During our commercial procurement process, we're committed to engaging with suppliers to procure and commission work, services and supplies, and to develop effective procurement solutions that deliver:
- quality, value-for-money goods and services
- positive economic, social and environmental outcomes
To enable us to deliver on these commitments, we have policies, strategies and plans built into our decision-making and procurement processes.
Find out more about:
- our commitment to responsible procurement
- our equalities charter
- the Disability Confident scheme
- being a Living Wage organisation
- being a One Planet Council
- our Social Value Policy
- Local Government Transparency Code
- employment, skills and apprenticeships opportunities
- supporting local businesses
- public sector HMRC implications
Our commitment to responsible procurement
We believe that responsible procurement is the purchase of goods, works and services in a socially, economically and environmentally responsible way, that delivers value-for-money and benefits us, the people of York, and wider society.
Through responsible procurement, we can play an important role in:
- reducing environmental impacts
- supporting the local economy
- providing employment and training opportunities
- acting sustainably through the works, supplies and services we procure
As part of this process, we ask our suppliers to demonstrate that they're:
- following good environmental practices
- offering opportunities for employment and training
- supporting the local economy
- considering 'social value'
Throughout the procurement life cycle, we engage with key stakeholders to:
- ensure our procurement properly reflects the needs of our customers
- take account of our plans and strategies
Our procurement process for minor building works contracts worth between £25k and £100k requires any business in this category to be a verified Constructionline Gold (Level 3) member in order to be an Approved Supplier.
Our main aims in doing this are to:
- ensure our supply chain meets our core requirements and are assessed to the same standard
- improve the efficiency of our Selection Questionnaire processes
Our equalities charter
Our Equalities Charter is an agreement between us and the organisations we hold contracts with.
The Charter is a statement about how we, and our suppliers, will promote equality when we procure goods, services or works; it's a set of principles that both sides agree to work to.
Any public, private or voluntary sector organisation can use the principles of the Equalities Charter. By doing so, they're making a commitment to actively promote the values of equality and diversity, and to take action to improve their working practices if necessary.
Disability confident scheme
The Disability Confident scheme aims to help you successfully employ and retain disabled people and those with health conditions. Being Disability Confident is a unique opportunity to lead the way in your community, and you might just discover someone in your business you couldn’t do without.
It was developed by employers and disabled people’s representatives to make it rigorous but easily accessible – particularly for smaller businesses.
The scheme is voluntary and access to the guidance, self-assessments and resources is completely free.
As a Disability Confident Employer (Level 2) we encourage all our suppliers to join in implementing and demonstrating their commitment to the principles of being Disability Confident.
A Living Wage organisation
We're committed to promoting the living wage rate as defined by the Living Wage Foundation through the contracts and agreements we award.
One Planet Council
We've established a sustainability framework known as 'One Planet Council' to carefully consider the social, economic and environmental implications of the procurement decisions we make.
Social Value Policy
Social value is a way of thinking about how resources are allocated and looking beyond the cost of a contract to the collective benefits the contract will deliver to the wider community.
Our Social Value Policy sets out our commitment to embedding social value into our procurement and commissioning processes, creating a supply chain that helps us work towards our strategic priorities.
Employment, skills and apprenticeships opportunities
We promote skills, training and apprenticeships through the use of Skills Plans.
We encourage our suppliers to engage in the same commitment to employment and skills training through the procurement process.
Local Government Transparency Code
The Local Government Transparency Code promotes democratic accountability and makes it easier for local people to contribute to the local decision-making process.
It sets out standards for the minimum data that local authorities should be publishing, the frequency with which it should be published and how it should be published.
See York Open Data for our Local Government Transparency Code data.
Supporting local businesses
We welcome all types and sizes of supplier to bid for our tenders and quotation opportunities published on the YORtender online portal.
We encourage local businesses and sole traders to bid by offering:
- 30-day payment terms as standard
- 10-day payment terms for sole traders (based in York)
There are no exceptions to these terms unless otherwise stated in an existing contract.
Public sector HMRC implications
You may need to provide additional information, relating to public sector workers, due to HMRC taxation regulations which came into effect in April 2017.
'Off payroll' sole traders in the public sector are now liable for tax and NI deductions to be made at source as if they were employees.
As we're the organisation receiving the services, we're responsible for determining whether the worker should be subject to these deductions, depending on the work they're carrying out.
See further information about checking employment status for tax purposes.