Social clauses in public procurement
agendaNi reviews the Northern Ireland Executive’s practical guide to socially responsible procurement.
The Northern Ireland Executive’s ‘Buy Social Toolkit’ has been developed by the Strategic Investment Board (SIB) as a practical guide to integrating social considerations into public contracts. It aims to provide assistance to organisations with procurement responsibilities, by offering them guidance on how they can help generate benefits to society and the local economy through their contracts.
In November 2014, the Procurement Board requested that there should be a more thorough evaluation of the impact of social clauses and it was subsequently agreed that SIB would conduct an independent review. The review was undertaken in consultation with the Central Procurement Directorate, particularly in terms of developing practical models for the future and included consultation with Permanent Secretaries and senior staff in departments.
Representatives from the Construction Industry Forum and the Business and Industry Forum were also consulted. Centres of Procurement Expertise were also involved and the review concluded that a change of emphasis would secure the best outcomes.
The review recommended that there should be:
• a focus on paid employment and training opportunities;
• a concentration on large contracts – where efforts will have the biggest impact;
• a requirement for opportunities for ‘new entrant trainees’, long term unemployed people, young people leaving education, apprentices and paid student work placements. This offers flexibilities for contractors in tailoring compliance with the classes to their workforce needs;
• the establishment of a social benefits reference group, as a means of promoting the new arrangement in departments and encouraging early engagement at business case stage;
• a proposal for more comprehensive brokerage services to help link new entrants and relevant contracts and provide a support service for new entrants that facilitates their transition into work;
• the underpinning of these arrangements with new legislation in the new Assembly mandate.
On 5 November 2015, the Procurement Board’s members agreed the Strategic Review of Social Clauses and the Buy Social Construction model for implementation from April 2016. The Procurement Board agreed that a letter should be sent to the Executive, detailing the desire to move forward with construction sector straight away, with a model to be further investigated and consulted on.
The key policy driver for Buy Social is the 2010 Sustainable Development Strategy for Northern Ireland and its two guiding principles. The first is the widely understood environmental principle of ‘living within environmental limits.’ The second is ‘ensuring a strong, healthy, just and equal society’ which refers to ‘promoting personal wellbeing, social cohesion and inclusion, and creating equal opportunity.’
In essence Buy Social is essentially a driver of fine grain innovation. It is about paying attention to the relatively small and easy changes that can be made to improve outcomes for communities and therefore deliver better value. In some cases the innovation may have cost implications but in many cases the changes will not cost more or any additional costs can be covered from external sources.
From April 2016, the Buy Social requirements are to be used in procurement above £2 million for construction and above £4 million for civil engineering.
