Public sector bodies, with their massive spending power, have a key role to play in driving forward sustainable procurement, as Russell Darling explains The Government is strongly committed to introducing modern procurement processes to the public sector. With budgetary pressures building, interest in electronic procurement practices is growing as local councils look to find innovative ways to release resources and deliver services more efficiently to citizens. Despite these opportunities, we cannot afford to forget the impact these new procurement changes could have on our local economies. With their massive spending power, public sector bodies have a key role to play in driving forward sustainable procurement to ensure their actions protect the future of our communities. Public procurement affects everyone's lives. The trains we travel on, the state of our roads, the condition of our hospitals, and school meals. Public spending has to be for the public benefit, which means it has to apply sustainable-development principles. Public sector procurement can no longer just take into account traditional factors such as value for money, price and quality. There is also a need to take account of other important factors including labour conditions, human rights, and environmental and social issues. Procurement has an important role to play in creating sustainable communities which are well planned, safe and offer equality and opportunity for all. When public sector bodies are introducing modern procurement methods, one of their first steps usually involves looking to reduce the number of suppliers they buy from as they look for the best contracts, regionally and nationally. It is important, therefore, that local authorities, for example, take proper account of those suppliers in their communities – particularly smaller ones which might be at risk of losing council business. If significant numbers of smaller businesses are suddenly excluded by modern procurement processes, then lots of local jobs could be lost, with damaging knock-on effects for communities. Newham LBC has run KickStart projects to encourage SME suppliers in the borough to e-enable themselves to take full advantage of the opportunities of e-procurement. This will enable them to send and receive e-invoices and take part in e-tendering and e-auctions. Smaller companies often do not have all the necessary skills and capacity to change their systems, so it is vital that local authorities work with local businesses to train and support them when traditional procurement practices are being disbanded. With the 2012 Olympic Games approaching, there is a further need to hep ensure that smaller suppliers – particularly in London – have the best opportunities to compete for valuable work. Through collaborating and sharing procurement work and plans, there is going to be a better chance of ensuring this happens. This will make certain we can continue to create benefits for the public purse and local economies. Modern procurement practices can deliver savings, make processes more efficient, and help improve the delivery of public sector services. But those practices need to be sustainable, and public sector bodies must continually innovate in this important area for the benefit of the communities they serve. w Russell Darling is board member of the National eProcurement Project. For more information on the NePP Conference, see www.nepp.org.uk
