Introduction to Equality and Diversity in Procurement

• What our Equality and Diversity policy says we will do

Promoting equality through procurement matters. All groups in our communities, whatever their background, have a right to expect that public money is spent on local services which suit their needs and that it is spent in a way which promotes equality of opportunity and delivers high quality goods and services.

The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 both state that the way in which goods and services are delivered must not have an unequal impact on any particular community - and this extends to the suppliers and subcontractors an Authority uses. Where one or more of an Authority's functions is carried out by an external supplier, we remain responsible for meeting the duty. Contractors themselves must not discriminate, but they do not have the same legal obligation to promote equality of opportunity. So we must work race and other equality considerations into the procurement process to ensure each function meets equality-related requirements, regardless of who is carrying it out.

It is a requirement of the Equality Standard that we set equality-related targets and objectives for suppliers and subcontractors, as well as systems to monitor progress towards those targets.

We are currently developing a Passport to Equality and Diversity in Procurement to assist our Procurement Officers and our Suppliers and Contractors to follow best practice in equalities in Procurement.

For more information, contact the Equality and Diversity Team on 0115 9156736 (minicom available), fax 0115 9156145 or email equalityanddiversityteam@nottinghamcity.gov.uk