procurement strategy...3. procurement strategy 2019-2021 this strategy has been developed using five...

PROCUREMENT STRATEGY2019-2021

1. INTRODUCTION 1

• About Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) 1

2. SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT AND SFRS STRATEGIC CONTEXT 2

• Scottish economic framework 2

• Scotland’s national outcomes 3

• Fire framework 3

• Strategic plan 3

• Public sector procurement in Scotland 4

• Scottish Model of Procurement 4

• Best Value 5

• Brexit 5

3. PROCUREMENT STRATEGY 2019-2021 7

• Direction setting 7

• Value for money and efficiency 8

• Enhancing capability 8

• Sustainability 9

• Governance and risk 11

4. DELIVERING THE STRATEGY 12

• Action plan for 2019-2021 12

APPENDIX 1 - Performance Measures 13

CONTENTS

1 Scottish Fire and Rescue Service

1. INTRODUCTION

ABOUT THE SCOTTISH FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) is the world’s fourth largest fire and rescue service committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of the people of Scotland. We are a national organisation delivering our front-line services locally and are funded by Scottish Government. We respond to many different emergency incidents including fire, road traffic collisions, rope rescue, water rescue, hazardous materials and flooding as well as assisting our partner agencies to keep our communities safe.

Our aspiration is that by working together for a safer Scotland, we can help reduce the incidence of fire and continue to play a key role in ensuring the safety and wellbeing of the people of Scotland.

2Procurement Strategy 2019 - 2021

2. SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT AND SFRS STRATEGIC CONTEXT

Procurement activity follows a legislative framework, but also reflects the ambition of Scottish Government that each public sector organisation in Scotland plays its part in driving economic growth through competitiveness, whilst reducing inequalities. This is illustrated in the Scottish Economic Framework below:

SCOTLAND’S ECONOMIC FRAMEWORKScotland’s Economic Framework, Scottish Government, as part of Scotland’s Economic Strategy, March 2015

As a national public body we understand the contribution the Service can make to the economy through procuring the £63 million of goods, works and services we use each year, and also in supporting the wider achievement of Scotland’s National Outcomes, in particular economic activity and sustainability;

NATIONAL PERFORMANCE FRAMEWORK, SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT

PURPOSE

Increasing growth and

tackling inequality

are mutually supportive

Investment Innovation Inclusive growth Internationalism

TACKLING INEQUALITYCOMPETITIVENESS


There are 11 National Outcomes stated within the new National Performance Framework. While SFRS’s key contribution is to the Outcome “We live in communities that are inclusive, empowered, resilient and safe”, through our procurement activity and strategy we also contribute to;

• “We have a globally competitive, entrepreneurial, inclusive and sustainable economy”

• “We have thriving and innovative businesses, with quality jobs and fair work for everyone”

• “We tackle poverty by sharing opportunities, wealth and power more equally”

As well as considering National Outcomes it is important to align our procurement activity with our overall plans for the Service which are reflected in the Fire and Rescue Framework and the response by SFRS in 2016 -19 Strategic Plan.

FIRE AND RESCUE FRAMEWORKThe Fire & Rescue Framework for Scotland 2016 sets out the strategic priorities for SFRS, representing the Scottish Government’s ambition for a modern, skilled and dynamic fire and rescue service. The Framework makes clear that SFRS should pursue its purpose by adopting new ways of working and embracing new technologies that help keep firefighters and communities safe.

STRATEGIC PLANThe SFRS Strategic Plan 2016-2019 was developed in response to the revised Framework. The Strategic Plan identifies six key Strategic Priorities being;

• Improved local outcomes, • National and community resilience, • Modernising response,• Workforce development,

• Governance and social responsibility,• Transformation.

