Agenda item

In November 2020 the National TOMs Framework for Wales was launched on behalf of the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA), supported by the National Social Value Taskforce Wales.

The TOMs for social value was a measurement framework and practical toolkit that allowed for an unlocking of social value through its integration into procurement and project management across the whole Council.

The Welsh TOMs framework had been designed around seven themes (the seven wellbeing goals of the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act 2015), 35 Outcomes and 93 Measures:

Themes – The overarching strategic themes that an organisation is looking to pursue,

Outcomes – The objectives or goals that an organisation is looking to achieve that will contribute to the themes,

Measures – The measures that can be used to assess whether these Outcomes have been achieved.

For the TOMs Framework, these were action based and represented activities that a supplier, service provider and contractor could complete to support a particular desired outcome.

The framework consisted of a set of 93 Measures. A range of these measures were selected, according to the nature of the procurement, to be included in a Council’s tender process, in order for tendering suppliers to respond against these measures and inform the Council how it could add this social value to the contract. The tenderer’s response was then scored, and the evaluation of this social value element was then factored into the full evaluation of their tender bid.

The principal benefits of this TOMs framework were associated with a consistent reporting standard for Social Value. It therefore:

·        provided a consistent approach to measuring and reporting Social Value,

·        was flexible, adaptable and bespoke which was fundamental in order to demonstrate that the methodology can succeed,

·        allowed for continuous improvement,

·        provided a robust, transparent and defensible solution for assessing and awarding tenders,

·        allowed organisations to compare their own performance by sector and industry benchmarks and understand what good looks like,

·        was based on non-financial performance but allow monetary value to be reported, and

·        reduced the uncertainty surrounding Social Value measurement for businesses, allowing them to make informed decisions based on robust quantitative assessments and hence embed social value into their corporate strategies.

It was the intention that the Welsh National TOMs Framework be adopted as an over-arching framework and toolkit to be used in an appropriate and proportionate manner within procurement activity, initially for contracts above £75,000 in value. This value was similar to other local authorities and was matched to our Contract Standing Orders open tendering procedure, applicable to the same £75k value.

The TOMs Framework was an effective and efficient mechanism in measuring, recording and monitoring Social Value and Community Benefits.

Comments of Cabinet Members:

§  Councillor Davies welcomed the adoption of the TOMs Framework which tied in the Future Wellbeing Generation Act, which would enable the Council to add social value to the climate change.  A portable for businesses was also available to help local businesses.

§  Councillor Mayer mentioned the different parameters were currently overlapping and that this framework would bring together the different strands in order that people could access information in one place.

§  Councillor Hughes mentioned this was a great move forward for the Council and also considered the socio-economic aspect, the Welsh language and climate change for Newport City Council.

Decision:

That Cabinet approved the adoption of the Welsh National TOMs as the overarching framework for measuring social value delivery through Commissioning, Procurement and Contract Management.