Procurement policy

We have created our own procurement policy, which should be referred to by all parties wishing to enter the tender process

Solihull’s procurement policy

Working in accordance with the Local Government Association’s national procurement strategy, we have created our own procurement strategy which should be referred to by all parties wishing to enter the tender process.

Social value policy

The Public Services (social value) Act 2012 does not define what is meant by “social value”. Therefore the Council has adopted the definition of social value as set out by the sustainable procurement taskforce. Social value is defined as:

“A process whereby organisations meet their needs for goods, services and works and utilities in a way that achieves value for money on a whole life basis in terms of generating benefits not only to the organisation, but also to society and the economy, whilst minimising damage to the environment.”

To ensure that the services we commission can secure wider social, economic and environmental benefits, we include social value as part of our procurement process.

We believe that if a supplier has the opportunity to secure business in Solihull, then they also have a responsibility to do their bit for the borough. If they can demonstrate that they not only deliver efficiency, but also added social value, for example, by offering local economic opportunities or green solutions, then this will be recognised and evaluated as part of our contract award criteria.

Social value is a way of thinking about how scarce resources are allocated and used. It involves looking beyond the price of each individual contract and looking at what the collective benefit to a community is when a public body chooses to award a contract. Social value asks the question: "If £1 is spent on the delivery of services, can that same £1 be used, to also produce a wider benefit to the community?"

The key benefits of social value are:

  • Better Value for money delivering more for the public pound by requiring your suppliers to do more than ‘just’ deliver the core services
  • Increases local spend by rewarding organisations that are local or have a local supply chain, especially SMEs and VCSEs
  • Increases opportunities for disadvantaged people and promotes social mobility
  • Promotes a responsible supply chain by requiring businesses to compete
  • Leads to a cleaner, greener city
  • Builds stronger more resilient communities
  • Leads to greater innovation and long term thinking

Solihull Council’s updated Social Value Policy was approved by Cabinet in October 2023. The purpose of this policy is to formally embed social value into all procurement processes followed by the Council, in line with the priorities in the Council Plan.

The social value policy asks contractors to consider where and how their activities can have a social impact.

The Council Plan update shows the vision, purpose and ambition for Solihull, which will be achieved through five priorities.

Modern slavery statement

Solihull is keen to be assured that there is no modern slavery in its supply chain when tendering.

Our Terms and Conditions of contract have been updated to include relevant modern slavery clauses and bidders are asked to confirm that they proactively manage their supply chains to remove modern slavery, as part of the selection process.

You can view the Solihull Council Modern Slavery Statement here.

Other policies impacting on procurement