|
Contract shake
up to boost jobs
A MASSIVE shake up of major
contracts at Liverpool City Council will see priority given to firms
that commit to creating jobs and skills locally.
A report to the Mayor's Cabinet on Friday, 5 October 2012, is recommending
placing an emphasis on using socially responsible contractors and
suppliers when procuring the £270 million budget for buying in goods
and services from 3rd parties.
A new Procurement Board is being set up which will co-ordinate all
activity across the Council with the aim of using the
Council's
buying power to have a positive impact on jobs and skills.
Within existing EU and Best Value legislation, the City
Council will
seek to prefer:-
► Organisations with a smaller gap between the highest and lowest paid
staff (pay multiple)
► Social
enterprises which plough their profits back in to developing the
business ►
Firms which can
demonstrate clear local benefits
Deputy Mayor and Cabinet member for Finance, Councillor Paul Brant,
said:- "The new procurement policy is a shift towards making
sure every penny of our spending benefits local people. The City
Council spends substantial amounts of money and it has the potential
to really boost the local economy. This is about saying to firms
that, in return for being awarded major contracts, we want them to
demonstrate their commitment to developing jobs and skills in the
City. We hope it will particularly help local suppliers, boost
social enterprise and encourage small and medium sized enterprises
to grow."
When awarding contracts, the Council will consider what recruitment
and training, subcontract and supply chain opportunities can be
obtained to benefit the local community.
It could mean that work experience, training, equal opportunities
and the recruitment of apprentices are stipulated as part of the
contract specification. Businesses can choose to either: absorb the
cost, pass it on to the City Council or use Government initiatives
such as the Young Person's Guarantee to offset it.
The new policy means that:-
► Jobs and skills contract clauses will be considered first when
awarding all new service and construction framework agreements, or
contracts which have an annual value of more than £1 million
► All existing service and construction contracts that are framework
contracts or have an annual value of more than £5 million will be
subject to negotiated voluntary agreements
► All existing goods/product supply contracts with a value of more
than £1 million and existing service and construction contracts that
are framework contracts or have an annual value of £1 - £5 million
will be subject to a jobs and skills charter. This will encourage
firms to adopt best practices around targeted recruitment and
training for local people
► The proposal goes further than the Government's new Social Value
Act, which comes into force in January 2013. It requires public services to consider how services which are commissioned and
procured might improve the economic, social and environmental
wellbeing of the area; but does not apply to framework, works or
supplies contracts.
► To support the implementation of
the policy, awareness raising and training will be given to City
Council staff. Recruitment and skills
advice will be provided to employers by Liverpool In Work - the
Council's employer engagement team. |
 |
Liverpool
Councillor take up top Euro role
A Liverpool Councillor is helping to strengthen the
City's position in Europe, after taking on a prestigious new role.
The City Council's Cabinet Member
for Employment, Enterprise and Skills, Councillor Nick Small,
was appointed as the new chair of the EUROCITIES Economic Development
Forum at a meeting of the Forum, that was held in Riga, Capital City of Latvia, on Friday, 5 October
2012.
EUROCITIES is the network of major European cities, which brings
together key politicians and officers from more than 140 large
Cities in the EU to help shape future European policy and develop
opportunities to collaborate and exchange best practice in service
delivery.
Councillor Small's new role, which he will hold until 2014, will see
him as Chair of the Economic Development Forum, which has 78 member
Cities. The Forum meets 3 times a year and provides a vehicle
for lobbying the European Commission to make sure future programmes
and funding meet the needs of Europe's Cities. Amsterdam has agreed
to serve as Vice Chair of the Forum.
Having a Liverpool man at the helm will help give the City a
stronger voice in Europe and put it in a better position to lobby
the EU over vital funding as it prepares to deliver its €2,000
billion budget for 2012 to 2014.
Councillor Small said:- "I'm really excited about taking
on this new role and working closely with our partners over the next
two years to make a real difference. I'm hopeful that we can have an
impact on key decision makers and play our part in building a
stronger economy in Europe. I'm becoming chair of the
EUROCITIES Economic Development Forum at crucial moment for the EU,
as it negotiates its budget for the next seven years. I'll be making
sure Liverpool's interests are represented effectively and I'll do
all I can to ensure future European funding programmes aid the
on-going development of our City. I'll also be looking to
bring the Liverpool experience to the Forum, and sharing with other
member cities our successes in driving forward regeneration in our
City and becoming more business-friendly."
The Economic Development Forum consists of a number of working
groups which come together to share best practice and collaborate on
key issues such as funding, entrepreneurship, innovation, urban
regeneration, City region governance, and low carbon economy.
Its 'cohesion policy' working group will seek to have input
into the development of new European Union funding programmes to
succeed Objective One and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF),
which brought huge benefits to Merseyside.
The group will also look to influence the European Commission's new
€2.5bn programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small
and Medium-sized Enterprises (COSME), which will run from 2014 to
2020. The programme will provide finance for companies; promote
business creation and growth; encourage an entrepreneurial culture
in Europe; increase the competitiveness of EU companies; and help
small businesses develop their overseas markets.
And the working group will look to help shape the development of
Horizon 2020; an €80 billion research and innovation initiative
aimed at securing Europe's global competitiveness. Running from 2014
to 2020, the programme will invest in areas such as science, new
technology and sustainable energy, as part of the drive to create
new growth and jobs in Europe.
Eurocities was established in 1986, by the Mayors of 6 large
Cities:- Barcelona, Birmingham, Frankfurt, Lyon, Milan and Rotterdam.
It offers members a platform for sharing knowledge and exchanging
ideas. It Influences and works with EU institutions; through
forums, working groups, projects, activities and events, to respond
to common issues that affect the day-to-day lives of Europeans.
Eurocities aims to reinforce the important role that local
governments play, shape the opinions of Brussels stakeholders and
shift the focus of EU legislation to allow City governments to
tackle strategic challenges at local level.
For more information, visit:-
eurocities.eu. |
