Issue - meetings

Report from the Chief Executive.

Recommendations:

1.    That the annual report is received noting the increased social value commitments along with outcomes achieved.

2.    That the key priorities for 2022 include:

a.    Launch of the Social Value Commissioning Toolkit to be held in May.

b.    Further embedding Social Value across  ...  view the full agenda text for item 126

Consideration was given to the report which set out the key achievements over the year to the end of November 2021 in relation to social value. The Council had adopted the Social Value Policy in 2019 and had made significant progress to secure social value commitments as part of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 126

Cabinet Portfolio: Leader

Strategic Directorate: Chief Executive

Consideration was given to a report that was submitted for pre-decision scrutiny ahead of the Cabinet Meeting to be held on 28 March 2022.  This was the second annual report to be submitted since adoption of the Social Value Policy in 2019.

The aim of the Social Value Policy was to maximise the local impact of the Council’s spend:

·       Raising the living standards of Rotherham residents and commitment to working towards the Living Wage Foundation Living Wage.

·       Increasing the proportion of the Council’s expenditure which went to local businesses and providers.

·       Building social value into all council contracts and maximise the impact gained from every pound spent, through the introduction of a rigorous system for assessing and measuring social value.

·       Commit to the principle of co-designing services wherever possible.

The report outlined that the Council had either achieved or made progress against the commitments agreed in February 2021. These included: 

·       The Social Value Commissioning Toolkit was in the final stages of development and about to be rolled out.

·       Accreditation as a “Living Wage Employer” was awarded in September.

·       Anchor networks development was underway with key partners building on the commitments from the partnership Social Value Charter.

·       The Council was positively engaged in the development of social value policy and practice in the Mayoral Combined Authority (MCA).

·       A workshop was held to explore further community wealth building opportunities.

·       An event has been held to engage with suppliers. This provided real examples of good practice in social value. The event will be repeated on an annual basis.

The Leader of the Council introduced the report with contributions from the Chief Executive and officers. It was outlined that this was the second full year of the commitment with significant progress being made. It was noted that the benefits of this policy may take some time to be realised as changes may occur over the course of contracts. The Leader put on record the achievement of “real living wage” accreditation and noted that over 3000 people in Rotherham had directly benefited from this status.

The contribution of the Rotherham Together Partnership to this agenda was ongoing but progress had been hampered by the pandemic. The Leader drew attention to positive developments with the MCA with regards to procurement and business grants which supported social value principles and net zero commitments.

The Chief Executive and Leader noted the contribution of the Head of Procurement to this agenda and her work with both local and national partners in developing the Council’s approach, including the Social Value Portal.

Since the last annual report, commitment has been secured from local businesses, taking the principles of social value into their organisations. Consideration has been given to how the Council commissions its services and contractual arrangements. Work was also underway the MCA across the sub-region to ensure that a joint approach underpinned commissioning and procurement activities. Work has been undertaken to identify community wealth opportunities to identify with business where there were gaps in types of organisations, products or services.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6