The Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act (the “Act”) has now received Royal Assent. So what does this mean for public bodies in Wales?

The Act interacts with the existing Socio-economic Duty and the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 (“WFG Act”), which established seven well-being goals aiming to reduce inequality in Wales. The WFG Act is an innovative piece of legislation and globally significant; it established Wales as the first country worldwide to legislate for well-being in a way that complements the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Aiming to improve the economic, environmental, social and cultural wellbeing of Wales, the Act introduces a new Socially Responsible Procurement duty on public bodies who are procuring goods, services or works. Amongst the new requirements, certain public bodies will be required to publish a procurement strategy and set objectives in relation to well-being.

Social partnership is a key principle underpinning the Act, which is premised on working with shared values to achieve a common purpose. Whilst the concept of social partnership is already established practice, the Act seeks to strengthen it. The Act therefore seeks to increase collaboration to improve economic, environmental, social and cultural wellbeing. Improved public services is just one of the ways in which this approach to contracting may benefit everyone.

The full procurement lifecycle is captured by the Act, from initial planning stages right the way through to contract management and compliance. It should be no surprise therefore that there are new contract management and reporting duties for public bodies, which are intended to ensure and effectively monitor socially responsible outcomes through government supply chains.

These are interesting developments which illustrate the growing differences in both procurement practice and law across the UK.