Competitive, compliant, simple – what to expect from Print Marketplace

Designed for, and in consultation with, the public sector, Print Marketplace will provide a competitive, compliant and simple way to purchase print. We understand that across the public sector, print is something which is purchased by a variety of professions, each with differing requirements, knowledge and expertise.

For this reason, Print Marketplace has been designed with simplicity at its heart, meaning you can: 

  • quickly and easily define your requirements
  • compare prices
  • select a supplier
  • arrange secure delivery

With just a few clicks of a button, you can purchase professional printing for the best possible price. 

Whether you’re a school business manager who wants to use a local SME, a university marketing manager who wants the flexibility of designing collateral safe in the knowledge the due diligence has been taken care of, or a local authority procurement manager who needs 3 quotes before you can contract, Print Marketplace is for you.

What you can expect

With nothing to install and no license needed, it’s easy to get started.

User-friendly and intuitive, buyers are guided, step-by-step, through the print-buying journey. If you need support at any point, our experts are available to provide sector-specific advice via a live chat.

In a few simple steps, you can define your requirements and decide which design option is best for you:

  • choose from a range of preloaded templates and easily upload your artwork
  • customise your design using the free and simple to use online design tool 
  • utilise our team of designers – whether you need new concepts or tweaks to existing artwork

Once you’ve selected the right route for you, our instant pricing platform then provides quotes from a wide range of pre-approved suppliers while providing the functionality to retain preferred local suppliers.

You can then compare quotes and use the filters to find the best solution for your needs – whether that’s the lowest price, the most local supplier, or the quote with the lowest associated CO2 emissions.

Once you’re ready to arrange delivery, we make it easy to meet your social value obligations. Our carbon impact calculator recognises the environmental impact of each job and provides the option to offset the carbon product CO2E cost.

What’s next?

Stay tuned to our website and social media channels for a video, featuring the first glimpse of Print Marketplace, in the coming weeks. 

We’re planning webinars and system demos to guide you through the system and the benefits it offers. To secure your place, simply email us with the subject line ‘Print Marketplace’.

Penetration testing: protect your organisation against cyber attacks

Our Cyber Security Services 3 Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) was created in partnership with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to provide you with a route to market for essential cyber security services. These are particularly important in the current environment, with many of us working more remotely.

The DPS, which has 117 suppliers (and counting), enables you to filter by your needs and opt for either an NCSC-assured supplier or a supplier with qualifications that are not NCSC-assured, which opens up the supplier pool to small to medium enterprises (SMEs) which hold alternative cyber security credentials. One of the services, among the many available, is penetration testing. 

What is penetration testing?

Penetration testing enables you to conduct an authorised test of either your computer networks or systems, with the intention of highlighting any security weaknesses these networks or systems may have. 

It is conducted by authorised testing partners that use the same tools and techniques a potential attacker would use. These testers identify publicly known vulnerabilities and configuration faults that could leave your organisation vulnerable to a cyber attack or breach. They find any vulnerabilities and make recommendations for suitable remediation.

Why is it important?

Chris Ensor, Deputy Director for Cyber Skills and Growth at NCSC, commented on the importance of the service: 

“Penetration testing is a great way of finding vulnerabilities in your system before an attacker causes you harm. It’s a bit like going to the doctor’s for a health check to see if you have things like high or low blood pressure or cholesterol, so they can be treated before these things cause you harm. For those familiar with Cyber Essentials, the Plus level of certification is effectively a tightly scoped penetration test to ensure you have implemented the 5 controls correctly and consistently. Being forewarned is forearmed, as the saying goes.”

Finding suitable suppliers

Penetration services are available through the DPS from 117 service partners, 48 of which are CHECK-certified by the NCSC. If a provider is CHECK-certified, this guarantees their testing methods are approved by the NCSC, the individuals conducting the penetration testing have NCSC-approved qualifications, suitable experience at conducting the tests and have been security cleared. 

Opportunities for SMEs are also bolstered – 75% of the 117 suppliers on the DPS are classified as SMEs. This means access to cyber security services that are not only vetted to the highest standards, but that also align with the government’s SME agenda and social value, improving innovation and competition in this market. 

Solutions to keep your organisation running safely

To find out more about Cyber Security Services 3 and penetration testing, you can read our brochure, visit the framework web page or complete our enquiry form and our team of experts will be in touch to help you.

