Agenda item

22.1     The Chief Operating Officer introduced the report, which sets out the details of the trial of the qualitative approach to the Social Value (SV) and the proposed new East Sussex SV model, along with the new Model Assessment Criteria (MACs), proposed edits to the SV policy and proposed changes to the associated Council Plan measure. The East Sussex Social Value model had been developed on the recommendation of scrutiny, and had been well-received by Small-Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and officers in procurement. It was therefore proposed that the East Sussex SV model be permanently adopted.

22.2     Anne Epsom elaborated on the benefits of the new model, including improving alignment with the Procurement Act and ensuring that ESCC follows best practice and helping to embed SV into the general ways of working in the Council. The new approach would also increase consistency across the wider public sector, including at Surrey County Council and local NHS organisations, and this consistency would help suppliers to reduce costs in the long-term. The proposed changes to the policy and changes to the Council Plan measure would go to the Lead Member for Resources and Climate Change, and taken forward as part of the Council Plan review. This will be followed by updated guidance to officers and suppliers, departmental engagement, training for relevant officers and utilisation of employment and skills networks to embed the methodology. BSD were investigating the integration of reporting into overall contract management approaches, and the changes to the policy would be reviewed as appropriate.

22.3     Cllr Collier who chaired of the Scrutiny Review of Social Value, thanked officers for their work in this area, and welcomed the report and changes to the policy. He raised the changes to SV in the context of LGR and noted that it was important that the positive work in this area be embedded into any changes in services that come with LGR and the brining together of county council and district and borough council services.

22.4     The Committee asked if BSD had examined the SV policies of district and borough councils, and whether these could be aligned with East Sussex SV model through the LGR process. The Chief Operating Officer responded that discussions with district and boroughs would take place as part of the LGR, where the different authorities’ policies could be understood and aligned. The Assistant Director, Policy and Operations (Orbis) added that the methodology of the SV model could be adapted through LGR to be embedded in the new unitary, but as strategic priorities for the new authority are developed then adjustments could be made to the policy without altering the overall methodology. She added that her experience working with Surrey district and boroughs through LGR was that they often don’t have SV policies due to the low value of their spend, so it was hoped they could adopt the new policy with relative ease.

22.5     The Committee noted that the trials had been conducted in ASC, and asked if there were any expected challenges in implementing the policy within departments other than ASC, such as CET, as the contracts covered very different services. The Chief Operating Officer clarified that the new methodology had been socialised with CET during the trial period. Conversations with CET revealed they felt there was enough scope in the MACs that individual teams with specific procurement needs would be able to apply them to their circumstances, regardless of the service area. The Assistant Director Economy clarified that CET welcomed the new model and raised that SV was already well embedded into its contracts, such as the highways contract and the new model would provide an opportunity to build on existing good practice.

22.6     The Committee discussed how SV might be tracked and delivered and whether this is more difficult to report through a qualitative approach. The Chief Operating Officer noted that even under the previous model it had been difficult to conduct monitoring due to the Council’s limited contract management capacity. Under the new model, progress in SV delivery might actually be more apparent in some areas, as it related more to the nature of organisations and their inherent SV. The Assistant Director, Policy and Operations (Orbis) clarified that there are proposed KPIs in the detail of the model and will be identified to match the contract.

22.7     The Committee RESOLVED to:

1)   note the updates to the progress against the further recommendations of this review from Place Scrutiny Committee in September 2024’; and

2)   endorse the East Sussex Social Value Model and revised draft Social Value Policy, and note the proposed change to the associated Council Plan measure.