Commitments on Procurement

Procurement policy notes

All procurement is guided by Welsh Procurement Policy Notes. They are reviewed anually to ensure they remain current. This reflects the current position.

Welsh procurement policy notes (WPPNS)

There are currently Welsh Procurement Policy Notes (WPPN's) available to the Welsh Public Sector on Gov.Wales

They are:

12/21: Decarbonisation through procurement - addressing CO2 in supply chains
11/21: Ethical employment in supply chains for the Welsh public sector
10/21: Blacklisting in the construction industry for the Welsh public sector
09/21: Sourcing building materials for construction projects in Wales
08/21: Cyber Essentials
07/21: Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) - friendly procurement
06/21: Decarbonisation through Procurement - taking account of Carbon Reduction Plans
05/21: Guidance on reserving below threshold procurements for Welsh public sector contracting authorities
04/21: Guidance for deploying Welsh Government project bank account policy
03/21: Project bank account policy
02/21: Reserving contracts with businesses with a public service mission
01/21: Sourcing steel in major construction and infrastructure projects in Wales
04/20: Procurement reform and common framework for public procurement
03/20: Post EU transition public procurement including Find a Tender Service (FTS)
02/20: Partnership working and procurement: a practice note for local housing authorities
01/20: Social value clauses/community benefits through public procurement

Decarbonisation
Supplier section

2019: E-invoicing
2017: Speculative framework agreements
UK PPN adoped by WG
10/21: thresholds and inclusion of VAT
04/21: Applying exclusions in Public Procurement, managing conflicts of interest and whistleblowing
02/21: The WTO GPA and the UK-EU TCA
01/21: Procurement in an Emergency

Pembrokeshire County Council procurement policy notes

PPN0216: Welsh Language Standards

Social value

Community benefits policy: Maximising money for the welsh pound

When tendering public sector contracts Community benefits must be a key consideration in all procurement strategies. Producers must identify any opportunity to deliver one or more of the following benefits during the course of the contract:

Job opportunities for economically inactive.
Training opportunities for economically inactive.
Retention and training opportunities for existing workforce.
Promotion of open and accessible supply chains.
Contribution to education in Wales through engagement with school, college and university curriculum.
Contributions to community initiatives that support tackling poverty across Wales and leave a lasting legacy.
Opportunities to minimise the environmental impact of the contract and to promote environmental benefits.

Code of practice: Ethical employment in supply chains

Commitment 3

Ensure that involved in buying/procurement and the recruitment and deployment of workers, receive training on modern slavery and ethical emplyment practices, and keep a record of those that have been trained.

Commitment 4

Ensure the employment practices are considered as part of the procurement process. We will:

4.1 Include a copy of our policy on ethical employment (Commitment 1) in all prcurement documentation

4.2 Include appropriate questions on ethical employment in tenders and assess the responses provided

4.3 Incorporate, where appropriate, elements of the Code as conditions of contract

4.4 Ask bidder to explain impact that low costs may have on their workers each time an abnormally low quote or tender is received

Socio-economic duty

(came into force on 31 March 2021)

Prosperity for all: Economic action plan

We will:

Deliver a national plan of future years’ procurement spend in Wales to support sustainable jobs and growth; support fair work; promote investment in ethical employment practices and social value.
Develop regional tools such as community benefits to help improve the resilience of local businesses and ensure the economic benefits from our public sector procurement spend remain in Wales.
Work with businesses to strengthen local supply chains and fill gaps to boost bids from Welsh businesses for Welsh public sector contracts.

Deputy Minister's statement on the foundational economy

"[Welsh Government] will start looking at social value within procurement. We will support Public Service Boards to use and strengthen local supply chains. The Wellbeing of Future Generations Act methods will help us make quick progress."

The Equality Act 2010 (Statutory Duties) (Wales) Regulations 2011

"Regulation 18 makes provision about public procurement in instances where an authority is a contracting authority. Such authorities should have regard to whether award criteria should include considerations relevant to performance of the general duty. Also a contracting authority must have due regard as to whether any conditions imposed by them should include considerations relevant to performance of the general duty."

Public sector equality duty

The 2010 Act places a duty on public bodies to have due regard to the need to reduce the inequalities of outcome resulting from socioeconomic disadvantage. The duty applies to major procurement and commissioning decisions.

Social care

Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 and Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016

All procurement is carried out in accordance with these Acts

Innovation

Innovation action plan (under development by WG)

Enviroment and sustainability

Biodiversity and resilience of ecosystems duty, Environment (Wales) Act 2016

The 56 duty requires public authorities to embed the consideration of biodiversity and ecosystems into their early thinking and business planning.

Public authorities should consider each of the aspects of 56 duties as their decisions and actions can influence indirectly, for example through their procurement policy. Public authorities should also consider the effects of decision and actions to biodiversity outside of Wales.

Priority for all: A low carbon Wales

We will continue to support a circular economy by creating new oppotunities for resource efficient manufacturing through embedding resource efficiency within our programme of innovation support to SMEs and using public sector procurement to stimulate the market

Circular Economy Strategy 2020 (under development - will replace Towards Zero Waste)

Towards zero waste

In our plan we will evaluate the capacity to undertake green procurement and to green supply chains

Prosperity for all: The National Strategy

Welsh Government is commited to building healthier communities and better environments. Clean air has a central role in creating the right conditions for better health, well-being and greater physical activity in Wales. This is reflected through a commitment to reducing emissions and delivering vital improvements in air quality through planning, infrastructure, regulation, and health communication measures.

Housing

Independent review of affordable housing supply final report - April

The Welsh Government should encourage Local Authorities and Housing Associations to work in partnership to share skills, capacity and resources, and work collectively, through local and regional procurement frameworks, to support local supply chains

Re-imagining social house building in Wales: A modern method of construction strategy for social housing

Explore high value rather than low cost procurement models to reflect whole life costs of new build and provide more development options for housing providers.

We plan to investigate the increased use of wood and recycled content as well as prioritising re-used and remanufactured content in the goods purchased by the public sector

Construction

Innovation Housing Programme (IIHP) and Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) Guidance Document 2020-21 (Year 4)

Procurement should be aligned with the Wales Procurement Policy Statement

Transport

WELTAG 2017: Welsh Transport Appraisal Guidance

Commerical case checklist - The following considerations should be made in outline at Stage one, completed by Stage two, updated and verified in Stage Three

Procurement options - promoting local where possible

Procurement Strategy 2023-27