The role of a CCS Strategic Business Manager

The role of a Strategic Business Manager (SBM) at CCS is primarily about relationship management. It’s my job to work with customers to help ensure there is a proactive approach to their procurement needs.

If I can help CCS better understand a customer’s perspective and work with my customers to save their organisation time and identify efficiencies, UK citizens benefit from improved experiences, service innovations and public spending reductions.

In my view, the 3 most important aspects of my role are that I add value, I am a free resource and I’m driven to help support the best outcome for the customer.

Experience

I have 13 years’ experience of working with the public sector in HR and recruitment roles – 8 years of this managing my previous employers’ NHS business.

I have learned procurement can and should be a key driver of organisations’ business transformation, though those involved in procurement can often be undervalued and restricted by the conflicting pressures of different parts of an organisation.

Issues that often create procurement challenges include stakeholder non-compliance to public contract regulations, time constraints which affect the ability to plan, limited resources for contract management and lack of market engagement – again often due to time constraints.

Added value

This is why SBMs like me can really add value to a procurement. We are a free resource who can provide the time to add value to procurement teams through supporting training and accessing knowledge about markets that an organisation values. We genuinely offer a fresh perspective which will subsequently make contract management easier.

Recently I’ve found myself bringing a focus to issues such as social value, contract management, collaboration and evaluation of the best routes to market.

NHS collaboration

CCS has a strong history of working with the NHS. The value of this can be seen most recently through our membership of the NHS Workforce Alliance, through which CCS and NHS Procurement in Partnership are working together to deliver health workforce services.

This collaboration ensures our customers have easy and quick access to a sustainable workforce, and it’s part of a long-term plan to deliver a whole portfolio of health workforce services to the NHS. The strength of this collaboration will be a huge asset to the NHS workforce and associated procurement.

We continually listen to our NHS customers and develop our frameworks in tune with the requests and advice we receive from them. But the only way we can get this insight is through listening and learning.

Part of my role is to build networks across the health sector and find out from customers what their challenges have been. We operate on a regional level so we understand not only how customers operate in their part of the UK, but also how they network and collaborate with each other. This helps me and my colleagues understand where CCS can add value.

Learning and development

Recently we worked with the regional Heads of Procurement Group in the North East and Cumbria and identified an opportunity to support in upskilling their workforce.

So we partnered with the NHS Skills Development Network and have embarked on a programme to add value, develop efficiencies and support technical skills development and better use of frameworks.

By working closely across the regions and supporting procurement journeys we effectively can become part of the extended team for procurement departments. The result is providing the region with access to a powerful network opportunity, more time to collaborate regionally on larger projects, such as linen and laundry, as well as aggregation opportunities for items such as laptops.

Such work has shown us that customers want procurement processes to be simpler: they want easy routes to market, with clear guidance, available support and minimal intervention from their own procurement teams. We’ve been listening and in response have tried to adopt more effective procurement measures such as simplified contracts and more Digital Purchasing Systems (DPSs).

Overcoming challenges

The coronavirus pandemic has seen the advisory part of my role enhanced. Colleagues and I have supported local networking among procurement teams across the regions, and we have also developed ways of supporting each other with the new challenges we have faced.

For example, we’ve adjusted our training offer and have taken it entirely online – ensuring we have continued to deliver what our customers require.

We have held 5 virtual events throughout May, June and July – each with delegate registrations of over 170.

I believe the demands of the last few months have strengthened our customer relationships, and I hope we’ve pleasantly surprised them with the speed and efficiency with which CCS has met their needs.

But it’s been a balancing act for us, we’ve tried to remain vigilant to the pressures our NHS customers have faced over the last few months and have tried hard to respect those, only offering practical input when appropriate.

Find out more

NHS customers wanting to take advantage of the kind of support we can offer through our national network of SBMs are encouraged to visit our dedicated web page.

This blog was originally published in the latest issue of Health Business magazine.

NHSX pick Non Clinical Temporary and Fixed Term Staff framework to help them find a digital recruitment partner

NHSX is a newly formed department established to lead digital transformation and IT policy across the NHS. They are working closely with the Government Digital Service, bringing together teams from the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and NHS Improvement into a central unit. 

