Equality and diversity in procurement
Last updated | 27/02/2008
Perth & Kinross Council is committed to equality of opportunity both as a service provider and as an employer.
The Council values the diversity of the communities in this Council area and works towards providing services that are inclusive and accessible.
This Council recognises that social inclusion and promoting equality of opportunity and good relations between different groups can only be achieved by incorporating equalities into the planning and implementation processes for all our Council Services.
A number of pieces of legislation contain various prohibitions on discrimination on the grounds of race, sex and disability in the provision of goods, facilities and services, and as such the Council expects its business partners to comply with all the relevant legislation, incorporating these as a requirement within all its contracts - For example
- The Race Relations Act 1976 as amended 1986 and
- The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000
- The Race Relations (Statutory Duty) (Scotland) Order 62/2002
Equalities legislation is a reserved power of the UK Parliament.
Scottish Ministers can impose specific duties such as those imposed by The Race Relations (Statutory Duty) (Scotland) Order 62/2002 which required public authorities bound by the duties to have a properly timetabled and realistic plan for meeting these duties in place by 30 November, 2002.
The Council will take into account within its tender evaluation and contracting processes, a potential contractor’s approach to equalities in terms of its employment practices and service delivery, which will also be monitored and managed during the life of each contract.
The Council will check a contractor’s compliance with equality and diversity issues in two ways:
- Prior to Contract Award - by asking equalities questions either prior to or during the tender process. If following evaluation the response does not satisfy the Council’s criteria, the firm may not be shortlisted or awarded a contract.
- After Contract Award - by including contract conditions on equality in all Council contracts and by monitoring a contractor’s performance and compliance with those conditions.
