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Welcome to the NAG and SOPO newsletter for 24 April 2020. Feel free to circulate to your colleagues.
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Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Dwindling supplies of vital life-saving personal protective equipment for frontline care workers will run out within days amid the delayed roll-out of the Government’s new supply website, the LGA has warned today.
The Government’s “Clipper” system intends to provide a central hub for the supply and distribution of PPE. However, it is yet to be fully up and running following a delay in going live and could take at least another three weeks before it gets up to speed.
The National Advisory Group for Procurement (NAG) will be hosting a dedicated PPE NAG meeting in the coming days – please feed your PPE supply chain issues into your regional NAG leads to form the debate or contact productivity@local.gov.uk
Procurement Policy Note 02/20 FAQs
To supplement the recent Procurement Policy Notes (PPN 01/20, PPN 02/20 and PPN 03/20) please refer to the FAQ pages, which are being updated regularly, for all queries on implementation and applying them to your everyday roles.
Protecting the local government supply chain from fraud during COVID-19
In times of emergency there is a need to respond quickly but to also ensure continued vigilance against the risks of fraud, bribery and corruption from unscrupulous supplier. The LGA has worked with CIPFA to produce an accessible reminder of the continuing risks to supply chains posed by fraud and corruption, many of which are exacerbated by emergency circumstances.
The key points to remember are if it looks too good to be true it probably is; document all your decisions and don’t feel pressurised to procure anything urgently during this period. Please pass this one to your Procurement and Commissioning teams, especially those working on COVID-19 related projects.
Modern slavery in the supply chain – increased risks of labour exploitation and guidance on transparency statement reporting
The Home Office has published new guidance announcing that businesses which need to delay their modern slavery statement by up to six months as a result of the pressures surrounding COVID-19 will not be penalised, public sector organisations are asked to take this into consideration in their procurements
This guidance also highlights the importance of continuing to monitor and address modern slavery risks during this time. The disruption to global supply chains may have impacted existing risks, and the guidance includes a list of key issues and further resources for businesses and the wider public sector to consider as they adapt their approach.
As well as focusing on the health and safety of their workers, the public sector continues to have a duty to consider how fluctuations in demand and changes in the ways we procure goods at pace can lead to new or increased risks of labour exploitation.
Waste services’ resources: how councils and contractors may collaborate in response to the COVID-19 emergency
Guidance is being updated regularly by Government and the waste management industry in relation to local authorities and waste and recycling. Critical advice and guidance may be found at these sources via:
This briefing note seeks to provide further guidance for waste authorities that are experiencing difficulties in balancing waste services resources as a consequence of contracting arrangements that are coming under stress because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID-19: children’s services, education and schools
The LGA coronavirus web hub details a number of pieces of guidance from central government related to children’s services and schools, including the Department for Education. This includes but is not limited to:
- Guidance on social distancing for vulnerable people
- Guidance for coronavirus testing for frontline workers
- Financial support for education, early years and children’s social care
ASC COVID-19 knowledge hub group
Sign up to the knowledge hub group for adult social care commissioners and procurement professionals. It is a place to ask questions, share information and notable practice with others in the local government sector.
ADASS Data Collection
The LGA and ADASS continue to engage with national partners: CQC, NHSEI, and DHSC to advocate strongly the importance of local data intelligence to support good provider relationships and statutory responsibilities for local care markets.
How to access COVID-19 report on capacity tracker
Details on how to register for access to the COVID-19 Adult Social Care Tracker on LG Inform are available on the Knowledge Hub under the SITREPS folder and attached to this update. This will contain the latest data up to the end of the previous day both for Care Homes and Homecare providers.
Real time information on Care Homes is available in Capacity Tracker. Further details on how to get access to Capacity Tracker are also available on the Knowledge hub and attached to this update.
You can access the documents on K-Hub.
How to register for ASC Providers Sitreps
The adult social care provider data is sensitive and should not be shared except where essential for COVID-19 management; this is both to ensure that this is not the route through which the care users, their families or wider public first hear a care home has an issue, and also because some information might be market sensitive. Only approved users will get access to this information.
Please ask your DASS or suitable alternative to email adass.lga.covid@local.gov.uk detailing ‘Approved users for COVID-19 reports’ in the subject heading, and detailing who they would like to approve within their council for access to these reports. We will share this with Capacity Tracker.
COVID-19: good council practice
Councils are doing remarkable work to address the challenges brought by COVID-19, and we are collating examples of good practice on our website. We hope that you find this content informative and helpful to your work as you respond to this altered environment. This week’s additions include:
- Housing for vulnerable people
- Providing safe homes to people in need
- A video conferencing and messaging guide
- Addressing cyber security gaps in a heightened risk environment
- Community funding
- Supporting residents affected by domestic violence
- Mental Health Champions
- Muslim burials and rites
Is your council doing a great job responding to COVID-19 in the procurement space or otherwise? Please send your good practice examples to coronavirus.enquiries@local.gov.uk and we will look to share them on our website (by that same token, please do not include anything you would not like shared). Examples should include an outline of the work taking place and the names of any councils and partners involved.
Frequently asked questions related to COVID-19
The LGA has set up a dedicated COVID-19 FAQ page which is updated daily and has a Procurement Section. It also covers other areas so please feel free to pass on the link to colleagues across your organisations. If you have any burning COVID-19 issues, please contact: CoronaVirus.Enquiries@local.gov.uk
Events/webinars
Webinar: PPN 02/20 Q&A for Public Sector Procurement Staff
Monday 27 April 3.30pm
CCS hosted its first webinar focusing on the construction industry during the week with over 80 attendees in a lively session. The next webinar is on Monday 27 April with colleagues from the Local Government Sector, Cabinet Office, MHCLG and BEIS.
These sessions are an opportunity to submit questions to an expert panel about Procurement Policy Note 02/20 - guidance for public bodies on payment of their suppliers to ensure service continuity during and after the current COVID-19 outbreak.
Register here with the password: GCFLGA220
Social Value Portal National TOMs Covid-19 Plug-in Webinar
Monday 27 April, 2-3pm
Discussing the new COVID-19 TOMs and they are best utilised during the crisis.
Register here
Local Government Tech Briefing: procurement & COVID-19 virtual briefing
Thursday 30 April, 10-11am (MS Teams)
During this unprecedented time for both local government and the tech industry we are pleased to be hosting a virtual briefing for techUK members to better understand the procurement implications during COVID-19, as well as the future role of suppliers in supporting councils now and in the future.
Book your place
Free contract management e-learning modules
For those of you not involved in front line service delivery and currently being asked to work from home, you might now find some time for some continuing professional development. We negotiated a number of places on the Government Commercial Function’s Building contract and supplier management capability across government contract management e-learning modules. The foundation course aims to help contract managers achieve better outcomes and value for money through informed and timelier contract management decision-making. Over 1,000 council officers have enrolled on the course with 500 alone signing up in the latest cohort.
Please get in touch if you or your colleagues are interested to join them, by emailing productivity@local.gov.uk
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