Attracting talented contractors

NHSX needed to recruit experienced contractors so they could create digital delivery teams at pace. They had never hired any contractors before, so turned to the Non Clinical Temporary and Fixed Term Staff framework to help them find a recruitment partner.

They wanted to work with an agency with a large network of digital professionals to ensure they could attract talented contractors. Through the framework they appointed Investigo.

Lauren Pocknell, Senior Consultant at Investigo managed the recruitment process for NHSX. This ranged from helping them with budgets and explaining how the recruitment of contractors works to sharing in-depth knowledge on everything from salaries and market intelligence, to IR35 legislation and ensuring the HMRC Check Employment Status for Tax (CEST) process was followed.

This support has helped NHSX achieve their goals quicker than anticipated, whilst ultimately saving them both money and time. 

Rapid response during COVID-19

Many NHSX permanent staff have been seconded into other areas during COVID-19. This has meant deadlines and budgets have become even tighter, however, as Lauren explained:

They have still been able to keep all their plates spinning thanks to the ease of getting contractors in so quickly via the framework. We’ve managed to turn things around in a matter of days, which has been very effective during this time when additional support is needed.

Leanne Summer, Digital Ecosystem Lead at NHSX added: 

Everything from initial contact through the whole tendering and on boarding was seamless and hassle free. Aftercare has been spot on. 

Empowering your to make better recruitment decisions

We can help you with all your temporary recruitment needs. Find out more:

NHS customers can access non clinical temporary recruitment solutions through the NHS Workforce Alliance portfolio, which includes the Non Clinical Temporary and Fixed Term Staff framework.

Unique cleanroom laundry solutions for the health sector

A cleanroom is a controlled environment in which pollutants such as dust, airborne microbes and aerosol particles are filtered out, providing air that is as sterile as possible. Cleanrooms are typically used for manufacturing products in the pharmaceutical and medical industry, and are also used in hospital surgical areas to prevent the risk of contamination and to protect vulnerable immunocompromised patients, as well as in hospital pharmacies. Our Linen and Laundry framework provides access to cleanroom laundry solutions, including the processing (wash and finish) and transportation (collection and return) of cleanroom garments at the ISO classification specified by you. Customers can also purchase reusable coveralls, boots, goggles and mops.

Offering national coverage across multiple sites, the framework provides a compliant and streamlined route to market. Our pre-agreed simplified terms have been established in line with commercial best practice, giving you legal protection throughout the length of your contract.Customers are provided with a dedicated category manager and commercial lead who are available for advice and guidance throughout the process. We are also on hand to assist with supplier management, conducting regular review meetings and monthly KPI monitoring. 

This year, we worked with Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Trust and the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre to develop a cleanroom specification tailored to their needs. Claire Macdougal, Buyer, at Wirral University Teaching Hospitals said:

The Trust’s objective was to procure a total rental service which would satisfy the requirements for best quality, best price and best service. We chose to use this framework as it provided both Trusts with a compliant route to market, which has not previously been available for laundered aseptic garments. The framework has provided both Trusts with a contract which meets our requirements at an affordable and fixed price

As the biggest public procurement organisation in the UK, we use our commercial expertise and national buying power to enhance your procurement, helping our customers across the healthcare sector make smarter buying decisions. 

To find out how you can benefit from this new offering fill in our online form.

Building for the future: 5 good reasons why we should be thinking “modular first”

Modular buildings have evolved significantly in the last few decades. Today’s clean, linear buildings offer bespoke solutions, minimum material wastage and lower energy bills. 

Gone are the days of draughty and cold school ‘mobiles’. Modern modular buildings are well insulated, and are designed and built using cutting edge materials and technology. 

Their improved quality and precise manufacturing techniques – together with their eco-credentials – mean they are an attractive option for buyers in the public sector. They offer permanent, high quality solutions for a variety of applications, particularly in education, health and housing. 

Public sector buyers may wish to consider the government’s construction policy, which encourages a presumption in favour of the use of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), which include modular and off-site construction and digital working. It has been assessed that the government and wider public sector alone spend £750 million per year on modular buildings. Growth has been driven by the intrinsic benefits of modular and the fact it is being embraced by public sector priority programmes in the schools, hospitals and housing sectors. 

