Cumbria County Council s1

Appendix 1 Executive Summary – Procurement Strategy 2010-12

The procurement and commissioning vision is:

“To lead our local area to commission, purchase or procure, the right public works, goods and services, in an efficient, effective and economic way, for the benefit of Hertfordshire citizens, and the economy and environment of Hertfordshire.”

This links to the priority in our Corporate Plan, “County of Opportunity” to be a leading Council.

Our pledge to Customers and Providers alike is to provide a countywide framework which ensures we will be:

• easy to do business with • open, fair and transparent in our dealings • engaging with you in the design of our services • focussed on achieving outcomes and value • accessible through the most convenient channel • listening to your feedback • expecting providers to share in our efficiency drive • delivering the best solutions for residents in partnership with providers

Being wise with our Cash, means we will be:

• aware of our markets • looking for value for money • achieving significant efficiencies • commissioning and contracting for more • using competition frequently • joining up public services to get best value

The Culture we will promote is one of:

• challenge, innovation and collaboration • knowledge sharing, comparison and benchmarking • performance management • being responsive to citizens and communities • using technology as an enabler • getting it right first time • raising awareness of procurement in service delivery

Communication at all levels is important and procurement standards and best practice need to be made available through many channels.

of 2 These are austere times and the Council’s procurement and commissioning activities must generate Best Value in our procurements, ensuring that significant efficiency savings are made and this is the overarching priority of this strategy. This strategy targets efficiencies from both our existing and future providers in support of our “Council for the Future” transformation programme and espouses performance management and negotiation as a mechanisms to achieve this.

These efficiencies must not be at the expense of service quality and delivery, as measured both by sustainable outcomes and satisfaction with our services. This strategy covers how we seek to achieve this through our evaluation processes and monitoring arrangements.

In the future, the Council will increasingly become a commissioner of personalised and localised services focussed on need.

The Corporate Plan and subsequent actions approved by The Council in July 2009, continue to promote Hertfordshire as a good place to do business and to advance measures to support the local economy and this strategy will seek to bring together the local public sector as a single client and to give local providers the incentive to work together in new ways for the benefit of Hertfordshire’s citizens.

The Council is committed in this strategy to continue to work with its providers and give them the opportunity to influence our behaviour to make collaborative action more likely. The Council will also expect providers to share in our efficiency drive. The Council expects officers to be prepared to listen to our providers’ suggestions and ideas and engage with them.

The Council will ensure its procurement policies and procedures are environmentally, economically, socially and ethically sound and will expect its providers to accept these principles and pass them down the supply chain. This includes the Council’s commitment to equality and diversity as a core value. All major procurements will continue to carry out an equality impact assessment at the start of every procurement and make suitable adjustments to the procurement where necessary.

This strategy outlines our approach to engaging with our customers and citizens, our framework for spending our cash wisely and our intention to partner with our providers and fellow commissioners.