In order to achieve our Strategic Priorities we have set a number of key strategic objectives which are summarised as;

• We will work in collaboration with our partners and communities in a flexible and responsive manner to ensure our collective resources jointly tackle issues related to inequality and protect those at greatest risk

• We will ensure that the safety and wellbeing of our communities is improved by working with them to build their knowledge and capacity, and providing targeted education and awareness campaigns using innovative technologies and new media platforms

• We will develop robust evaluation methods and resources to determine our impact on local outcomes and contribution to social value

• We will further develop our approach to better regulation by working closely with dutyholders to ensure the built environment is safe from fire

SFRS’s procurement activity is aimed at supporting the achievement of these strategic priorities and objectives, for example;

• the opportunities through service transformation to modernise our response by procuring new fleet such as Rapid Response Units,

• providing defibrillators to enable our crews to support Scotland’s Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest Strategy,

• developing IT systems that support our workforce development,

• continuing to invest in and maintain our fire stations, fire appliances and other vehicles, and over a million pieces of specialist equipment,


• providing smoke alarms for fire prevention activities,

• supporting the delivery of training programmes that maintain firefighter’s skills and competency,

• providing the personal protective equipment that keeps our fire fighters safe.

How we procure these goods, works and services is regulated by public sector procurement legislation.

PUBLIC SECTOR PROCUREMENT IN SCOTLANDPublic sector procurement in Scotland is governed by the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU); EU Procurement Directive 2014/24; the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015; the new Procurement (Scotland) Regulations 2016, and also the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014.

SCOTTISH MODEL OF PROCUREMENT Looking beyond the legislation, the Scottish Model of Procurement, devised by the Scottish Government for use throughout the public sector, is seen as a key driver in Scotland’s economic recovery. It is a simple concept that considers outcomes not outputs, with a view to using the power of public spend to deliver genuine public value. It urges public sector purchasing authorities not to look at simply cost and quality when making purchasing decisions. Instead, it requires authorities to also consider sustainability and the benefits not only to the organisation itself but also to the economic, social or environmental wellbeing of the authority’s area.

The Value for Money triangle sums up the Scottish Model of Procurement;

SCOTTISH MODEL OF PROCUREMENT

Improving supplier access to

public contracts

Maximising effiency and

collaboration

Embedding sustainability

in all we do

Delivering savings and

benefits

CostQuality

Sustainability

SCOTTISH MODEL OF PROCUREMENT


In essence, the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act gives effect to the sustainability elements of the Scottish Model of Procurement which aims to leverage the power of the £11 billion per annum of public expenditure managed via procurement activities to deliver genuine public value beyond simply cost and quality. The aspiration is that procurement decisions are at the heart of Scotland’s economic recovery and sustainable development.

BEST VALUEPublic Sector organisations have a duty under the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000 to ensure best value, as highlighted in the Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM). Best value is described as:

• To make arrangements to secure continuous improvement in performance whilst maintaining an appropriate balance between quality and cost; and in making those arrangements and securing that balance

• To have regard to economy, efficiency, effectiveness, the equal opportunities requirements, and to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development.

This procurement strategy contributes to achieving best value by considering cost, quality and sustainability as part of our procurement activity.

BREXITThis strategy is also set in a period where there is increasing uncertainty over the UK’s future relationship with the European Union (EU) and the form of any future trade agreement under Brexit. It is anticipated that post March 2019 the position will be clearer and if required the impact on this strategy will be reviewed.


3. PROCUREMENT STRATEGY 2019-2021

This strategy has been developed using five key themes; Direction Setting, Value for Money, Enhancing Capacity, Sustainability, and Governance and Risk. These themes are illustrated below and link to the elements of this strategy.

PROCUREMENT FRAMEWORK

DIRECTION SETTINGThis procurement strategy reflects best practice and wider ambitions of Scottish Government and has been approved by the Board of SFRS.

The delivery of this strategy will assist SFRS in ensuring that its procurement activity is undertaken in an efficient and customer focused approach which adds value and ensures compliance with its legislative duties and contributes to effective service delivery.

All SFRS procurement activity will be undertaken in compliance with the Standing Orders for

PROCUREMENTSTRATEGY

Category Management

Strategic Sourcing

Supplier and Contract

Management

CollaborativeSourcing

Organisation and Resources

Partnering and

CollaborationPeople Developmentand Capability

Process and Controls

Use ofTechnology

Information andPerformance Management

GOVERNANCE AND RISK

DIR

ECTI

ON

SETT

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VA

LUE

FOR

M

ON

EY A

ND

EF

FIC

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ENH

AN

CIN

GC

APA

CIT

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SUST

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AB

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the Regulation of Contracts and associated procurement governance framework, thereby ensuring compliance with the legislation and statutory guidance.

