Agenda item

Report of the Chief Operating Officer

The Sub Committee considered a report of the Chief Operating Officer seeking approval to refocus the commitments in the Responsible Procurement (RP) Policy using the efficiency principles under the Target Operating Model (TOM), better align with the TOM’s strategic priorities of Climate Action and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, and the broader ESG objectives of the Corporation. The Chief Operating Officer introduced the report and outlined the key points for Members.

The Sub Committee was advised that the commitments would focus on what suppliers were doing for underrepresented groups in their industry, how they were creating an inclusive environment and delivering inclusive services, and working with suppliers who have processes in place to record and deal with incidents of harassment based on protected characteristics. Members noted that data was relevant in assessing processes and that it was expected that benchmarking around EDI, would be implemented, and that policies would be in place.

A Member noted that the tenders were currently balanced on the basis of a 60/40 quality/price weighting split and suggested that this could be reviewed to assess whether 50/50 would be preferable. Another Member suggested taking a sample of the tenders over the past year for assessing the impact of this. The Chair proposed that the Sub Committee agree the recommendations, but carry forward this suggestion for review.

RESOLVED – That the Operational Property and Projects Sub Committee:

1.    Approve changes to the Responsible Procurement Policy, in particular refocusing from 18 commitments to the proposed six;

2.    Approve amendment to the responsible procurement weighting establishing it as an overall score of 10% from 1 September 2022; and

3.    Approve an uplift in the responsible procurement weighting to 15% of the overall score effective 1 April 2023.