Agenda item

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1       The purpose of this report is provide an update on the development of a programme of work related to Social Value as part of the Inclusive Growth Strategy.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       It is recommended that Members:

·        Note the work in relation to social value that is currently being undertaken

·        Agree to the establishment of a task and finish Social Value Working Group for Members which would meet bi-monthly

3.0       Main report

            Background

3.1       Members agreed a Notice of Motion proposed by Councillor Beattie in January 2019 on the development of a social value strategy to further social, environmental and economic goals of Belfast City Council and will be aware that work is continuing on the development of an Inclusive Growth Strategy as part of the Belfast Agenda.

3.2       Social value is the additional benefit to the community from the commissioning or procurement process which is over and above the direct purchasing of goods, services and works, including economic, environmental and social well-being or community benefits that can be delivered to a local area. It is about maximising the impact of public expenditure to get the best possible social outcome.

3.3       This work builds on the approach taken by the Council since 2013 to integrate social clauses within relevant council procurements to provide ring-fenced employment and work placement opportunities and promote accessibility to small enterprises. Whilst these clauses represent a laudable effort to promote skills development and employment, impact has been limited by a narrow approach and outcomes difficult to discern in terms of measurement. In part it must be recognised that the current legal framework in N Ireland does not provide the same breadth of opportunity to promote social value as other jurisdictions. With the return of the Assembly one of the key actions will be to raise with ministers the issue of new enabling legislation and amendment or repeal of existing legislation which may inhibit the ambition held by the Council to use social value as a vehicle to drive inclusive growth.

3.4       Much work has already been undertaken in terms of contract analysis and looking at themes, outcomes and measures that would contribute to a new social value/inclusive growth framework with strategic alignment to the themes in the Belfast Agenda. In that context there is a nexus with an ethical trading framework that should sit snugly with the social value framework and which will be developed in tandem, albeit that the ethical trading framework incorporating a rights based approach to trading, in addition to promoting sustainability and the environment, should have its own platform.

3.5       Members should also note that it was agreed at People & Communities in December 2019 to broaden the remit of the officer social values working group to consider how to eradicate single-use items through more effective purchasing procedures, assessed against the waste hierarchy and the wider sustainable agenda. 

3.6       Officers have also looked at other cities to learn from their experiences and to understand the challenges and opportunities presented by developing and implementing a social value framework. From the work undertaken to date the officers believe they are now in a position to progress the development of a framework for the Council.

            Key Issues

3.7       In order to take this work forward, a work programme relating to procurement has been developed under the Inclusive Growth Strategy. An officer working group which meets monthly has been established comprising staff from each department and chaired by John Walsh, the City Solicitor, who has been appointed Senior Responsible Officer.

3.8       One of the key tasks is the establishment of a draft Social Value Procurement Framework governing how social value could be incorporated into the Council’s procurement and contractual processes. This draft framework will have to be agreed through Committee before being issued for public consultation. This will be the central policy document establishing meaningful criteria sitting at the heart of contractual relations with third parties and which will have measurable/reportable outcomes.

3.9       It is proposed that a task and finish Social Value Procurement Member Working Group is established which would meet bi-monthly and make recommendations to Committee on the framework. Through this it is hoped that focused engagement will allow the Council to adopt the policy within the ambitious timeframe set out in the project plan.

3.10      Financial & Resource Implications

            The work programme is being led by officers from Economic Development and Commercial and Procurement Services and involves officers from each department. A new Member Working Group would be resourced by Democratic Services.

3.11      Equality or Good Relations Implications/Rural Needs Assessment

            Equality, good relations and rural needs implications will be considered in the development of the framework.”

            The Committee adopted the recommendations.