Issue - meetings

Report from the Assistant Chief Executive.

Recommendations:

That Cabinet:-

1.    Receive the annual report, noting the social value commitments along with outcomes delivered. 

2.    Approve the use of the new national TOMs (Themes, Outcomes, Measures) as detailed in Appendix 2.

3.    Approve that the key priorities for 2025 include: 

a.  ...  view the full agenda text for item 9

Consideration was given to the report which presented an update on progress towards the priorities set out in the Council’s Social Value Policy, including the amount of social value committed and delivered through Council contracts. Priorities were also set for the following 12 months. Since the last annual report in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9

Report from the Assistant Chief Executive.

Recommendations:

That Cabinet:-

1.    Receive the annual report, noting the social value commitments along with outcomes delivered. 

2.    Approve the use of the new national TOMs (Themes, Outcomes, Measures) as detailed in Appendix 2.

3.    Approve that the key priorities for 2025 include: 

a.    Continuing the work on employee ownership. 

b.    Delivering the partnership social value action plan with Social Value Portal, working towards the delivery of increased social value commitments across Rotherham’s anchor network. 

c.     Delivering further support to local businesses through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund social value project.

d.    Upskilling Council staff through training initiatives and one-to-one support. 

At the Chair’s invitation the Leader, Councillor Read introduced the report and highlighted the following aspects:

·       The Council adopted its social value policy in 2019.

·       The policy aimed to use the procurement process to incentivise certain behaviours from suppliers.

·       The Key Objectives were around:

o   Encouraging suppliers to employ more local people.

o   Promoting the payment of the real living wage.

o   Increasing the proportion of Council spend within the local economy.

• The Council worked with the Social Value Portal, a national organisation that provided a set of measures to quantify social value activities.
• The annual report provided an update on the social value activities and commitments made by suppliers.
• Over the course of the last year there was an increase of about £5 million in social value commitments.
• An additional £4 million worth of social value was delivered.

·       For example, when entering a contract, a supplier might commit to employing 10 people in Rotherham, which was then tracked and reported as delivered social value.

·       In terms of local spend, the Council had spent an additional £28 million in the local economy over the past year, bringing the total to £105 million.

• The proportion of local spend as a percentage of total spend had decreased slightly by 4% but remained broadly in line with previous years.
• Two significant revenue contracts were signed before the social value policy was implemented, these were the Housing Repairs and Maintenance contracts. Efforts were being made to align their activities with the policy.

·       One of those contracts had spent £3.1 million in social value over the past year, which would increase the overall social value by 25%.

·       The Social Value Portal had rationalized its measures, adjusting how some measures worked.

·       The Council had taken the opportunity to refine its measures to better align with its priorities, reducing the number of measures to around 20-21.

·       Two members of staff in the procurement team now worked directly on social value activities.

·       The Council had contracted with Go For Growth to help local companies understand and benefit from public sector procurement. This was funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).

·       The Council continued to work with partners such as the police, hospital, health partners, and the Chamber of Commerce to align procurement activities and maximize local benefits.

·       A new role of an Employee Ownership Officer had been recruited to promote employee ownership models and support businesses considering this option. The officer was in the early stages of their role, with more detailed updates expected in the next annual report.

The Chair invited members of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board (OSMB) to raise questions and queries on the points raised earlier.

Councillor Keenan welcomed the continuation of the real living wage and asked if the council had extended this standard to all its in-scope contracts? The Leader confirmed it was in progress, with a period required for contracts to roll around. The Head of Policy, Performance and Intelligence added that the renewal time for the accreditation was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6