Training
17. Leadership will of course founder if those who
lead and are led neither know where they are going or how they
are going to get there. Procurement teams and others involved
in the sustainable procurement agenda need to be brought up to
speed as quickly as possible with all the implications of SD
for their work. Likewise the ability to use often complicated
guidance effectivelyand we acknowledge that good procurement
is not a straightforward businesspresupposes not just good
will but also good training. As was the case with leadership,
many of the memoranda we received talked about the need not necessarily
for better trainingalthough some didbut for more
frequent and extensive training covering all levels of the departmental
hierarchy. As the Association of Sustainable Manufacturers (ASMa)
said in its memorandum to us, "departments are not prioritising
the provision of training on sustainable procurement. This is
the missing link." The Business Services Association (BSA)
in its memorandum to us also noted "the lack of training...
as to what sustainable procurement is and how to achieve it".[27]
Both of these organisations echoed what the NAO said, in its
Review of September last year, that "departments should increase
uptake in training on sustainable procurement" for both senior
staff and procurement staff; and that this training should also
spread to staff in decentralised purchasing teams. Currently,
"procurement teams are not aware of the training opportunities
which exist" and "do not have the resources to deliver
training on sustainable procurement".[28]
18. Training of a moderately high quality in the
broad principles underpinning the sustainable approach to procurement
is already available but is infrequent: moreover, it seems principally
to reach only those already interested in or committed to the
sustainable procurement agenda. Many of those running courses
in this area report seeing the same faces from the same departments
again and againand those from SD rather than procurement
teamswhile it seems the message fails to reach most of
those who need it in departments which have yet to move to adopt
good principles of sustainability in their procurement activities.
Indeed, some departments are possibly not touched at all by this
agenda. The NAO in its Review found that only 4 departments had
their own training and awareness programmes in sustainable procurement.[29]
This must change. Other organisations have suggested that the
guidance itself is insufficient and fails to make strong enough
a case for sustainable procurementand lacks the sort of
detailed information which would make it of real practical use.
Our predecessor Committee made this point when it commented that
current UK guidance fails "to make the potential for incorporating
environmental considerations into procurement contracts clear".[30]
Again, the NAO in its Review pointed out that "departments
find current guidance on sustainable procurement insufficient"
and are often unaware of some of the guidance that does exist,
including some elements, such as the Joint Note on Environmental
Issues in Purchasing, which OGC and DEFRA both consider to be
central to its output in this area. On a positive note it is good
to report that the perception that sustainability in procurement
conflicts with European legislation in this area has largely been
overcome through good guidance.[31]
19. Perhaps
the most important component within these issues of training and
guidance is that all necessary levels and parts of a department's
hierarchy must be included within their scope.
This cannot be stressed too much. Progress cannot be made while
senior procurement, budgetary or other officials are still over-ruling
or impeding environmentally sound procurement decisions. It will
always be easier for senior management to spread a message and
its accompanying practice down an organisation than it will be
for low and middle-level procurers to spread the message up.
Better training and guidance extended within an organisation will
still prove inadequate unless those at the top end of the hierarchy
who have to oversee budgets and decisions in procurement across
the organisation are likewise trained and in receipt of better
guidance than currently obtain. We
need to see a green streak running right through government and
from top to bottom through individual departments before we can
expect them to take on a greener complexion overall. Departments
must make it a priority to establish a roster for the training
of key staff, starting at the top.
20. ASMa in its memorandum to us suggested that there
needed to be put in place a "national training programme
for procurement personnel and specifiers so they can identify
and evaluate sustainability".[32]
In the NAO Review 4 departments concurred with this in saying
that sustainable procurement training should be provided centrally.[33]
It is clear that some new initiative is required to ensure that
all procurement operativesand those responsible for budgetsundergo
sufficient training to assist the Government in its aim to bring
sustainability into the heart of their work. However, as the
NAO Review emphasises, "departments do not have the resources
to deliver training on sustainable procurement".[34]
As an earlier NAO Report found, less than one quarter of procurement
staff are fully qualified.[35]
Clearly, the Government cannot expect the cause of sustainable
procurement to be furthered unless staff are better trained and
advised, and this is as much a resource as a leadership issue.
The Government must provide
resources sufficient to ensure that departmental procurement staffand,
where appropriate, budgeting staff - are trained to a level which
will permit them to incorporate sustainability into cost-effective
procurement decisions. As we said earlier
in this Report, this agenda requires a sea-change in culture:
it also requires a sensible level of funding from Government.
27 Ev24 Back
28
NAO Review, pp34-5, para 4.24 to 4.26 Back
29
ibid., para 3.17 Back
30
HC 266, para 8 Back
31
NAO Review, p30, para 4.5 Back
32
Ev27 Back
33
NAO Review, p34, para 4.24 Back
34
NAO Review, p35, para 4.24 Back
35
NAO, Improving Procurement: Progress by the Office of Government
Commerce in improving departments' capability to procure cost-effectively,
HC 361-I, 12 March 2004, p10 Back
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