“In 2019, the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee warned the Government that an over-reliance on traditional building methods will see the UK fall far short of its target to build 300,000 new homes a year by the mid-2020s.”

Source: www.parliament.uk

5 good reasons: why we should be thinking “modular first”

  1. Health and Safety – compared to the inherent dangers of a traditional building site, a manufacturing base setting allows for greater control and command of processes. Nearly half (49%) of the fatalities that occurred in the construction industry in 2019, were due to falls from a height on-site. MMC processes allow complex assembly to be carried out at ground level off-site.
  2. Sustainability – They are more energy-efficient for the end-user, create less waste in terms of materials and often feature sustainable materials. As modular buildings are constructed off-site there is the added benefit of a reduction in the carbon footprint of the build, with fewer deliveries travelling to and from the build site.
  3. Problem Solving – Modular can fit the bill in many circumstances. For example, if there’s a need for speed, modular buildings are an ideal solution. Their construction is much speedier than traditional builds – on average, 50% faster.
  4. Efficiency – Traditional construction can suffer from delays due to weather, hold ups in the materials supply chain and inevitably a snag list that must be tackled on-site, which could delay occupancy. With a modular building option, construction can already be underway off-site while the foundations are being laid.
  5. Optimized Site Management – Modular building offers a streamlined mode of operation. It cuts down disruption within the footprint of the construction site itself, as well as within the site or neighbourhood in which it will exist. 

Next steps

To find out more about these advantages for both purchaser and end user, and the benefits of Modern Methods of Construction, download our free whitepaper: Modular Buildings & Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) Why the public sector should be thinking ‘modular first’ today.

To find out more about our Modular Buildings Solutions agreement visit us here or contact us to discuss your requirements.

Invisible Disabilities Week – my experience of hearing loss

When Julius Caesar said ‘lend me your ears’ I would probably have heard an instruction to ‘send me more beers’.

My severe hearing loss means that I often mishear what has been said, sometimes with rather humorous results; other times, less so.

Crown Commercial Service teams are marking ‘Invisible Disabilities Awareness Week’, which aims to educate and bring awareness of invisible disabilities – in my case, hearing loss.

Hearing loss is more common than people may realise: there are over 12 million people (1 in 5) in the UK with some degree of hearing loss, which means that most of us will encounter someone in this position in our daily lives. 

Most of my immediate colleagues are aware that I have severe hearing loss – in fact I have over 70% loss of hearing in both ears. This is something which has got progressively worse as time has gone on, to the point where, just over 2 years ago, I was seriously questioning whether I could continue in my current role.

My watershed moment

The watershed moment for me was sitting in an external meeting of very senior commercial directors at which I struggled to hear any of what was said.

This left me feeling incredibly distressed: I wanted to perform effectively in my role and I knew I could, if only I could hear what was being said. I can recall all too clearly the humiliation of not being able to answer questions simply because I couldn’t follow the conversation and the feeling that I was letting CCS and myself down. 

What was more frustrating was that I had let the meeting organiser know that I had hearing difficulties, yet no adjustments were made.

Sadly, my experience is all too common but, with the right support and awareness, the outlook can, and should, be so much better.

A problem compounded

Deaf people can be around twice as likely to suffer from psychological problems such as depression and anxiety, with research suggesting that this stems from feelings of isolation.

Social and work situations can be both exhausting and daunting for anyone with hearing loss, as they struggle to try to follow conversations which are often in a noisy setting and all too often simply give up.

We see the exasperation on the faces of those around us as we struggle to hear, and they don’t know how to be heard.

People who are hearing-impaired face considerable challenges. They experience and navigate the world differently from those with perfect hearing. To gain an understanding of the difficulties they may face, here are some day-to-day situations that become more challenging when little or nothing is audible.

  1. Public announcements

Remember the last time you were at the airport and, over a loudspeaker, you were told boarding was in progress, or that the flight was delayed? Public address systems notify us of what’s going on all the time, but a hearing-impaired individual probably won’t get the message or, just as bad, might misunderstand the message.

  1. Slow talkers

When someone realises they’re interacting with a hearing-impaired person, they often switch to a slower form of speech. While it’s done with the best intentions, it can actually hinder lip reading. Over time, many hearing-impaired people have learned to understand words spoken naturally, so slowing it down can result in miscommunication.

