity in the construction industry;

·                Describing the approach adopted to monitor diversity in the workforce;

·                Describing the approach adopted towards KPI’s, noting the good relationship with contractors and suppliers who had committed to delivering social value on the project; and

·                The approach to maximising participation.

 

The Commercial Director for LendLease also reported that 33% of the overall workforce on the project were female and 16% of the overall workforce were BAME, which were greater than Lendlease’s national targets.  Lendlease had also appointed a Diversity and Inclusion Manager and female ambassadors for construction to promote working in the industry within schools and would use the Town Hall Project as an exemplar to the rest of its business.

 

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

 

·                What work was being done with the Council’s Equality and Diversity team and had any Equality Impact Assessments been undertaken on the project;

·                Consideration needed to be given to ensure that the appointed ambassadors were overloaded in promoting the construction industry within  schools prevented them from undertaking their employed role;

·                Did Lendlease practice blind recruitment and what adjustments did they make for people with disabilities;

·                What equalities training did Lendlease’s Management Team undertake;

·                What steps did Lendlease take to address street harassment of women on site;

·                Would apprentices employed on the project be monitored by protected characteristics; and

·                What engagement was taking place to promote apprenticeship opportunities.

 

The Work and Skills Project Manager advised that work was being undertaken with the Councils Equalities and Diversity team to promote the employment opportunities of the project amongst all groups in communities, acknowledging that challenges existed around vacancies and apprentices. 

 

The Commercial Director for LendLease commented that he was not aware that Lendlease anonymised applications, however he assured the Sub Group that through their recruitment process, they were genuinely looking promote the employment of females and BAME within the construction industry.  The Work and Skills Project Manager commented that the Council and Lendlease were exploring the ability of rolling out the Council’s recruitment process within the projects supply chain.

 

The Sub Group was advised that all of Lendleases Management Team undertook equalities and diversity e-training training on an annual basis and that this also applied to all Lendlease employees.  The Commercial Director for LendLease also commented that dealing of street harassment of any staff, not just females working on site, would be covered as part of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.

24.

Work Programme pdf icon PDF 237 KB

Report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit

 

To review and agree the Work Programme for the Subgroup.

Minutes:

The Sub Group was invited to consider and agree the work programme.

 

Decision

 

The Committee:-

 

(1)       Agrees to cancel the meeting scheduled for November 2019;

(2)       Note that the Chair will consult with Officers in relation to agenda items for the meeting scheduled for February 2020.