Overview of Public Sector Procurement in the North East March 2017 Overview of Public Sector Procurement in the NE Contents Background 3 North East Procurement Organisation (NEPO) 4 NEPO Member Authorities 5 Darlington Borough Council 5 Durham County Council 6 Gateshead Council 7 Hartlepool Borough Council 8 Middlesbrough Council 9 Newcastle City Council 10 North Tyneside Council 11 Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council 12 South Tyneside Council 13 Stockton-On-Tees Borough Council 14 Sunderland City Council 15 Police Authorities 16 Durham Police 16 Northumbria Police 17 Fire and Rescue Services 18 County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service 18 Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service 19 Universities 20 Northumbria University 20 2 Overview of Public Sector Procurement in the NE Background The “Overview of Public Sector Procurement in the North East” has been developed by NEPO’s Stakeholder Engagement Group to help the North East supply base identify the main public sector procurement bodies in the region with a view to competing for public sector business. NEPO will regularly review and update this document and welcomes input from any North East public sector organisation wishing to be included in future iterations (please contact [email protected]). NEPO’s Stakeholder Engagement Group was established in January 2015 with the following objectives; 1. Create and develop connections and engagement that will support and improve economic growth across the whole of the North East. 2. Effectively harness the expertise and market intelligence vested in business representative, private sector and VCS organisations to assist NEPO’s activities. 3. Give a greater focus on social value and an appreciation of the wider benefits that can be achieved through, for example, opportunities for public sector contracts to support employment and create apprenticeships in local labour markets. 4. Ensure that there is knowledge of the challenges and opportunities faced by businesses. 5. Develop expertise in market intelligence, anticipate future trends, develop innovative products, services and approaches that could shape and deliver improvements in public services and procurement practices. 6. Create an understanding of business needs and expectations to deliver focused and timely communications, aimed at promoting an awareness and understanding of NEPO, build on achievements to date, and position NEPO as a highly credible organisation that businesses want to engage with. 7. Work proactively to engage with suppliers and providers on each NEPO Hub and Spoke solution to ensure that market consultation is undertaken prior to the publication of opportunities. Stakeholder Engagement Group representatives include: ● North East England Chamber of Commerce ● Federation of Small Businesses ● Confederation of Business Industry ● North East Local Enterprise Partnership ● Tees Valley Unlimited ● North East Procurement Organisation (NEPO) 3 Overview of Public Sector Procurement in the NE North East Procurement Organisation (NEPO) www.nepo.org Established in 1976, the North East Procurement Organisation (NEPO) undertakes high-value procurement in major strategic areas of spend in conjunction with North East Member Authorities and a range of Associate Members. Our Member Authorities are listed below: ● Darlington Borough Council ● North Tyneside Council ● Durham County Council ● Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council ● Gateshead Council ● South Tyneside Council ● Hartlepool Borough Council ● Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council ● Middlesbrough Council ● Sunderland City Council ● Newcastle City Council A wide range of public sector organisations have signed up as Associate Members in order to access NEPO’s portfolio of procurement solutions. A list of NEPO Associate Members can be viewed at www.nepo.org/associate-membership/list NEPO’s strategic objectives are as follows: ● Achieve financial savings and enhance commercialisation ● Utilise resources and expertise efficiently to maximise delivery ● Maximise opportunities for local suppliers to deliver social value outcomes ● Deliver for our members and stakeholders ● Drive collaboration through strategic leadership Suppliers can register on the NEPO Portal to receive email notifications of new tender opportunities issued by NEPO and its Member Authorities. Registration is completely free of charge. Suppliers can also opt to hear from other procurement organisations across the UK who are using the same eTendering system. NEPO also maintains an online Contracts Register. The register provides a full summary of contracts let by NEPO and its Member Authorities. This information helps suppliers to identify subcontracting opportunities in the supply chain, or to build a pipeline of when tenders will be expiring so that early preparation can be undertaken. In addition to the above, the NEPO Business Club offers a free programme of training for suppliers interested in improving their tendering skills. Find out more at www.nepo.org. 4 Overview of Public Sector Procurement in the NE NEPO Member Authorities Darlington Borough Council www.darlington.gov.uk Darlington Borough Council is committed to achieving value for money and encouraging competition for the provision of goods and services to the council. Bids are welcomed from all sections of the community including new and established suppliers, small and medium sized enterprises, the third sector and from organisations bidding in consortia. As a public sector body, the Council complies with the Public Contract Regulations and also has its own set of internal processes which are derived from the Council’s constitution. These are set out in the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules. The Council produces a procurement plan in April and October each year. The plan includes all forthcoming contracting opportunities with a value over £75,000 likely to arise over the following 12 months. Darlington Borough Council use the NEPO Portal to advertise procurement opportunities (see page 4). 5 Overview of Public Sector Procurement in the NE Durham County Council www.durham.gov.uk Durham County Council is one of the largest local authorities in the UK and the largest in the North East. It is made up of an elected assembly of 126 councillors representing a population of over 500,000 people. The council is responsible for the efficient and effective provision of a wide range of public services to the people of the County. As an authority, Durham County Council spends over £505M a year on the provision of goods, services and works. The Council’s procurement activities enable services to be provided in an efficient, cost-effective and sustainable way and assist the Council to realise its Sustainable Community Strategy vision. The aims of our procurement strategy are to: 1. Support commissioning and procurement activities across the authority to ensure corporate-wide consistency, efficiency and innovation in line with corporate strategic objectives. 2. Provide clear, strategic guidance from the corporate centre to enable and empower staff engaged in commissioning and procurement in service areas to make decisions and take actions in the most strategically informed, effective and professional ways possible. 3. To maximise opportunities to realise efficiencies and achieve value for money through commissioning and procurement activities. 4. To embed an understanding of, and commitment to, building sustainability into all commissioning and procurement activities in order to meet wider social, economic and environmental outcomes for the County and beyond, in line with the Council’s Sustainable Community Strategy and our duties under the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012. The procurement functions of Durham County Council are carried out in both Corporate Procurement and a range of other service areas, including: ● Direct Services ● Technical Services ● Children and Adults Services ● Transport ● Regeneration and Economic Development Durham County Council use the NEPO Portal to advertise procurement opportunities (see page 4). 6 Overview of Public Sector Procurement in the NE Gateshead Council www.gateshead.gov.uk Serving 200,000 people across the borough and covering 55 square miles, Gateshead Council is the largest of the five Tyne and Wear authorities. In the region of £205M per annum was spent on external provision of works, goods and services, and it is our responsibility to use this money in a way that achieves the best possible outcomes for local people and generates maximum value for the “Gateshead Pound”. The Council lets hundreds of contracts of varying types from one-off purchases to long- term service contracts. Many of the contracts for the supply of goods and materials will be in the form of a “framework contract” which will last for a specific period of time before coming up for renewal. The Council’s ambition is to make Gateshead the best place to live, work, invest and visit. The Council’s procurement activities enable services to be provided in an efficient, cost- effective and sustainable way that supports the Council in achieving its vision. Our Corporate Commissioning and Procurement Strategy ensures that we take into account some key principles; to strengthen our local economy, reduce our environmental impact and tackle inequality and disadvantage. Our focus will be on buying locally when we can, and encouraging others to support Gateshead's economy in order to build wealth in our communities which will help to reduce demand of some of our services. Gateshead Council encourages