Involving Local Suppliers

4th February 2013 – 1-5pm, Room 3 Ealing Town Hall

AGENDA Involving Local Suppliers 13:00 Introductions 13:05 Who is the WLA?

13:15 Presentation – Involving Local Suppliers 14:00 Presentation – London Borough of Harrow 14:45 Discussion Groups 15:30 Presentation – Supply Cross River (SXR2) 15:40 Recording and Measuring Progress 16:30 Discussion  Close

What is the West London Alliance?

A coming together of 6 West London Borough’s to collaborate on service delivery and procurement for mutual benefit.

• Barnet• Brent• Ealing• Harrow• Hillingdon• Hounslow

+ Tri Boroughs – Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham

http://www.westlondonalliance.org/

The WLA was established in 1998 as the sub-regional partnership for West London. Since then the WLA has been working to: • Lobby for the interests of the sub-region;• Develop collaborative strategies and initiatives on key issues such as transport

and economic development; and• Improve the provision of public services in West London, through sharing

knowledge, expertise and resources, undertaking joint ventures and securing additional resources.

 The WLA is currently facilitating a number of major, collaborative, programmes of work across West London, through which participating boroughs aim to realise efficiency savings and service improvements. These programmes include: • West London Social Care Efficiency Programme for Adults’;• West London Children’s Services Efficiency Programme;• West London Passenger Transport Programme;• West London Property and Asset Management Programme; and• West London Procurement Programme

The WLA’s purpose

Background In 2007 The Sustainable Communities Bill was published backed by research from the New Economics Foundation and their pressure group Local Works. Their aim was to try to combat the “creeping homogenisation” witnessed in British towns and a decline in local communities. They focused on the failure of inward investment to positively affect the retention of local services and the health of communities. They defined local sustainability as follows: Local sustainability means policies that work towards the long-term well-being of any given area. That means promoting local economic needs - so money that is spent locally benefits local shops, services and communities, not remote shareholders. Or, that the long-term environmental impacts of any planning or economic policies are central to the process of deciding whether they go ahead or not. To empower communities and local councils to make their own decisions on how to make their local areas sustainable. A number of research papers were published and initiatives followed to increase the support for Local Sustainability. The SROI Guide 2009 was published in 2009 with backing from the Cabinet Office. The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 enforces the need to consider how the process of procurement might be conducted to improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of the relevant area.

Reference New Economics Foundation http://www.neweconomics.orgNEF have produced guidance material and publications such as “Plugging the Leaks”, “Securing the Future” and several case studies (all available from their website including images for presentation – provided that acknowledgement is given). The NEF also produced the LM3 (Local Income Multiplier) economic tool which looks to measure the impact on the local economy from an organisation or an initiative.

Business in the Community http://www.bitc.org.uk/community/

Local Works www.localworks.org

Joseph Rowntree Foundation http://www.jrf.org.uk/

Core Cities http://corecities.com/

Social Enterprise http://www.socialenterprise.org.uk/

National Association for Voluntary and Community Action http://www.navca.org.uk/socialvaluebriefings

Defining Local

What do we mean by Local?

Owned locally? Based locally? Employing local people?Need for caution:Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council in Merseyside used NEF's multiplier tool to assess the local economic impacts of some of their construction contracts. It was estimated that just 8% of the Council's expenditure reaches local businesses, a situation the Council was keen to improve. The Council evaluated two contracts for their local multiplier effects. Contract A was let to a firm situated just outside the local area, and contract B was let to a local firm. The Council therefore thought that Contract B would have a greater overall local impact. However, interestingly, the study showed that the non-local firm had a higher impact on the local economy, with 16% of the contract income being re-spent locally compared to 11% for the local firm. This might not sound like a significant difference, but with each contract being worth in excess of £1 million, the numbers soon stack up. The reason for the different local economy effects between the two firms is that the 'non-local' firm in fact hired more local staff than did the locally owned firm!

What are our priorities and what are we looking to achieve?

Understanding drivers for the borough – Job creation and Employment prospects, education & training, economic sustainability, diversity, community partnership & involvement. Spend in the local area?

Opportunities for local Suppliers Can work package be planned or structured to make it more accessible to SME/ TSO?Will it compromise strategy? Public procurement rules, market manipulation, exclusion and discrimination. Are we creating sustainability or dependency? Capability and contingency, size and risk of the work packageDoes the work package require or include skills, specialisms, experience and/or capacity that an SME or TSO can provide? Can a consortium of SMEs? Alternatives Encourage partnership with a TSO or an SME? Oblige contractors and suppliers to spend locally and support local companies.Improving opportunities to address underemployment and worklessness with apprenticeships and work experience? Sharing apprentices?

Supplier Selection How to find local suppliers? Meet the Buyer? Chamber of Commerce?What kind of supplier are we trying to reach? Do these networks exist or do we need to build them?

Directorieshttps://www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk http://www.sustainweb.org/ethicaleats/localfoodfinder/

Selecting the supplier A fair and transparent vetting process and criteria, H&S, financial stability and compliance, adherence to policy and standards. Suitability of SME/TSOs appreciating the sensitivities and bias. Reputational and political risk – remembering who we are.

Supplier Development Accessibility for suppliers.http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/how-to-do-business-with-the-public-sector.pdf

Finding our opportunities.Making procurement process transparent. Guidance and assistance, post tender evaluation feedback.Contract Management.

Supplier Development – sustainability not dependency.

Mentoring – by borough staff and within the supply chain tiers.

What else boroughs can do? How many of us live within the borough? Where do we spend our money?

Healthy CommunityEncourage staff to support local businesses and spend locally.Use local services – post office, library, transport (rural).Attend community activities – local events, fairs, school, presence in community. Volunteer - volunteer days, recognition and incentive.Skill Will http://www.skillwill.co.uk/ links professional and business volunteers with charities and social enterprises which need assistance. Skill Share (http://skillshare-westsussex.org.uk/) , Ealing Involved (http://www.ealinginvolved.org/) LESS (http://lessuk.org/)

Mentoring and engagement activities – raising expectations and achievement.Work experience and placements - if we cannot employ we can make people more employable.

Questions?

Susan Godfrey MCIPSWest London Alliance DDI: 0208 825 7613Mobile: 07718 696 544Email: Godfreysu@ealing.gov.uk