  1. Being in the dark

Whether it’s a dimly-lit room or a noisy, dark club, the absence of light makes it difficult for the hearing-impaired to engage with others. They generally rely on visual clues and stimuli, such as lip-reading or sign language, so darkness poses a challenge.

Taking action

Fast forward two years and the situation for me is very different.

This is very much due to the strong support from a line manager who, recognising that I was struggling, set about seeing what support CCS could offer. I am fortunate too that I am part of a team who are willing to make the effort to understand how best to communicate with me.

These days, now that my team are aware of my hearing difficulties (and thanks to whizzy new bionic ears!) active participation in conversations and meetings is much easier. Social settings are improved too and, for the first time in over 20 years, I can hear films without subjecting my very patient husband to me asking ‘what did they say?’ every 5 minutes.

I would urge anyone who is struggling with any degree of hearing loss to seek help. It can’t be made perfect (the technology does not yet exist to restore hearing) but it can, with the right support and awareness which I have been fortunate to receive, be so much better.

Thankfully, there is a great deal of information available to support those with hearing loss and those who live and work with them. If you can take maybe 10 minutes to read through some of the tips for communicating with the hard of hearing, you could make all the difference to how they interact with you and how they feel about themselves.

Useful resources

Action Hearing Loss offers some helpful information for the hearing-impaired and those who support them.

The Invisible Disabilities Week website carries lots more information about seminars and events for Invisible Disabilities Week.

Reduce the impact of COVID-19 on employee health and wellbeing

From dining table desks to lockdown loneliness, from homeschooling to workplace worry,  are you prepared to respond to your employee health and wellbeing needs?

“The new normal” is a phrase that has been much talked about over the last few months. Yet we don’t actually know what the end result will look like, with constantly evolving measures and ongoing uncertainty of what we are yet to face in the fight against COVID-19. What we do know is what is happening around us in the here and now, and that it is presenting challenges to workers and employers alike. Protect the health and wellbeing of your employees, wherever they are working, and effectively manage current – and reduce future – absenteeism. Consider these 3 important issues:

Workstation assessments

With so many employees working from home, concerns are rising amongst employers about their working conditions, particularly as agile working looks set to become commonplace in the longer term. Workstation assessments are regularly undertaken in office environments. But, competing priorities and social distancing restrictions mean that many employees have not yet had an assessment of their home workstation. 

A rise in musculoskeletal injuries is already anticipated amongst home workers, many of whom have spent much of the last few months leaning over a coffee table or slumped on their couch for 8 or more hours of the working day. 

Burnout

Burnout is a very real risk. People Management recently reported that a poll conducted by Robert Walters found 47% of managers thought their employees could be at risk of burnout, due to changes in working patterns and the rise of e-presenteeism brought on by the pandemic.  

Mental health and wellbeing

Not only are employers feeling increased pressure to fulfil their duty of care regarding the physical welfare of their employees, they are also tasked with supporting their mental wellbeing. The Office for National Statistics has recently reported that almost double (19.2%) the number of adults are estimated to be experiencing feelings of depression compared to pre-pandemic (9.7%). This offers insight into just one of the many conditions that can be a daily struggle for so many of us. 

Your buying decisions have the power to make work better for your employees

Through our Occupational Health, Employee Assistance Programmes and Eye Care framework we have suppliers who have developed innovative solutions to these problems. They are on hand ready to support you. 

Our suppliers were already working on the digital delivery of their services pre-coronavirus. During the pandemic they have had the opportunity to show just how effective their solutions can be to support employees, even outside of the traditional workplace. This includes providing virtual workplace and health surveillance assessments, online counselling and, of course, home working for their own employees to ensure continuity of service.

We know that the needs of different public and third sector organisations are rarely the same. This is why our framework gives you the flexibility to access a full occupational health and employee assistance programme service or just the particular service(s) that you need. Contracts can be put in place by direct award or further competition, enabling you to get exactly what you need to meet your specific requirements. 

Invest in protecting your staff – and your organisation – and ensure a healthy future for everyone. 

Everything you need to support your employee health and wellbeing can be found on the framework web page. We’re also on hand to offer advice and guidance if you need it:

Modern slavery in the workforce

On 26 March 2020 the UK government’s modern slavery statement was published. It sets out the steps CCS and other government departments have taken to identify, address and prevent modern slavery in the workforce and supply chains. 

