The Wales Procurement Policy Statement 2021: Welsh Government’s action plan

Welsh public sector procurement is a powerful lever with ability to affect sustained change to achieve social, economic, environmental and cultural outcomes for the well-being of Wales. 

Welsh Government Procurement will observe the following Wales Procurement Policy Statement (WPPS) principles when working towards Welsh Government policy commitments, as set out below:

WPPS principle 1

We will leverage collaborative procurement activity in Wales to maximise long-term sustainable social and economic value outcomes from public spend.

What the Welsh Government will do

• We will proactively set public sector frameworks as the default position to meet the organisation’s requirements and support staff with guidance.
• We will continue to actively contribute to Welsh collaborative framework design and development for the benefit of all, ensuring they maximise contribution to the four dimensions of well-being wherever possible.
• We will work alongside the WPS to integrate our national agreements alongside regional and local approaches.

Well-being goals

• A Prosperous Wales
• A resilient Wales
• A healthier Wales
• A more equal Wales
• A Wales of cohesive communities
• A Wales of vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language
• A globally responsible Wales

WPPS principle 2

We will integrate procurement into the heart of Welsh policy development and implementation.

What the Welsh Government will do

• Through a collaborative approach, we will support WPS organisations to deliver policy areas through the identification and development of appropriate tools, guidance and training.
• We will work with the wider Welsh Government departments to embed key objectives, including well-being, into our procurement strategy for the organisation.
• We will demonstrate the value procurement can offer to the WG through our strategic critical tender support and to the WPS through category management approaches of national collaborative Welsh agreements.

Well-being goals

• A prosperous Wales
• A resilient Wales
• A healthier Wales
• A more equal Wales
• A Wales of cohesive communities
• A Wales of vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language
• A globally responsible Wales

WPPS principle 3

We will progress long-term sustainable procurement, which builds on and scales best practice and sets clear steps that show how procurement is supporting the delivery of organisational well-being objectives.

What the Welsh Government will do

• We will continue to use strategic tools and risk assessments to ensure procurement activity aligns with, and contributes to, the 7 national well-being goals.
• We will continue to consciously apply the five ways of working throughout our tender processes, and provide a contract management toolkit and support to continue this through contract delivery.
• We will develop and implement a toolkit to support the delivery of social value and whole life costing, for the WPS.

Well-being goals

• A prosperous Wales
• A resilient Wales
• A healthier Wales
• A more equal Wales
• A Wales of cohesive communities
• A Wales of vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language
• A globally responsible Wales

WPPS principle 4

We will raise the long-term standing and profile of the procurement profession and its role as an enabler for procurement policy.

What the Welsh Government will do

• We will raise the profile of procurement by supporting staff to attain their CIPS professional qualifications and CPD, and by growing the Procurement profession, within Welsh Government, through a bespoke Gateway process to create opportunity for career progression.
• We will fund a CIPS Cohort programme for the Welsh Public sector.
• We will investigate, via a discovery exercise, the recommendation for a Procurement Centre of Excellence (CoE) in FY21/22. If the discovery exercise findings support the CoE recommendation, then a pilot will be introduced in FY22/23

Well-being goals

• A prosperous Wales
• A more equal Wales
• A Wales of cohesive communities

WPPS principle 5

We will support Welsh Government policy objectives relating to progressive procurement, such as the Foundational and Circular Economy, through collaborative, place-based (whether national, regional or local) procurement activity which nurtures resilient local supply chains.

What the Welsh Government will do

• We will continue to use strategic tools and risk assessments to ensure procurement activity aligns with, and contributes to, progressive procurement policy.
• We will investigate the development of a procurement policy forum that includes representatives of the WPS to act as a critical friend and which has appropriate governance.
• We will develop statutory and other guidance to support the Social Partnerships and Public Procurement Bill, which will provide a statutory framework to the delivery of policy through procurement.

Well-being goals

• A prosperous Wales
• A resilient Wales
• A more equal Wales
• A Wales of cohesive communities
• A Wales of vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language
• A globally responsible Wales

WPPS principle 6

We will act to prevent climate change by prioritising carbon reduction and zero emissions through more responsible and sustainable procurement to deliver our ambition for a net zero public sector Wales by 2030.

What the Welsh Government will do

• We will use a strategic tool to reduce carbon impact in tenders – through contract design, evaluation and contract management.
• We will make Carbon Reduction Plans a mandatory part of procurement tenders for WG contract over £5m from April 2022.
• Support net zero carbon through continuity of supply of electricity from renewable sources and transition to ULEV vehicles.
• We will develop contract management clauses to support the Social Partnership and Public Procurement Bill that will embed sustainable outcomes in construction supply chains for all large public sector construction procurements.

Well-being goals

• A prosperous Wales
• A resilient Wales
• A globally responsible Wales

WPPS principle 7

We will align our ways of working and increase stakeholder involvement to support innovative and sustainable solutions through procurement.

What the Welsh Government will do

• We encourage pre-market engagement with our supply chains to create an environment that stimulates innovation.
• We will work with internal customers to create procurement pipelines that allow time to identify sustainable solutions and seek innovation.
• We will encourage collaboration and a coproduction approach to drafting requirements.

Well-being goals

• A prosperous Wales
• A resilient Wales
• A more equal Wales
• A Wales of cohesive communities
• A globally responsible Wales

WPPS principle 8

We will collaborate with stakeholders to promote equal opportunities and fair work in Wales.

What the Welsh Government will do

• We will remain a signatory of the ethical code of practice in supply chains and publish a modern slavery statement.
• Through strategic tools we will identify risks and opportunities to address equality and fairness in our contracts, including reserved contracting, Living Wage Foundation’s Living Wage, creation of employment and training; equality and diversity considerations.
• We will develop statutory guidance to support the Social Partnership and Public Procurement Bill that will establish Fair Work as integral to socially-responsible procurement.

Well-being goals

• A prosperous Wales
• A more equal Wales
• A Wales of cohesive communities
• A Wales of vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language
• A globally responsible Wales

WPPS principle 9

We will improve the integration and user experience of our digital solutions and applications, maximising the use of our procurement data to support decision-making.

What the Welsh Government will do

• We will improve procurement practices and processes through the implementation of the Digital Strategy for Wales.
• We will implement the Digital Action Plan for procurement that we have created in partnership with stakeholders and the Centre for Digital Public Services to improve the user experience of our digital solutions and applications.
• We will implement the digital changes that will be required to support procurement reform and transparency throughout our supply chains obtained by using the Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS).
• We will maximise the use of our procurement lifecycle data and take full advantage of the insight that the OCDS will provide us with.

Well-being goals

• A Wales of cohesive communities

WPPS principle 10

We will promote value-based procurement which delivers optimum long-term outcomes for Wales.

What the Welsh Government will do

• We will continue to use strategic tools and risk assessments to ensure procurement activity aligns with, and contributes to, optimising long-term outcomes for Wales.
• We will continue to work with UK government on the procurement reform policy to move from ‘MEAT’ to ‘MAT’ so that tenders can be evaluated against Welsh Government policy commitments.
• We will use the evaluation process to assess social, economic, environmental and cultural value offered by the tender.
• We will adopt any new procurement legislation that promotes value-based procurement and contribute to the development of the Social Partnerships and Public Procurement Bill that will enshrine this in Welsh law.

Well-being goals

• A prosperous Wales
• A resilient Wales
• A healthier Wales
• A more equal Wales
• A Wales of cohesive communities
• A Wales of vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language
• A globally responsible Wales