Our procurement activity will be managed through an agreed three-year work plan. All procurement projects greater than £50,000 require an agreed commodity strategy that confirms the desired outcome in terms of Cost/Quality and Sustainability. Each project is managed by the procurement team and recorded on the Service’s project management system. Project progress will be reported to the Corporate Procurement Steering Group (CPSG) and exceptions to the plan will be highlighted.

The senior managers of CPSG will oversee our procurement activities and the procurement team will raise awareness of procurement matters and legislative change.


Our procurement processes require engagement with key stakeholders through the User Intelligence Group (UIG) process. We will expand this to include direct feedback from end users as part of the specification of requirement and throughout the UIG process. Our procurement team will engage with their “customers” through quarterly updates, encouraging feedback and listening to how the Service’s needs can best be met. Our commodity strategies will also reflect the need for end user involvement and consultation with wider groups including, third sector, SMEs, Supported Businesses and representative bodies where appropriate.

We will undertake early market engagement, promote innovation and the use of SMEs, Supported Businesses and Third Sector organisations. In addition, we are committed to considering sustainability in our procurement activity including community benefits.

VALUE FOR MONEY AND EFFICIENCY

Category managementWe will continue to strengthen our category management approach with greater emphasis on deeper market research and innovation as pre-procurement activities that support our strategic sourcing for the three-year workplan. Supplier events including the use of the Supplier Development Programme will be undertaken to develop the marketplace and understand market changes.

Strategic sourcingSFRS sources goods and services from both large organisations that support many customers such as information technology, to smaller more niche fire related suppliers that operate across Europe and globally. Innovation in procurement activity can

play an important role in market development and present opportunities for job creation. SFRS notes the importance of innovation in the procurement process and we will consider the use of the procurement route “EU Innovation Partnership” where relevant, to support the creation of new goods, services and technologies. We will operate a blended approach to our sourcing using, where appropriate, frameworks that have been critically assessed to ensure they meet best value and sustainability considerations. We will also develop our own contracts that encourage, innovation, greater competition and wider participation in particular from SMEs, Third Sector and Supported Businesses. This change of emphasis will be to encourage a more sustainable marketplace that can achieve better value for money for the Service.

Collaborative sourcingWe will work with Scottish Government, and other public sector organisations in Scotland to identify opportunities to collaborate on specific procurement projects to secure additional benefits. In addition, we will foster deeper relationships with the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), and other purchasing consortia, working collaboratively to develop and maintain a competitive marketplace for fire specific goods and services. For works contracts we will consider the use of SCAPE and Scottish Futures Trust Hub where this delivers wider community benefits.

Contract managementThe contracts register will be used as an input to develop the three-year workplan, recognising contract expiry dates and permitted extensions. We will proactively work with contracted suppliers to ensure they deliver the value intended and where possible seek additional value. SFRS has a defined contract management policy which is used to adopt a proportionate and tailored approach to contract management for suppliers. For strategic suppliers a balanced scorecard

https://www.scapegroup.co.uk/scotland

https://www.scottishfuturestrust.org.uk/page/hub


approach is adopted which measures overall supplier performance in terms of Cost, Quality and Sustainability. Achievement of community benefits or wider sustainability elements are measured where these have been included in contractual requirements. We will report performance measures for all strategic contracts and performance to CPSG.

Supplier managementWe will proactively reduce our overall supplier base by aggregating spend at a national level and by using procurement cards for adhoc, low value spend. Non-current suppliers will be made inactive on our systems as part of regular data cleansing. Suppliers will be managed to contractual terms, with all proposed price increases or variations to contract requiring a written justification and validation against the original contract.

