19 August 2022 
Ashley Shelbrooke, HEPA and Project Specialist
Welcome to the August 2022 HEPA Digest!
HEPA represents the sector on the Cabinet Office’s Transforming Public Procurement working group. The central team are keen to hear from members via a survey to inform the development of their programme, guide implementation of the new reforms when they come into force and to help measure the impact of their work over time. If your institution is affected by the reforms and you want to have your say then you can complete the survey here, but be quick as today (19/08) is the last day the survey is open!
Bevan Brittan have introduced a “byte” series to help members understand key aspects of the Procurement Bill. The first byte covers understanding the notices, and you can read it here. The comprehensive piece covers what information should be included in each notice from the planning stage to tender & award stage to contract & implementation stage, as well as publication requirements.
Mills & Reeve have produced a handy phrasebook to accompany the progress of the Procurement Bill through the Lords. The phrasebook is a useful reference and you can download your copy here, alongside a useful briefing paper providing Mills & Reeve’s view of the first draft of the Bill which you can read here.
We are planning a time to talk exclusively for HEPA members with Shakespeare Martineau to take place when colleagues have returned from their summer holidays. Please do let me know what topics you would like this session to cover and any specific questions you have!
Members in England, Scotland and Wales are invited to complete a short survey about the inclusion of social and equality considerations in public procurement. Please do take the time to fill in the survey – it is a good opportunity for our sector to share the fantastic work that we are doing in this space, and, crucially, to learn from other sectors such as Local Government and Housing.
The researchers are also intending to produce guidance in the form of a toolkit on how to effectively incorporate social and equality aims in procurement, which I believe will be a valuable tool for members. More information about the Buying Social Justice project can be found here.
Following on from the interesting discussion on overseas agents / contracts on the discussion board, we are pleased to host a round-table to discuss approaches to this topic within institutions and share best practise. Two sessions will take place to allow as many members to attend as possible. Each session has the same aim and agenda:
Following on from the Travel Booking Process round-table, colleagues have very helpfully and kindly shared resources relating to policy and exceptions:
My notes from the round-table are also available here.
We were pleased to have been joined by Unite and OTG for two time to talk sessions exploring tail spend. Recordings of these sessions are now available for you to watch at a time convenient to you:
Booking is now open for our free of charge Tech Week which takes place online during the week of 3rd to 7th October 2022. Sign up here to secure your place for the event, where you can join procurement focused sessions ranging from working out your carbon digital footprint to procurement intelligence. The full programme is here, and should you have any questions then please do not hesitate to get in touch.
You can now catch up on the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Summit 22: the aim of the event was to demonstrate how we can move from ‘hope’ to ‘how’ with a regenerative circular economy. In case you missed the event you can catch up on all of the sessions on the Ellen MacArthur Foundation YouTube here.
Warp It have released a fascinating case study detailing how the University of Cambridge have achieved £418k in financial savings over six years by reusing assets. In addition to the financial savings, 46.2 tonnes of waste has been diverted resulting in a reduction of 227 tonnes of carbon. You can read the case study here.
Don’t forget that there is still time to attend the final Government Commercial Function Masterclass of the summer covering supply market engagement and early market analysis, and CIFAS webinar next month addressing what impact is the insider threat having on the public sector?
