The way the Isle of Wight Council buys goods and services — ‘procurement’ — has been updated, following Cabinet approval last night (Thursday).
Procurement should be an opportunity, not a hurdle according to the authority’s new 2022-2025 Procurement Strategy.
It highlights how the council will ensure the goods that it buys are as sustainable as possible, while supporting lsland businesses and suppliers “wherever and insofar as overriding rules allow”.
Aims of strategy
The strategy aims to do this by:
- making the process of working with the council as simple as possible;
- committing to a review of the council’s procurement policy to ensure it maximises the benefit to Island-based local partners and businesses;
- structuring procurements in such a way that ensure they are accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises;
- assessing social value to identify community benefits that can be delivered through the contracts being procured by the council;
- providing a programme of support to suppliers to assist them with reducing their environmental impact.
The strategy sets out the council’s procurement vision, aims and objectives over the next three years.
Four principal themes
It comprises four principal themes — Local Community Wealth Building, Climate and Environment, Commercial Approach and Skills and Capabilities.
Each theme will be embedded in the way the council procures goods, services and works contracts to boost economic growth and help communities to recover from the Covid pandemic.
The new strategy also underlines the council’s commitment to supporting the UNESCO Isle of Wight Biosphere Reserve and meeting its ambitious carbon neutral targets by:
- ensuring the goods that it buys are as sustainable as possible;
- where relevant, taking social and environmental factors into consideration alongside financial factors in making purchasing decisions.
Bacon: Committed to supporting the Island’s economy
Cllr Jonathan Bacon, Cabinet member for the environment, said,
“We are committed to supporting the Island’s economy and ensuring local businesses and suppliers have the opportunity to bid for council contracts.
“Our new procurement strategy aims to do just that while reinforcing our commitment to tackling the Climate Emergency and ensuring our procurement procedures provide high-quality services for residents and best value for money.”
News shared by Isle of Wight council press office, in their own words. Ed