As the timing was just days after the country went into lockdown, you can be forgiven if it passed you by. However, we absolutely must not let the importance of stamping out modern slavery pass us by. 

The Prime Minister says in the statement: 

If we are serious about tackling this increasingly pervasive evil then words alone are not enough – we have to take active steps to drive it out of our supply chains.

So, I want to draw your attention to the statement, and take this opportunity to discuss the active steps CCS is taking. I also want to outline how we can help you take your own active steps to tackle modern slavery in the workforce.

What is modern slavery?

Let’s start with a quick summary of what is meant by modern slavery.

Modern slavery is a complex crime that takes many different forms. For example, slavery, servitude, forced and compulsory labour and human trafficking. It is a serious and organised crime affecting men, women and children, and can be present in all sectors of business. 

What the law currently says

Public sector organisations rely on a wide range of suppliers for the provision of essential public services. We expect the highest standards of business ethics from our suppliers and their supply chain. They must comply with all the applicable human rights and employment laws in the jurisdictions in which they work. This includes complying with the provisions of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, which consolidates previous legislation and introduces new measures.

As the government’s statement acknowledges:

Modern slavery is so pervasive that it is likely to exist in the supply chains of the goods and services purchased by governments across the globe, from the technology we buy to the construction projects we fund.

Under the act procurement regulations have been amended to make certain modern slavery offences, such as child labour and human trafficking, grounds for the mandatory exclusion of bidders from public procurements. 

Section 54 includes provisions which make suppliers accountable for slavery and labour abuses in their whole operations, including their supply chains.

Suppliers who have a turnover of £36 million (or more) and carry out their business (or part of their business) in the UK are required to publish a modern slavery statement on their website and update it annually. The statement must include details of their organisation’s modern slavery policies and due diligence processes, and provide details of the steps taken to assess and manage any risks in their business and supply chains. It should also be approved by their board, signed by a director and be easily accessible from the home page of the organisation’s website.

The active role of GCA

Our role is to ensure our framework suppliers understand the risks of modern slavery in supply chains, and therefore take appropriate action to identify and address the risks, with particular focus on supporting victims of modern slavery.  

We have gone further than the standard procurement regulation requirements. The selection questionnaire we have been using since 2016 covers the provisions of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, and the Public Sector Contract which has been in use since 2017 includes a corporate social responsibility schedule. This requires suppliers to:

  • meet with the standards set out in the Supplier Code of Conduct, which include requirements to comply with the Modern Slavery Act 2015
  • include anti-slavery and human trafficking provisions in their contracts
  • implement policies and procedures to identify and prevent modern slavery occurring in their supply chain
  • prepare an annual statement setting out the steps they have taken to tackle modern slavery in any part of their business or supply chain.

We are also playing an active role in developing the government’s strategy and policies to tackle modern slavery in government supply chains. We are working with the Home Office and Cabinet Office, in consultation with the cross-government Modern Slavery and Procurement Implementation Group. Together, we have developed best practice guidance and a Modern Slavery Assessment Tool to tackle and eliminate potential modern slavery abuses in our framework supply chains. 

Risk assessments

We carried out a detailed risk assessment of all our commercial agreements in 2019. This identified 26 frameworks as having a high or medium risk of modern slavery occurring. All suppliers on these frameworks, which account for around £2.8 billion of annual spend, were asked to complete the assessment tool in autumn 2019. We are discussing the results with suppliers, and will be monitoring implementation of the recommendations. 

Why workforce frameworks are high risk

Workforce contracts have a high risk of modern slavery abuses as the supply chains have a number of core characteristics that place workers at heightened risk of being exploited.

Complex employment relationships with a reliance on agency, outsourced or subcontracted workers add a layer of separation between employers and workers.  

The employment of low-skilled migrant workers, often via recruitment agencies, is thought to create the perfect conditions for labour abuses to thrive, and in some cases to develop into extreme exploitation. 

Unscrupulous employers are able to take advantage of vulnerabilities without fear of reprisal, as workers are unable or unaware of how to enforce their rights.  

This can include being paid less than minimum wage, removal of holiday allowance or any other entitlement as laid out in the Agency Worker Regulations, through to more heinous contraventions of employment laws, such as dangerous working conditions.

