Developing the West Midlands Common Standard Database

Proposed website - Common Standard for Equalities in Public Procurement

Main purpose

To provide those councils who are members of the Forum with on line access to the common standard database which is a vital resource for the WMF as it allows the sharing of decisions taken on contractor’s equalities policies.

The current solution is limited to sharing information via e-mail and operates at a regional level within the 6 West Midlands local authorities.

Roll out

The principles of the Common Standard are already being adopted by other authorities and a new on line facility will enable the database to be shared with a wider audience than the current arrangements allow.  For instance, the London Borough of Southwark has required the consultant undertaking pre-qualification assessments on their behalf to adopt the framework of the Common Standard.  Additional interest includes officers from both Kirklees MBC and the London Borough of Camden undertaking training in the WMCS in order to implement the procedure in pre-qualification exercises. 

This initiative which has the sponsorship and support of the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) and Local Government Employees (LGE) who are promoting a wider use of the standard at a national level.

Funding

The 6 West Midlands Councils who currently make up the Forum have funded the development to date and will continue to provide financial support.

A grant for £5,000 has been given by the Local Government Employers (LGE) to assist in delivering a web-enabled solution. A further grant of £20,000 has been approved by the West Midlands Centre of Excellence towards the development of a replacement common standard database.

Any expansion of the common standard at regional or national level will require additional funding for the longer term operation of a web site which ultimately should be self financing.

The WMF propose to offer other councils the opportunity to become members of the Forum. Membership will require annual subscriptions based on a sliding scale of fees dependant on levels of access required to the on-line database with reduced subscriptions for those authorities carrying out assessments.

The subscriptions (yet to be agreed) will be similar to those already adopted by the Contractors Health and Safety Scheme (CHAS) who currently charge approximately £600 per year.

Contact

Alan Butt - Chair WMF

Steering Group
Phone: 01902 554028

E-mail: alan.butt@wolverhampton.gov.uk