Deliver choice and quality – We will make purchasing decisions on the basis of quality criteria and price. Stakeholders or specialists will be involved in the selection process and in ongoing contract management to make sure we get the right things for the job. Best Value procurement – We will use procurement to realise efficiencies and help us work effectively. This will be achieved through partnership / joint working, lower cost, better quality, improved service, better processes and corporate contracts. Build skills and capacity – We will develop the skills and capacity needed to improve procurement and ensure it contributes to priorities and corporate governance initiatives such as CSR, value for money and use of resources assessments. Legislation The Constabulary & Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner have updated Joint Procurement Regulations to reflect and support recent legislative developments, including: EU Procurement Directives 2015 – The main legislation, which guides how both organisations purchase, is driven by EU Directives that are then brought into UK law. The EU lays down processes for buying goods and services over certain values Purchases above these thresholds have to be advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) via the Constabulary’s EU Supply portal, the government’s contract finder and reported to Home Office quarterly. Due to the threshold values the Constabulary carries out very few OJEU procurements each year. Guidance on the process is on the Intranet and assistance is available from the Procurement Team. Data Protection Act 1998 and FOI – Both the Data Protection Act (DPA) and the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) have implications for procurement. the DPA we are required to keep personal information private. Under FOI we are required to make non-personal information available to the public, guidance on how this relates to procurement, where contract information is involved, is available on the Constabulary’s Internet/ Intranet. Equality and Diversity Legislation – Regulations under Equality Act 2010 make it illegal to discriminate in the procurement and provision of goods and services on the grounds of the following Protected Characteristics: Age Disability Gender reassignment Marriage and civil partnership Race Religion or belief Sex Sexual orientation It is important that we take equalities duties into consideration in our procurement practices. This means advertising opportunities widely and openly, not using selection criteria to discriminate illegally and making every effort to ensure suppliers comply with equality in employment legislation Government Initiatives In addition to the impact of legislation a number of government initiatives will affect our procurement strategy and practices.
Encourage and enable local suppliers to bid for appropriate work Supports the Local Agenda March 2017 Proc Team/Purchasers Encouraging suppliers to pay ‘living wage’ through our Procurement processes Responsible procurement March 2017 Proc Team/Purchasers 8.5 Commissioning 8.5.1 Engage with supply chain to gain effective market intelligence and understand market dynamics. Supplier engagement Ongoing Proc Team/ Commissioners 8.5.2 Ensure compliance with legislation Review of procurement process Ongoing Proc Team 8.5.3 Build on internal relationships between commissioners/stakeholder/procurement and contract management Regular stakeholder engagements Ongoing Proc Team/ Commissioners 8.5.4 Put the outcomes of the Commissioners / Stakeholders at the heart of the strategic planning Process Ensure that the outcome is the key to the process Ongoing Proc Team/ Commissioners 8.5.5 Ensure that contracting Process are fair and transparent, facilitating the involvement of the broadest range of supplier A non- discriminatory approach will be embedded Ongoing Proc Team 8.5.6 Ensure long terms contracts and risk sharing wherever appropriate as ways of achieving best value Undertake and understand risk assessments Ongoing Proc Team 8.5.7 Seek feedback from Commissioners/Stakeholders and suppliers in to review the effectiveness of our approach Introduce a feedback form with tender documents Ongoing Proc Team 8.5.8 Review the alternative delivery models Better understanding the market dynamics and maturity Ongoing Proc Team/ Commissioners