Tackling the risk

We have taken a risk based approach to tackling modern slavery in the workforce supply chain. This includes:

  • mandating workforce framework suppliers to complete the assessment tool, which asks about the processes they have in place to identify and address modern slavery risks 
  • requesting information on how the supplier manages their supply chain to address the modern slavery risk, including details on any systems and processes they have in place to do this  
  • reviewing their modern slavery statements to see what risks the supplier has already identified  
  • researching to see if there have been any previous reports of issues with the supplier through audit reports and the media
  • establishing more information on the labour force in the supply chain – does it involve a high level of manual labour, low-skilled labour or where there are high levels of poverty?
  • requiring suppliers to carry out their own due diligence, requesting evidence of what information has been included and how risk has been assessed 

Each supplier is provided with a report from the tool listing recommendations for remedial action, where there are existing deficiencies in systems and processes.  

We discuss the outputs with suppliers and a corrective plan of action is requested, if any deficiencies are found to be significant. This forms part of the standard contract management process throughout the life of the contract.

In extreme cases, terminating a contract for reasons linked to modern slavery can – and will – be considered where the issues continue to occur and the supplier is unwilling to co-operate and change.For new procurements this process is included from the outset as part of the procurement selection and award process, and subsequent contract management.

Empowering you to make better recruitment decisions

As responsible and ethical organisations, all public sector bodies should have a modern slavery policy in place and take a risk-based approach to tackling modern slavery in the supply chains that they manage or use.  

By recruiting temporary workers through a CCS workforce framework you can be certain that supply chains have been assessed to a standard over and above the current public sector procurement regulations. This gives you greater assurance that any potential for modern slavery abuses have been identified and are being managed.

Next steps

For more advice and guidance on tackling modern slavery in the workforce email us or fill in our short online form and one our commercial experts will be in touch. 

You can also explore our full range of workforce frameworks on our agreements page.

Further policy advice and guidance on modern slavery can be found on GOV.UK. 

Global travel made simple for the public sector

Whether your organisation’s travel is mainly domestic, or if you have more complex needs that include booking travel from a number of different countries, our new commercial agreement covers all of your requirements.

Regardless of the simplicity or complexity of your requirements, our new Public Sector Global Travel and Venue Solutions (PSGTVS) commercial agreement provides a one-stop-shop solution, meaning you can have a single supplier managing all of your travel and venue needs.

The basics

The new agreement is structured into 2 solutions: 

  • Solution A

Has been designed to cater to customers who have booking needs in the UK and also require services to be provided locally in other countries around the globe.

This is a single-supplier solution, provided by FCM Travel Solutions, that uses a direct award only. 

To access this solution, you can engage directly with FCM to complete your call-off contract or, if you require help and support, contact our experts.

  • Solution B

This solution gives customers a one-stop-shop for all their travel and venue sourcing requirements. 

There is a choice of 3 suppliers – Clarity, Click Travel and Travel Planet – meaning this solution can be accessed in 2 ways. Customers can simply direct award to their chosen supplier or run a further competition amongst the suppliers.

For further information on whether to direct award or go to further competition please read our customer guide.

Book with ease

As many people are confident booking their own, personal, travel requirements online, most organisations prefer their staff to self-serve and book online for their business travel as well. 

The 4 suppliers on this agreement each provide an online tool that allows users to find and book most of their air, rail, hotel and venue requirements.  

You can contact any of the suppliers to request a demonstration of their tools by visiting the Products and Suppliers section of our PSGTVS webpage.

Commercial benefits   

Joining the PSGTVS framework opens up the potential for significant savings. We estimate the average customer will save up to 13% across their total spend. 

In addition to this commercial benefits, using this framework gives you access to flexible terms and conditions and a bespoke service.

This means no matter how complex your requirements, you can be sure of receiving a straightforward solution, tailored to your needs, that you can rely on. 

Want to know more?

We are running a series of webinars dedicated to PSGTVS, giving you the opportunity to learn more about the agreement, our suppliers and ask questions of our category experts. 

You can now register your interest for our first event, where our travel team will launch the agreement, on Wednesday 14 October 2020 at 10:00am. 

Throughout November, we will be running weekly webinars with our new PSGTVS suppliers. Follow us on social media and visit our webpage for more details.