We will commit to paying invoices within 30 days of receipt of a valid invoice. Prompt payment clauses requiring a 30-day payment term are embedded within SFRS terms and conditions of contract and we will monitor, through contract management methodology, that suppliers apply the same terms and conditions with their sub-contractors who are assisting in the delivery and support of the SFRS contract.

ENHANCING CAPABILITY

Organisation and resourceProcurement resource will be organised on a category management basis covering ICT, Fleet, PPE and Equipment and Corporate. All day to day procurement activity is managed by Category Leads and where appropriate guidance sought from the Procurement Manager. Works projects are undertaken by suitably qualified personnel within the Property team.

We will resource procurement activity using suitably qualified and experienced professional procurement personnel. These resources will be either internal to SFRS, in collaboration with other public sector organisations and/or sourced using wider partnerships including Crown Commercial Services (CCS). Using a combination of permanent staff and external resources provides an opportunity to flex capacity to meet SFRS needs within agreed timelines.

Partnering and collaboration We will seek opportunities to partner and collaborate with other organisations where this gives advantage to meeting SFRS needs or wider public sector objectives. This will include NFCC and CCS.

People development and capabilityWe will support and use the Scottish Government’s training initiatives as an efficient and effective basis for delivery high quality training to our procurement team as part of the wider Scottish Government family.

We will develop an overall training programme for all SFRS employees that are regularly involved in procurement activities using, where appropriate, external providers with the necessary specialist skills.

As part of SFRS’s commitment to delivering opportunities for modern apprenticeships, we will look to develop a modern apprenticeship scheme for school leavers who wish to follow a career path into procurement.

We will invest in our people and develop a career pathway for our procurement team by providing relevant public sector procurement work experience and by enable progression through recognised professional qualification - Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS),


and ensuring our organisational structure best supports career development and job satisfaction, pursuing SFRS’s aim of being an employer of choice.

Use of technologySFRS uses an integrated system for Procurement and Finance. This embeds our internal controls but also means we can easily access financial information for procurement purposes. We will seek to leverage our investment by introducing commodity coding that will enable the analysis of spend by commodity type. In addition we will use the Spikes Cavell information hub (observatory) to analyse our spend in greater detail. We will seek to extend our use of electronic catalogues, purchase orders and invoices to improve transactional efficiency. SFRS currently advertises contract opportunities above £50,000 via Public Contracts Scotland. We will look to implement Public Contracts Scotland Tender (PCS-T), an electronic tendering solution, to enable greater efficiency for SFRS and make it easier for suppliers to engage in the tendering process.

SUSTAINABILITY

Commitment to sustainabilityWe will ensure consideration of wider local economic and social issues that may assist in improving the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of the communities that we serve.

SFRS has embedded sustainable tools within its procurement processes. We will continue with our progress on the Scottish Government’s Flexible Framework to achieve the highest level of maturity in sustainability at the end of this strategy period.

Supported BusinessesWe will seek further opportunities to add to the three current contracts in place with supported businesses. We will actively encourage supported businesses and will seek to identify opportunities to work with organisation’s through the British Association for Supported Employment (BASE).

Each of our commodity strategies will actively consider whether the goods or service could be supplied by a supported business, or whether a supplier could use a supported business to deliver an element of the contract.

Small and medium sized organisationsWe will encourage SME, Third Sector and Supported Businesses and increase participation through a targeted supplier development programme in relevant procurement activity.

Community BenefitsWe will continue to seek community benefits from relevant contracts over £1million. In addition, where appropriate we will encourage suppliers to offer proportionate community benefits for all procurements greater than £50,000.

Fair work practices and Living WageAs a Living Wage employer accredited by the Scottish Living Foundation.

https://scottishlivingwage.org/


SFRS is committed to encouraging the wider adoption of the Scottish Living Wage by suppliers. We will continue to ensure that Fair Work Practices are included where applicable as part of the tendering process for relevant contracts.

Procuring Fairly and ethically traded goods and servicesSFRS supports Fair Trade initiatives and is a member of the Scottish Fair Trade Forum. We will promote the use of fair trade (or equivalent) products across the service and raise awareness of fair trade amongst employees. We will, to the extent permitted by EU procurement legislation, account for Fair Trade and similar initiatives in relevant procurement activity.

