Local authorities are independent statutory bodies accountable to their electorate.<\/p>
As public bodies, councils are subject to Procurement Contract Regulations (2015), which, subject to the will of Parliament, will be replaced as set out in the Transforming Public Procurement Bill.
The overarching aim of procurement regulations is to ensure open, fair, proportionate and transparent processes are adhered to. At the heart of procurement regulations is achieving value for money. Local authorities contract within these legal frameworks and are themselves responsible for evaluating and delivering value for money on behalf of their local residents.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4652", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lee Rowley"}
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, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-10-23T08:44:21.637Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
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, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "211"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Levelling Up, Housing and Communities"}
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, "date" : {"_value" : "2023-10-13", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
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], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that local authority contracts are (a) awarded following fair processes and (b) represent value for money.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4018", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mrs Helen Grant"}
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, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1235922", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government"}
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Depending on the value of any specific contracting opportunity, local authorities will need to comply with the general principles of procurement outlined in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. This includes a regulatory responsibility to apply equal treatment to bidding organisations. Local authorities are also required to consider the Social Value Act as part of their contracting processes.<\/p>
My officials have held workshops with local authorities from across the country to support them in preparing for the implementation of the new duty, including discussions on the importance of assessing the needs of all victims and providing specialist domestic abuse services as required. We will continue to work closely with local authorities and the sector.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4877", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Greenhalgh"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Greenhalgh"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-10-05", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-10-05T13:28:39.053Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "7"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Housing, Communities and Local Government"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Housing, Communities and Local Government"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2020-09-21", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Local Government: Procurement"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they intend to have with local authorities about the case for changing procurement policies to ensure that local specialist services including BME refuges for victims of domestic violence continue to receive contracts.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/2024", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Hunt of Kings Heath"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Hunt of Kings Heath"} ], "uin" : "HL8315"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1002722", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1002722/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 places a requirement on commissioners, including local authorities, to consider the social, economic and environmental benefits of their approaches to services contracts before the procurement process starts. The existing scheme of UK procurement rules, which implement the EU public procurement directives, are preserved under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 when the UK leaves the European Union, with relevant adjustments necessary to ensure legal operability. This will give legal certainty and continuity to businesses, contracting authorities, and employees, on day one of Exit. We will use opportunities offered by our exit from the EU to carefully consider longer-term options for the UK's public procurement rules.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4483", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Rishi Sunak"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Richmond (Yorks)"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Rishi Sunak"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-11-12", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-11-12T17:22:01.757Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "7"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Housing, Communities and Local Government"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Housing, Communities and Local Government"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2018-11-06", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Local Government: Procurement"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to his oral contribution of 5 November 2018, Official Report column 1229, what guidance he has issued to local authorities on taking local value into account when awarding contracts.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/318", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for John Spellar"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Warley"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "John Spellar"} ], "uin" : "188710"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/999759", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/999759/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Civil Society Strategy was developed through engagement with public sector commissioners, procurement and civil society representatives. Evidence provided to the Strategy suggested that the requirements of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 are often treated as an afterthought. Our engagement included focused workshops with a number of local authorities and their stakeholders, to explore opportunities of and barriers to social value in the procurement process. In the strategy, we set out government's long term ambition to grow social value commissioning and strengthen the application of the Act.<\/p>
Officials will continue to engage with the Local Government Association and sector representative bodies to build on our evidence base and help inform policy making during the implementation of the commitments made in the Strategy.<\/p>
<\/strong><\/p> <\/strong><\/p>"}
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, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Ashton of Hyde"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-11-14", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
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, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-11-14T12:05:16.467Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
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, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "10"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"}
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, "date" : {"_value" : "2018-11-01", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Local Government: Procurement"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"}
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], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the emphasis local authorities are giving to social value in their commissioning decisions.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4153", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Kennedy of Southwark"}
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, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Kennedy of Southwark"}
], "uin" : "HL11204"}
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