
Dementia currently affects 1 in 14 people in the UK. Many people will either know someone with dementia, have had to support and care for someone with dementia or have been diagnosed themselves.
The guidance is little more than a précis of the social and environmental aspects of European procurement rules as implemented by the Regulations (and, if you don’t want to read the guidance or the Regulations, perhaps read our earlier précis here). But it is regardless a far more enthusiastic approach to social value in procurement to come from central Government than the caution and conservatism that has historically been demonstrated.
The guidance demonstrates a recognition from Government that social and environmental considerations can be brought into the procurement process in a range of ways and at all stages of the process, including:
There are some useful “FAQs” included in the guidance to supplement the description of relevant parts of the Regulations, covering compliance with environmental, social and labour laws, compliance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015, and a consideration of the reserved contracts rules (under which competition can be ringfenced to organisations that employ, as at least 30% of their workforce, individuals who are disabled or disadvantaged). This last confirms our preferred approach to defining what “disadvantaged” persons are (as the term is not defined in the Regulations), which is to refer this to the term as defined in State aid law, is an acceptable way to proceed. “Disadvantaged”, therefore, can relate to people in long-term unemployment, the 15-24 age bracket, the over-50s, lone carers, and even gender where there is a gender imbalance within an industry, to name but a few.
Because it is outside the scope of the Regulations, the vital pre-procurement stage is not considered, however – meaning the guidance lacks any discussion of the importance of the wider commissioning process in terms of potential pre-procurement engagement with potential contractors, users and stakeholders to shape the procurement and the subject of the contract, and application of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 before the procurement has actually commenced.
This guidance is a helpful description of the opportunities that the Regulations offer to achieve better social and environmental benefit from public contracts, but it is not a practical guide. It is, though, a hopeful first step from the UK Government in its journey towards understanding the positive social and environmental benefit that public procurement could achieve. As a next step, we would welcome guidance from the CCS about integrating the Regulations into, and reconciling them with, related domestic legislation, including the Social Value Act and Part II of the Local Government Act 1988 (non-commercial considerations).
Dementia currently affects 1 in 14 people in the UK. Many people will either know someone with dementia, have had to support and care for someone with dementia or have been diagnosed themselves.
The 2022 Code replaces the NHF Code of Conduct 2012 (the 2012 Code) and sets out the baseline standards that the NHF expects of its member registered providers (RPs).
The High Court has dismissed a challenge by the Police Superintendents’ Association to the closure of legacy public sector pension schemes.
In my recent blog, I said that we would be issuing a series of ebriefings and blogs highlighting issues with the Procurement Bill. This is the first of these.
Contractors and delivery partners are facing a ‘perfect storm’ in many cases with a number of factors directly impacting upon the profitability of their work.
Worker status, like Piers Morgan, is one of those things that we think has gone away and then it pops up again!
We are seeing a steady trickle of decisions focused around the issue of flexible working requests or employer requirements for changes to working patterns (both pre and post the pandemic).
For those of us who have endured a choppy cross channel journey, the mention of P&O Ferries will invoke some nauseous memories.
Successive generations have witnessed seismic shifts in the workplace; post-war it was the return of the soldiers and the impact on working women who had to work in their place.
In this podcast, Puja Desai interviews Kimberley Foster and discusses her experience with counselling. This is a really helpful podcast for anyone who has thought about counselling.