Public bodies spend millions of pounds every year, and there are laws we follow to make sure that spending is fair. However, working within these, we would like to try and spend more of that money locally.
What we are already doing:
a) Progressive Procurement: Aberdeenshire Council demonstrates a strong commitment to the incorporation of Community Benefits, including commitment to incorporation of Fair Work Practices in procurement activity which is set out in the Joint Procurement Strategy. Community Benefit outcomes and inclusion rates are reported annually in the annual procurement report.
b) Community Wealth Building is a strategic theme in the Joint Procurement Strategy
c) A joint workstream between Procurement and Economic Development over the last year has engaged with over 180 businesses, building capacity within the supply chain to tender, exploring the biggest levers to achieve greater local spend, and the business models such as co-operatives and social enterprises in certain categories that could benefit multiple small companies.
d) Working with other anchor organisations in the region through the North East Anchor Group and North East Procurement Group (Community Wealth Building) to collaborate on supply chains.
How we will develop our approach:
1. Using Policy 11 and 25 within NPF4, we will work with energy planning applicants to maximise local economic opportunities, including with social enterprises, local supply chains and where necessary use our business support network to work with local companies to develop capacity to bid for contracts. Using NPF 4, we will explore the opportunities to develop dense local supply chains and collaborative long term programmes in schools and communities to develop the skills necessary in Aberdeenshire to access the job and business opportunities from energy infrastructure. This is a key element in the Regional Economic Strategy. Our Charter in responding to opportunities within NPF4 is contained as an appendix to this strategy.
2. Using our Place Plans, work in partnership with local anchor organisations on opportunities within their supply chains for growing sustainable local economies.
3. Where practical, create longer lead in times for industry on our procurement pipeline. For example on major contracts that may require industry up skilling, e.g. net zero contracts, ensuring that our industries are climate ready.
4. We will maximise our Community Benefits from procurement and link these to the needs of our Place Plans (where possible to do so).
5. Grants – we will refine our conditions of all grants to support Living Wage employment to ensure that any public funding received by business or community groups, where jobs are created, support fair employment.
6. We will develop the Supplier Development Action Plan (Joint Procurement Strategy) to ensure that fair Community Wealth Building principles are applied.
7. We will consider applying discretionary planning fees for community groups taking steps to develop against Place Plans.
