The Strategy and Resources Policy Development Committee was scheduled to discuss an outcome report on employment, enterprise, and skills, and to receive an update from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. The meeting's agenda also included a review of actions from previous meetings.

Employment, Enterprise and Skills Outcome Report

The committee was scheduled to receive an outcome report detailing the findings, conclusions, and recommendations from its work over the past year concerning employment, enterprise, and skills. This report was intended to be progressed to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for further consideration.

The report focused on the committee's work on sustainable procurement, aiming to maximise opportunities for local Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to bid for council contracts, either directly or through supply chains. A key objective was to ensure that social value benefits were leveraged across all council contracts.

The committee had engaged with various business groups, including the Ilford BID and Hainault BID, and held a roundtable with local businesses. Feedback from these engagements highlighted challenges faced by SMEs in understanding available opportunities, the complexity of paperwork, and the onerous nature of financial due diligence requirements.

The report outlined several recommendations for the council:

• Refresh the Procurement Strategy 2024-2028: To create a clear and up-to-date strategy outlining the council's ambitions for procurement and supplier management.
• Create a Business Directory: To develop a comprehensive directory of local businesses and suppliers in the borough, utilising existing platforms like It's Local and promoting B2B activity.
• Promote Council Contract Opportunities: To review and improve the process for promoting contracts under the UK threshold (£179,000 for goods and services, £4.2 million for works), potentially through a dedicated procurement webpage and the monthly business newsletter. This may involve changes to Contract Standing Orders.
• Promote Supplier Readiness Programmes: To actively promote programmes that upskill businesses in tendering, such as the UK Shared Prosperity Funded project 'Get Ready to Supply', and to develop workshops on completing tender documentation and meeting contracting requirements.
• Establish an Annual 'Meet the Buyer' Event: To facilitate an event promoting supply chain opportunities across council and anchor institution contracts, providing an opportunity for local businesses to understand council requirements and encourage participation in supply chains.
• Develop a New Social Value Policy and Guidance: To create a bespoke policy outlining the council's ambitions for maximising social value through its purchasing power, along with guidance for contract managers on using the Social Value Portal for evaluation and monitoring.
• Develop a Training Programme for Commissioners and Contract Managers: To roll out training on promoting contracts to local businesses, maximising social value, and robust contract monitoring.
• Create a Robust Monitoring and Reporting System: To establish a framework for reporting on the impact of work to maximise social value and improve access to contracts for local businesses.

The report also detailed the context of strategic procurement in Redbridge, governed by the Public Contract Regulations 2015 and local Contract Standing Orders. It explained the role of social value, mandated to a 10% weighting in tender evaluations, and the council's adoption of a new process for evaluating and monitoring social value for contracts above the UK Threshold. The report included a list of Redbridge's Themes and Output Measures (TOMs) for social value, covering areas such as jobs, growth, community, and environment.

Update from Overview and Scrutiny Committee

The Chair was scheduled to provide a verbal update on items considered at the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 19 February 2024.

Actions from Previous Meetings

An update was to be provided on actions from previous meetings that were rated as Amber or Red. The report pack indicated that an action to conduct a skills audit of Committee Members, initially rated Amber, was complete from the Strategy and Resources Policy Development Committee's perspective. Another action regarding the provision of accurate data on SMEs in Redbridge was rated Red, with an update pending. Similarly, information on premises available for arts and creative businesses was also rated Red.

The meeting was scheduled to take place on Tuesday, 20 February 2024, at 7:15 p.m. in Committee Room 2, 1st Floor, Town Hall, High Road, Ilford, Essex IG1 1DD. The public and press were permitted to report on the meeting using electronic media tools.