Categories: General

Businesses urged to ‘do more’ to win public contracts

Image copyright
Getty Images

Businesses looking to secure public sector contracts will need to do more to help improve society, the UK government is set to announce.

Ministers want firms to tackle issues like modern slavery and climate change.

The UK, which spends £49bn with outside organisations every year, will also try to award more contracts to small firms.

It is “morally right” for the UK to make certain demands of companies taking taxpayers’ money, Cabinet Office minister David Lidington will say.

When drawing up public contracts, the government will now be looking at:

  • Firms that employ people from diverse backgrounds, including those with disabilities and from ethnic minorities
  • How companies reduce modern slavery and cyber-security risks in their supply chains
  • Businesses that are focused on environmental sustainability
  • Companies that boost employees’ employability potential through staff training

However, the government stressed that the changes to public procurement would not add complexity or increased costs to the process.

“By making sure that these social values are reflected not just across the government, but through all the companies we work with, we will take a major step towards our goal of creating an economy that works for everyone,” Mr Lidington will say.

‘Stop bidding wars’

Charity Anti-Slavery International has welcomed the UK’s efforts to stamp out modern slavery, but it wants to see the government do even more.

Modern slavery is occurring across the UK, with a higher percentage of incidents in industries such as domestic work, construction, agriculture, catering and hand car washes.

Image copyright
Getty Images

Image caption

Construction is an industry where modern slavery occurs in the UK

“At the moment big businesses are made to report slavery in the supply chain, but there are no penalties for either failing to submit the statement, or whether you report that it exists,” Jakub Sobik, a spokesman for Anti-Slavery International told the BBC.

Modern slavery is merely at one end of a spectrum of exploitative practices, and steps need to be taken to combat the practice of forcing employees to work overtime due to unrealistic targets, he added.

The government also needs to stop companies from driving the price down during the bidding process.

“We would like the government to make sure that the price they pay is right for the services,” said Mr Sobik.

“If the price they’re being paid for the services is not high enough to make sure they pay the staff fairly – this is one of the reasons that companies might use exploitative practices.”



Source by [author_name]

Share
Published by

Recent Posts

TEST: Living Like a RockStar: Get in Front of YOUR Money (Part 4)

TEST... If it is alright with you, would it not be better to make it…

1 year ago

TEST: Living Like a RockStar: Zero Fear Selling & Having it YOUR Way (Part 5)

TEST... Would it be okay with you if selling was just easy? Would you be…

1 year ago

TEST: Where To Get No Cost Royalty Free Music For Your Videos

TEST... Adding music to your videos can help to increase engagement, sales and more. We…

1 year ago

TEST: Today We Talk About Needs in Ben’s Ride Along video

TEST... This is very rarely discussed. And it is one of the most powerful things…

1 year ago

TEST: Sell These Videos For $500 or More Each?

TEST... In this video, I show you (Watch Over My Shoulder Style) how you can…

1 year ago

TEST: The “Shell Shock Habit” – RockStar Entrepreneur

TEST... More times than not, you may find that the thing holding you back has…

1 year ago