Bill Summary: The Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Bill

Published 25/11/2022 | Reading Time minutes

The Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Bill was introduced into the Senedd on 7 June 2022. The Member in Charge is Hannah Blythyn MS, Deputy Minister for Social Partnership.

The Bill aims to provide a framework to deliver better public services through “social partnership working, promoting fair work and socially responsible public procurement”.

Our Bill Summary sets out what’s in the Bill, the background to its development, and the key issues raised during scrutiny by Senedd Committees.

Explore our interactive clause generator to find out about each section of the Bill.

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Section 1

Section 1 establishes the Social Partnership Council and sets out its purpose.

Section 2

Section 2 sets out the membership structure of the Social Partnership Council.

Section 3

Section 3 defines “employer representatives” on the Social Partnership Council.

Section 4

Section 4 defines “worker representatives” on the Social Partnership Council.

Section 5

Section 5 sets out the process for nominating members to the Social Partnership Council.

Section 6

Section 6 outlines the duration of appointments to the Social Partnership Council.

Section 7

Section 7 covers the Social Partnership Council’s meetings, procedures and administrative support.

Section 8

Section 8 enables the Social Partnership Council to establish subgroups.

Section 9

Section 9 covers the establishment of a public procurement subgroup for the Social Partnership Council, and sets out requirements for its procedures.

Section 10

Section 10 sets out how the public procurement subgroup will provide information or advice to the Social Partnership Council.

Section 11

Section 11 allows the Social Partnership Council and its subgroups to meet remotely.

Section 12

Section 12 enables Welsh Ministers to meet expenses of worker representatives, employer representatives, and members of sub-groups.

Section 13

Section 13 provides the Social Partnership Council with supplementary powers to exercise its functions or the functions of its subgroups.

Section 14

Section 14 defines a number of terms in Part 1 of the Bill relating to the Social Partnership Council.

Section 15

Section 15 provides an overview of Part 2 of the Bill, and defines a number of terms relevant to that part of the Bill.

Section 16

Section 16 establishes a social partnership duty on specified public bodies when they are carrying out sustainable development.

Section 17

Section 17 establishes a social partnership duty on Welsh Ministers when making decisions of a strategic nature.

Section 18

Section 18 sets out requirements for specified public bodies in relation to preparing, agreeing and publishing reports on the social partnership duty in section 16.

Section 19

Section 19 sets out requirements for Welsh Ministers in relation to preparing, agreeing and publishing reports on the social partnership duty in section 17.

Section 20

Section 20 amends the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 by substituting ‘fair work’ for ‘decent work’ within the “A prosperous Wales” well-being goal.

Section 21

Section 21 defines a “public contract” in Part 3 of the Bill.

Section 22

Section 22 defines a “contracting authority” in Part 3 of the Bill.

Section 23

Section 23 defines “public procurement” in relation to Part 3 of the Bill.

Section 24

Section 24 establishes a socially responsible public procurement duty for specified contracting authorities.

Section 25

Section 25 sets out actions that contracting authorities must take in relation to major construction contracts, and defines these contracts.

Section 26

Section 26 sets out actions that contracting authorities must take in relation to outsourcing services contracts, and defines these contracts.

Section 27

Section 27 requires Welsh Ministers to publish model social public works clauses for major construction contracts.

Section 28

Section 28 creates requirements for contracting authorities to ensure that social public works clauses are implemented when a contractor enters into a subcontract.

Section 29

Section 29 creates requirements for contracting authorities to notify Welsh Ministers if they are taking specific actions in relation to a major construction contract.

Section 30

Section 30 outlines how Welsh Ministers must respond to a notification received from a contracting authority under section 29(1).

Section 31

Section 31 requires Welsh Ministers to publish a statement if they take specific actions in relation to a major construction contract.

Section 32

Section 32 places a duty on Welsh Ministers to publish a code of practice about employment and pensions matters relating to outsourcing services contracts.

Section 33

Section 33 requires Welsh Ministers to publish model social public workforce clauses relating to outsourcing services contracts.

Section 34

Section 34 creates requirements for contracting authorities to ensure that social public workforce clauses are implemented when a contractor enters into a subcontract.

Section 35

Section 35 creates requirements for contracting authorities to notify Welsh Ministers if they are taking specific actions in relation to an outsourcing services contract.

Section 36

Section 36 outlines how Welsh Ministers must respond to a notification received from a contracting authority under section 35(1).

Section 37

Section 37 requires Welsh Ministers to publish a statement if they take specific actions in relation to an outsourcing services contract.

Section 38

Section 38 places a duty on contracting authorities to prepare procurement strategies setting out how they intend to carry out public procurement.

Section 39

Section 39 requires contracting authorities who have awarded prescribed contracts in a financial year to prepare and publish an annual report as soon as reasonably practicable after that year.

Section 40

Section 40 requires contracting authorities to create, maintain and publish a contracts register containing specific information.

Section 41

Section 41 gives Welsh Ministers powers to investigate how a contracting authority carries out procurement, and sets out how these investigations will be carried out.

Section 42

Section 42 requires Welsh Ministers to prepare an annual report on public procurement as soon as practically possible after the end of each financial year.

Section 43

Section 43 provides Welsh Ministers with powers to issue statutory guidance in relation to Part 3 of the Bill.

Section 44

Section 44 provides Welsh Ministers with powers to make regulations in relation to Part 3 of the Bill.

Section 45

Section 45 defines terms used in relation to part 3 of the Bill.

Section 46

Section 46 defines general terms used throughout the Bill.

Section 47

Section 47 makes a minor amendment to the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 in relation to publishing revised well-being objectives.

Section 48

Section 48 gives Welsh Ministers the ability to determine when the Act comes into force, and allows them to bring different parts of the Act into force at different times.