Agenda item

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 the Council.

c.     Focus on increasing social value commitments for skills and employment.

d.    Engagement with the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority in development and delivery of social value in the sub-region.

e.    Building on anchor network development as part of the Rotherham Together Partnership Social Value Charter.

f.      Further research to build local market intelligence.

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 Council’s contracts and had also achieved accreditation as a “Living Wage Employer” by the Living Wage Foundation. As well as the key achievements, the report also set out key priorities for 2022.

The aim of the Social Value Policy was to maximise the local impact of the Council’s spend, with key elements taking forward:

·        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 goes 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 Council had either achieved or made progress against all of 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 2021.

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

·        The Council was positively engaged in the development of Social Value Policy and practice in the Mayoral Combined Authority.

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

·        An event had been held to engage with suppliers and provide real examples of good practice. This event would be repeated annually.

The report had been positively received by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board as part of the pre-decision scrutiny process. However, it had been requested that consideration be given as to how the impact of the Social Value Strategy was demonstrated in future annual reports and how businesses and voluntary/community organisations’ contributions to “social responsibility could be captured. It was also requested that a further report be submitted to the BoardB in 6 months outlining the mid-year position.

Resolved:-

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 the Council.

c)      Focus on increasing social value commitments for skills and employment.

d)      Engagement with the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority in development and delivery of social value in the sub-region.

e)      Building on anchor network development as part of the Rotherham Together Partnership Social Value Charter.

f)       Undertake further research to build local market intelligence.

3.    That consideration be given as to how the impact of the Social Value strategy was demonstrated in future annual reports.

4.    That consideration is given to how businesses and voluntary/community organisations’ contribution to ‘social responsibility’ is captured.

5.    That a further report is submitted to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board in 6 months outlining mid-year position.