Bath & North East Somerset Council operates in a devolved procurement environment. Budget holders with services have responsibility for buying goods and services by seeking quotes or issuing tenders to suppliers using the Council’s procurement system followed by raising purchase orders and payment for goods and services received using the Council’s financial system.
The Strategic Procurement Team works in conjunction with the service areas for high risk and high value procurement exercises and provides advice and support when required. In addition, they have responsibility for advising the Council in matters of procurement legislation, best practice, training and due diligence.
The Council’s existing tender documents request that bidders confirm they meet the requirements of the Modern Slavery Act. This enables the Council where appropriate to exclude companies that cannot demonstrate that they comply with the Act.
This may not go far enough to understand how bidders are approaching the issues and what interventions they are putting in place, (if any), to prevent slavery in their supply chains.
The tender documents also include a Supplier Code of Conduct. This explains to bidders the standards that are required by all contractors, suppliers and their staff when doing business with the Council, including when they visit our sites or when they operate on behalf of the Council at other premises or with members of the public.
The Code of Conduct currently does not specifically address the issues relating to Modern Slavery.
The Council has already made improvements to its Supplier set up process. The current process does not specifically mention Modern Slavery, although budget holders must describe the product or service that is being bought on the setup form. As a result, the Strategic Procurement team can identify whether the products/service being purchased fall into any high-risk areas.
The Council’s Terms and Conditions of Contract were updated three years ago with a section on Modern Slavery and the statutory obligation for in-scope organisations to maintain and publish an annual Modern Slavery statement.
The Council works closely with partners at the West of England Combined Authority (WECA), other local Councils and authorities, as well as being a member of the South West Procurement Board.