The East of England Local Government Association (EELGA) continues to provide support to member councils on all aspects of commissioning and procurement, including transformation. The latter is of particular interest to member councils given the provisions contained in the new Procurement Act 2023 which requires them to look at how they can do more in areas such as sustainability and engaging with local businesses.
Southend on Sea City Council started work on doing this in 2022 when they engaged Talent Bank member, Ken Cole, to help with the development of their new Procurement and Contract Management Strategy. Working with Head of Procurement, Lee White, they started by running consultative workshops for officers and elected Members to understand their priorities and goals. Lee explained, “the theme of our strategy was “The very best for the Southend £” as we were very keen to attract and engage with local businesses. We also saw the importance of professionalising contract and relationship management as well as building sustainability, including social value into our commissioning and procurement programmes.”
The new strategy was endorsed by the Council’s Cabinet in June 2023. Lee is delighted to report that It’s been a real success. A few of the headlines from year one include:
• Spend with local businesses has grown from £64M to £77m
• The first batch of our strategic contracts are now being managed through our new Electronic Contract Management System
• Some 50 officers have completed the Contract Management foundation course (Government Commercial College) and we have 10 officers progressing through the Contract Management Pioneer Programme (CMPP)
• Social Value- £6.5M evidenced in the first year including from our new waste disposal contract- enough electricity produced from our Energy from Waste plant to power some 3,500 homes in Southend
• Further £420k revenue savings and £1.25M cost avoidance in 23/24
Lee said, “getting the strategy right and owned was important to us. EELGA did a great job in providing direction and facilitating workshops. The results speak for themselves, and elected members are really appreciating the 6-monthly progress updates too”.
Over the last year EELGA has seen an upsurge in its members seeking to exploit the contribution that commissioning and procurement has to fulfilling many of their corporate goals and policies. Talent Bank member, Ken Cole, said, “the sector is expected to seek and deliver value in all its public services and commercial relationships. The new Procurement Act is not just about changing procedures, but transforming the whole way we design, build and deliver our contracts. Lee and the Southend Team spotted this at the outset and are now seeing the results of their efforts”.
Ken is a leading sector expert on commissioning, procurement and contact management transformation. You can view his and the other Associate profiles here and our member councils are able to purchase their services without the need to carry out a competitive procurement process.
Our Talent Bank Associates are highly experienced specialist professionals offering their knowledge and expertise to assist our members becoming the best that they can be for their communities. Covering everything from Asset Management to Transformation, the breadth of services and support available to purchase through the Talent Bank is remarkable.
To find out more about how our Talent Bank can help your service or organisation, please email Grace.Shaughnessy@EELGA.GOV.UK.