Argyll and Bute Council Community Benefits note
Argyll and Bute Council · 13 May 2025
Back to Helensburgh and Lomond Area Community Planning Group — 13 May 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Argyll and Bute Council 1. Sustainable Procurement and Community Benefits The previous Procurement Strategy created a community benefit wish list on the council’s website. More information can be found on this page Community Benefits | Argyll and Bute Council, and an extract is below with a link to the list and information on how to submit your requests: A ‘Community Benefit’ scheme has been running since September 2020, which allows community groups to request help in achieving their goals, or ‘fulfilling their wishes’. This can include things like sponsoring a local sports team, donations of labour or materials, work experience or apprenticeships – anything that will help your community. Local community groups or organisations can submit a request by contacting us at communitybenefits@argyll-bute.gov.uk. The request will then be reviewed and added to our community benefit wish list, which will be shared with the council’s suppliers on a regular basis to ask if any of the requests can be supported. Please visit our interactive community benefits map to see all current requests and examples of completed benefits that have been delivered by some of our suppliers by contractual agreement, or through good will. There is further information available on community benefits within the Councils new procurement strategy. Extracts from the council webpages and the procurement strategy which refer to community wealth building and community benefits are below to help. Sustainable Procurement: Sustainable Procurement | Argyll and Bute Council The council’s Sustainable Procurement Strategy can be found here: Sustainable Procurement Strategy For this strategy, the council has five key strategic procurement objectives: 1. Good governance. 2. Value for money to support council’s financial challenges. 3. Empowering local suppliers, supporting community wealth building and local economic growth. 4. Provide effective and efficient procurement for our stakeholders. 5. Procurement to be a strategic partner for all our council services The strategy states that: Community benefits are considered for all procurement exercises above £100,000 for goods and services; and £2,000,000 for works. This is explained on the council website: Community Benefits:
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Community Benefit Clauses enable the Council to include contractual requirements in contracts to ensure that suppliers deliver wider social benefits as part of the contract. The Council's Community Benefits Clauses in Procurement Guide requires Community Benefit Clauses in tenders for supplies and services contracts over £100k and all works contracts over £2m (or lower if appropriate) unless there is a compelling justification not to do so. The strategy also states that it aims to: Integrate Community Benefits Wish-list’s within our community benefits process. (source: Strategy, page 8) The section in the strategy which has a main focus on community benefits is: 5.2.3 Empowering local suppliers, supporting community wealth building and local economic growth. This can be found on pages 13 and 14 of the Strategy where it says. Aims • To secure wider social, economic and environmental benefits for the local area and ensure those benefits are realised. • Increased opportunities for local suppliers to help grow the local economy. • Increased engagement and collaboration with suppliers and the SDP. • To develop resilient local supply chains, providing clear advice and consistent approaches to procurement and community benefits, ensuring businesses are aware of, and are able to take advantage of, procurement opportunities supported by a programme of active and innovative supplier engagement and development support. • To increase the knowledge and understanding of the benefits of sustainable procurement of all council staff who participate in the procurement process and make better use of the expertise within the council to ensure wider sustainable outcomes are achieved. How we will do it • We will analyse the supply chain in Argyll and Bute to identify specific areas of strength and opportunities to develop specific sectors, and work closely with the SDP to deliver effective supplier engagement to include online advice and guidance and targeted events relating to specific tenders to improve the capability of local businesses to bid for contracts. • Optimisation of community benefits via contractual community benefits and the community wish-list - explore how procurement can support community wishes and priorities such as poverty reduction and improve equality. • Continue to support the national meet the buyer event and to hold, at least annually, one council meet the buyer session and relevant tender talk session in conjunction with the SDP. • Provide support to wider council teams with their sustainability and net-zero targets as required; including updating templates to meet the changing needs of the council and the Scottish Government, and adapting procurement processes to support these targets whilst still complying with Procurement Regulations. What will the outcome be?
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• Increased opportunities for local businesses, co-operatives, Supported Businesses and Third Sector organisations. • To secure wider social, economic and environmental benefits for the local area and ensure those benefits are realised. • We will have supported small local businesses to access existing supply chains and increased their capability to successfully bid for contracts. • Greater outcomes achieved for local communities. • Community wish-list being delivered by contracted suppliers. Here is a link to the Community Benefits Clause Guidance: Community Benefit Clauses - Guidance for Tenderers 2022 2. Community Benefits in Renewables Projects Information on this can be found here: Renewable Energy | Argyll and Bute Council We want to make sure that maximum benefit is achieved for the communities of the area from renewable energy developments. Already many households, community organisations and businesses are seeing the benefits from making their own renewable energy but other benefits can include: • Community benefits; and • Economic benefits. Community benefits Many renewable schemes offer community benefit. Community benefit is voluntary payment which, in most cases, makes grants available to local communities to deliver services, facilities and local improvements. You can find out which areas are covered by community benefit schemes through our community benefits interactive map. You can also view our guidance for dealing with community benefits which can help if you are considering setting up a new community benefits scheme. To help community organisations setting up community benefit funds, see the community benefit toolkit available from the Local Energy Scotland website. This information was compiled by the Communities and Partnership Manager through contact with relevant council services for sharing with H&L Area Community Planning Group. 01/04/2025