Board report
Report to:
Bolton at Home’s Board
Date of meeting:
21st May 2015
Confidentiality:
Non Confidential
Status:
For approval
Report title:
Procurement Strategy
Author:
Helen Garry, Partnership Officer, Technical Services x28106
Responsible director:
Ian Ankers, Director – Strategy & Partnerships
Ian Alker, Assistant Director, Technical Services
Purpose of the report:
To seek approval for the revised Procurement Strategy, Procurement Action Plan and
supporting documents.
Recommendation:
For approval
National standards:
Economic – 1) Governance & Financial Viability and 2) Value for Money
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Does the report have implications in respect of the following:
Charitable objects of Bolton at Home
The procurement strategy and
procurement action plan supports the
organisation in delivering its charitable
objectives through more effective
tendering and management of contracts
for goods, services and works and the
embedding of social value across the
business.
It will also support 3rd sector and social
enterprises by improving access to tender
opportunities.
Financial implications / Business Plan
n/a
Funder’s consent
n/a
Value for money and return on
investment
The Procurement Strategy and
Procurement Action Plan support the
organisation in achieving Value for Money
through more efficient and effective
procurement and contract management
processes.
It aims to increase the % corporate spend
procured and develop supply chain
relationships
Benchmarked target cashable and noncashable savings of up to £750k over 3
years have been identified and will be
monitored as part of the action plan
implementation.
Legal implications
Legal implications have been considered
including compliance with Equalities
Duties; EU Procurement Legislation,
implementation of the Social Value (Public
Services) Act 2012 and the impact on
procurement activities arising from recent
changes to Public Contracts Regulations
2015.
New policy or strategy
This is a review of an existing Procurement
Strategy.
Human Resources (including any
implications for ICT and Facilities
Management services)
Additional staff and ICT resources have
been considered and approved by BHMT to
support the implementation of the
procurement action plan including:
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1) staff (£100k) - 3th Sept 2014
2) ICT Systems (£60k) 25th March
2015
Customer / Tenant Involvement
n/a
Communication and marketing support
The Procurement Action Plan includes
wider communication to internal and
external stakeholders.
Equality Analysis
An Equality Analysis has been considered
and part completed. However, the strategy
is high level and not directly customer
facing. Equality and diversity will
therefore be considered for individual
procurement exercises and built into the
tendering evaluation process for all
suppliers.
Risk Assessment
A risk assessment including Procurement
Project Risk Log has been conducted and a
key output of the procurement review will
be the creation of a corporate contract
register to help assess 3rd party contract
liabilities.
Additional / background info:
Appendix 1: Procurement and Contract
Management Systems Model
Appendix 2: Glossary of common
procurement terms used
Appendix 3: Procurement Hub
Organisation Chart
Appendix 4: Procurement Action Plan
2015-2016
Appendix 5: Protocol for Consultation
with Unions on Procurement Activities
Should you require sight of any of the additional / background information, please
contact either Maureen Edwards on (01204) 328110 or Deborah Thompson on
(01204) 328109.
If you require this information in any other format, including an alternative language,
braille, audio or large print, please phone 01204 328109 / 328110.
Executive Summary
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The Value for Money Strategy and Value for Money Assessment 2013/14 identified the
need to review our procurement strategy. Following internal consultation, the
Procurement Strategy has been reviewed and a supporting Procurement Action Plan has
been prepared for approval by the Board.
Background
1. A strategic review of procurement including all procurement related strategies is
required to reflect Bolton at Home’s new status post-stock transfer as a
registered provider and charity.
2. We also need to ensure that the business continues to meet and demonstrate its
social housing regulatory requirements, including Value for Money and
Governance & Financial Viability.
Consultation and Communication
3. BHMT approved the draft Procurement Strategy and Procurement Action Plan for
further consultation on 27th January 2015.
4. Key stakeholders including Assistant Directors, Senior Managers, Internal Audit,
Customer Committee and the Unions are being consulted as part of the strategy
development.
Strategic Approach
5. The new proposed high level Procurement Strategy aims to set out a more
strategic approach to commissioning and procurement which is aligned to our
corporate objectives. The strategic objectives include:




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Develop a strategic approach
Develop QAC systems
Manage the supply chain
Embed Social Value
Develop Competence
6. This approach aims to capture all purchasing decisions, provide greater value for
money, improve risk management and build capacity amongst decision makers.
Following implementation, staff, budget holders, BHMT and Board will be able to
make more compliant, transparent and informed purchasing decisions.
Quality Assurance & Control
7. Current procurement and contract management processes are not standardised
or centralised across the business and are not supported by ICT systems. This
means that insufficient controls are in place to pro-actively manage spend.
8. Budget holders are making decisions based on the short term needs of a business
area with the main focus on price, rather than longer term whole-life costs and
benefits.
9. Some budget holders are appointing existing suppliers based on quotes for goods,
services or works as one-off contracts or on an annual basis. There is therefore
an organisational risk of non-compliance with BH financial procedures, EU
procurement legislation and Value for Money standards.
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10. By standardising processes and providing staff support and training, there is
significant scope to reduce risk, increase procurement spend and deliver
significant cashable and non-cashable savings.
11. The new Procurement Strategy and supporting Procurement Plan will address the
above issues by delivering a more integrated procurement and contract
management system support and controls.
12. Quality Assurance and Control (QAC) support for staff will be provided by a
central Procurement Hub Team who will ensure compliance with our financial
controls and new EU procurement legislation.
13. The team will also provide improved procurement planning and risk management
reporting for BHMT and Board.
Social and Environmental Value
14. The review of procurement also provides an opportunity to embed social and
environmental value into the procurement and contract management processes.
15. Our Creating Social Value Strategy and Action plan is currently managed and
delivered by the Partnerships Team. Under current working practices, social
value is perceived as an “add on” to existing activities rather than being integral
to our charitable objectives.
16. Embedding social and environmental value within our business process will help
to deliver greater social and environmental value and provide additional evidence
to support our Value for Money self-assessment.
Recommendation
17. The Board are therefore asked to approve and comment on the new Procurement
Strategy and supporting documents, including the Procurement Action. This will
ensure that we are able to meet the strategic needs of the business in an
increasingly complex buyers’ market and financial scrutiny.
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