Contracts involving food to improve health and well beingSFRS is committed to ensuring consideration of the highest level of animal welfare in relevant procurement activity and will follow relevant legislation and guidance to make sure that this occurs. We will take account of nutritional quality, health and wellbeing, minimising environmental impact such as packaging and sourcing when undertaking relevant procurement activity.

In addition, we will promote the health, wellbeing and education of communities in relevant procurement activity.

Climate change and environmental impactsSFRS understands the impact of climate change on our environment and Scottish Government’s target to reduce greenhouse gases by 80% by 2050 and 42% by 2020 under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009. SFRS recognises the potential environmental impact of the delivery

of its service on Scotland’s ecosystem and the influence that this may have on the surrounding environment. In August 2017, SFRS published an Environmental Policy Statement and Objectives to reduce environmental impacts. This procurement strategy is linked to the commitment given under the environmental policy and objectives. For each procurement exercise we consider opportunities to minimise the environmental impacts as part of the commodity strategy development. We will continue to embed environmental considerations as part of each commodity strategy going forward.

Equality and DiversityAs a responsible employer, SFRS is committed to promoting equal opportunities to all SFRS employees and suppliers alike. Consideration of equal opportunities is fully integrated within our procurement practices and we are committed to the values and ethos of the Equality Act 2010. We will continue to lead in considering equality and diversity as part of our procurement activity.

Health and SafetySFRS is committed to ensuring compliance with Health and Safety legislation and in doing so endeavours to provide safe places and safe systems of work. We will proactively involve our Health and Safety team in our procurement activity, with particular focus on identifying preventative measures based on their experience and organisational learning from previous health and safety incidents. We will ensure that Directorates consider relevant Health and Safety matters when undertaking procurement activity.We will ensure relevant Health and Safety criteria are included within the evaluation for all relevant and appropriate contracts.

https://www.firescotland.gov.uk/media/1182437/environmental_policy_and_objectives.pdf


GOVERNANCE AND RISKWe will update our governance and procurement procedures in line with legislative changes. We are aware of the potential risks around Brexit and will revise our procedures and processes in line with future post Brexit arrangements and any future trade agreement with the EU.

We will adopt our standard risk management processes as part of undertaking regulated procurement activity.

Procurement Strategy 2019 - 2021 12

4. DELIVERING THE STRATEGY

ACTION PLAN FOR 2019-2021

We will:

• Fully resource to the procurement structure to deliver procurement activity in accordance with this strategy

• Continue to progress strategy actions to embed into procurement activity

• Complete the actions as identified in the current Procurement and Commercial Improvement Plan (PCIP) action plan and those following our 2019 assessment.

• Manage performance through a range of performance measures as per appendix 1

• Track cashable and non-cashable benefits delivered

• Review this strategy on an annual basis and report progress in our annual procurement report.


APPENDIX 1

PERFORMANCE MEASURESThe following best practice performance measures will be reported to the Corporate Procurement Steering Group and Scottish Government on an annual basis;

Performance Measure

1. Total Savings Achieved Year on Year

2. Customer Satisfaction Survey

3. Supplier Satisfaction Survey

4. Percentage procurement spend that is channelled through a collaborative contract

5. Percentage Spend with contracted suppliers (on contract)

6. Total spend with SMEs

7(a) Percentage of procurement officers who hold the professional procurement qualification, Member of Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply ( MCIPS)

7(b) Percentage of procurement officers with an appropriate procurement qualification

7(c) Percentage of procurement spend actively influenced by a procurement professionals

8. Percentage procurement staff undertaking formal training

9. Percentage of purchase orders/ to total number of (in scope) invoices

10. Number of electronic invoices/total number of (in scope) invoices

11. Number of supported business contracts

12. Number of procurement milestones achieved during period against plan

13. Number of live trade suppliers on the system

Version 1.0 April 2019

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procurement strategy...3. procurement strategy 2019-2021 this strategy has been developed using five...

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