Small and Medium Enterprises Engagement Plan Recommendation Action Responsible Officer Others Start Date Due By Date Completed Strategy & Policy Local authorities to ensure that their procurement strategies explicitly recognise the significant benefits of procuring from local small businesses when tendering for goods and services without compromising their legal stipulations. To incorporate recognition of the benefits of procuring from local small businesses within the Procurement Strategy Strategic Procurement Leads Senior Leadership Team January 2014 May 2014 June 2014 Local authority economic development strategies to take account of the needs of the existing local economy and inform procurement strategy based on a comprehensive analysis of spend. To incorporate spend analysis within the Service Area Sourcing Plans in order to inform strategic spend decisions Strategic Procurement Executive & Service Managers January 2015 January 2015 Completion of Sourcing started Jan 2015 To incorporate meeting the needs of the local economy as a key area for consideration under the delivering policy through procurement section of the Service Area Sourcing Plans Strategic Procurement Leads Executive & Service Managers January 2015 January 2015 Jan 2015 To address meeting the needs of the local economy within the development stage of the procurement process and include Strategic Procurement Leads Executive Heads & Service Managers January 2015 January 2015
as an activity within the Procurement Plan template Local authorities to consider actively how much of each procurement decision should be assigned to social value considerations. To incorporate social requirements as a key area for consideration under the delivering policy through procurement section of the Service Area Sourcing Plans Strategic Procurement Leads Executive Heads & Service Managers January 2015 January 2015 To address social considerations within the development stage of the procurement process and include as an activity within the Procurement Plan template Strategic Procurement Leads Executive Heads & Service Managers January 2015 January 2015 authority procurement strategies to set out how they will ensure best practice is followed and how they will monitor that progress. is a governance structure for monitoring and compliance of Strategy delivery in place SLT Strategic Procurement January 2014 May 2014 June 2014 is a governance structure for monitoring and compliance of Service Area Sourcing Plans in place Executive Heads Strategic Procurement Leads January 2015 March 2015 2015 To set up the following to ensure best practice is followed and progress is monitored SME Engagement Plan as an Appendix to the Strategic Procurement Executive and Service Managers January 2015 July 2016 Started Jan 2015
consideration under the delivering policy through procurement and the supporting the local economy sections of the Service Area Sourcing Plans Leads Service Managers To address considering the need of Lots within the development stage of the procurement process and include as an activity within the Procurement Plan template Strategic Procurement Leads Executive & Service Managers January 2015 2015 Feb 2015 Spend Analysis All authorities to have mechanisms in place to record and analyse where and with which businesses their money is spent. This should include measuring the size of enterprise – medium, small or micro. Torbay Council has adopted the Atamis spend analysis system which is a South West wide collaborative contract, to encourage a consistent approach to spend analysis. The system has functionality to analyse spend by size, sector and location, including Strategic Procurement Leads April 2014
Plans and Procurement Strategy. Process Simplification authorities to adopt appropriate best practice with regard to their use of questionnaires (PQQs), which may include the adoption of existing, standardised PQQs; simplified pre-qualification processes for smaller procurements below EU thresholds; online pre-qualification; and discontinuation of PQQs and other requirements where they are unnecessary. We have adopted the national government standard PQQ. This is on our tendering system so can be completed electronically. This system retains the supplier’s response so it can be reused for subsequent tenders. Strategic Procurement Leads April 2012 We will be providing training to suppliers on how to complete the PQQ, why they are necessary and explaining the compliance requirements within them. Strategic Procurement Leads FSB Feb 2015 Ongoing We will be reviewing all of our procurement processes to take into account revised procurement legislation and Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill. Strategic Procurement Leads Feb 2015 Ongoing Local authorities in the UK to consider using the relevant national, regional and sub-regional portals to advertise their procurement opportunities We use the Supplying the South West regional e-tendering portal. This is undergoing development to become a national e-tendering portal, will link directly into Strategic Procurement Leads June 2014 Dec 2015 2009
wherever appropriate to do so. Contracts Finder. We are in the process of redrafting the Council’s Contract Standing Orders which includes a recommendation to Council to mandate the use of Supplying the South West for all spend over £10K. Strategic Procurement Leads SLT and Full Council January 2014 June 2015 Completed redraft – In approval stage We will be rolling out the use of the Quote facility within the system for all spend within the Request for Quote limit. Strategic Procurement Leads Executive Heads and Service Managers June 2015 In line with Service Area Sourcing Plan Local authorities to ensure their use of selection requirements is proportionate and based purely on the needs of the contract and ensure that e-tendering systems, where practical, reduce consistent repetition of requirements for supplier information. We will be working with the FSB to simplify our processes and documentation and ensure they are proportionate and consistent. Strategic Procurement Leads FSB Once the new Public Contracts are in place Ongoing SME Engagement
request it under the provisions of the Remedies Directive 2009 in order to improve their bidding capabilities. the Remedies Directive 2009. We will be replicating this with below threshold tenders. Strategic Procurement 2015 In line with Service Area Sourcing Plan We will include general feedback and guidance to suppliers via Meet the Buyer and training events. Strategic Procurement Once the new Public Contracts are in Ongoing Local authorities to ensure that regular training opportunities and supplier pre-engagement activities are available for small businesses in their area, to ensure that capacity is built ahead of opportunities becoming available and support market shaping. We are building pre market engagement and market development activities into individual Service Area Sourcing Plans. Strategic Procurement Leads Executive Heads and Service Managers January 2015 In line with Service Area Sourcing Plan We will be undertaking general and Strategic Executive January In line
contract specific Meet the Buyer events. Procurement Leads Heads and Service Managers 2015 with Service Area Sourcing Plan We will be carrying out a range of training activities designed to build capacity in the local SME market. Strategic Procurement Leads FSB Feb 2015 Ongoing We will work in partnership with the FSB and the Council’s Economic Development Team to support supplier events. Strategic Procurement Leads TDA and FSB February 2015 Ongoing Payment Practices Councils to put in place and monitor specific payment policies for small business suppliers, ideally following the lead of national government pledges to pay within ten days of receipt. We are working with the payments team to monitor and review payment processes and policies. Strategic Procurement Leads Payments Manager January 2015 Ongoing Councils to consider the use of contract clauses to ensure that contractors pass on the council’s payment terms to their We are in the process of redrafting our contract and Conditions and the revised terms will include clauses relating to the passing on Contracts Solicitor and Strategic Procurement 2014 July 2015