What are you looking for?

13 March 2023 | Comment | Article by Emily Powell

The SPPP Bill: why is there a need for primary legislation?


Significant procurement reform is set for 2023, with the introduction of the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Bill (the SPPP Bill). We consider why the Welsh Government has chosen to introduce legislation in relation to social partnerships and socially responsible public procurement as opposed to following a non-statutory approach.

This question has been posed to the Deputy Minister of Social Partnership, Hannah Blythyn as well as Nisreen Mansour from the Wales Trades Union Congress. It seems that the fundamental reasons to introduce primary legislation include:

  1. To complement existing legislation, specifically the Well-Being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, with an aim to improve the economic, environmental, social and cultural well-being of Wales.
  2. To strengthen the effectiveness of social partnership arrangements in Wales and embed the principle of social partnership (i.e. working with shared values and a common purpose) in the operation of public bodies. For example, placing new duties on public bodies to engage with trade unions.
  3. To help ensure accountability and that good practice is widespread.
  4. To deliver a more consistent and coherent approach as without legislation, it is widely believed that it would be difficult to establish a social partnership system and council.

Overall, existing social partnership arrangements in Wales have developed organically and voluntarily. They are not currently supported by a common framework. The Welsh Government considers that unless the social partnership approach has a statutory underpinning, there are limitations on improving how public service delivery and well-being can be coordinated. It seems that the aim of implementing legislation is to therefore provide a clearer purpose to achieve maximum impact of social partnership arrangements in Wales.

Our dedicated procurement reform page and webinar series has guidance for contracting authorities and relevant suppliers on:

  • Understanding the changes in the law
  • What you need to know in order to be ready for the changes
  • how to procure effectively and lawfully once the changes are enacted and implemented.
find out more

Author bio

Emily Powell

Partner

Emily is a partner in the Corporate and Commercial team. Emily specialises in commercial law, public procurement and subsidy control. Emily has advised housing associations on their procurement processes and can provide a complete legal service for all procurement and project requirements. Emily also hosts a forum for ‘heads of’ procurement working within the social housing sector.

Disclaimer: The information on the Hugh James website is for general information only and reflects the position at the date of publication. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be treated as such. If you would like to ensure the commentary reflects current legislation, case law or best practice, please contact the blog author.

 

Next steps

We’re here to get things moving. Drop a message to one of our experts and we’ll get straight back to you.

Call us: 033 3016 2222

Message us