NOE CPC provides collaborative and bespoke procurement solutions to the NHS and other public sector organisations across England. This Code of Conduct represents the principles that NOE CPC endorses and expects its partners and suppliers to support and follow and to ensure that their employees, partners, and subcontractors will do the same.  We want to work with suppliers who are proud of their reputation for fair dealing and quality delivery and who consider working with NOE CPC to be reputation enhancing. 

NOE CPC Values & Behaviours

NOE CPC, as a department of Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation, has three core values.

These values are:

NOE CPC has developed a Supplier Code of Conduct which embodies our values.

Scope

This Code of Conduct is intended for all suppliers appointed to NOE CPC managed frameworks to provide goods and/or services to NOE CPC and participating authorities. NOE CPC expects its suppliers to communicate this Code of Conduct to their named subcontractors and employees and ensure that they, in turn, also observe the obligations and expectations outlined below. 

Obligations and Expectations

We expect the highest standards of business ethics from suppliers and their agents in the supply of goods and services as part of their obligations of being appointed to NOE CPC frameworks.  We expect that suppliers comply fully with all laws, regulations and standards that are applicable to their business and operations. Suppliers, and their named subcontractors, are also expected to ensure that their suppliers and supply chain also comply with, or observe, the obligations and expectations outlined below, as applicable. In selecting suppliers, NOE CPC checks that it is contracting with reputable bodies. These checks are conducted in line with procurement regulations that guarantee fair access to opportunities for all suppliers and equal treatment during selection processes.  

Professional behaviour

We expect suppliers to speak out, without fear of consequences, when a project or service is unlikely to succeed because of our behaviours or lack of good governance. For contracts and frameworks that deliver goods and/or services to users with needs, physical or mental, that place them in a vulnerable position, suppliers should ensure that they are treated with dignity and respect.  In the spirit of investing in mutually supportive relationships, all parties are expected to be prepared to share intelligence of supply chain risks, so that these can be mitigated. Additionally, we expect all suppliers to be mindful of the environment in which they may be delivering services or goods such as hospital wards where there may be vulnerable patient groups, and to conduct themselves in an appropriate manner.

Bribery, corruption and anti-competitive behaviour

Any and all forms of bribery, corruption and extortion are strictly prohibited and may result in immediate contract termination, legal action and any other form of action specified in any contract or framework. Suppliers shall comply with all applicable national and international anti-bribery legislation and standards, including, but not limited to, The Bribery Act 2010.

Environmental and Social Value

Suppliers and their employees shall comply with all applicable environmental laws, regulations and standards and shall make all practical efforts to minimise their energy consumption, natural resource use and waste generation. In addition, we expect all suppliers to actively work to reduce waste generation through reuse and recycling initiatives.   We also expect our suppliers to act as good corporate citizens and support efforts, initiatives, and communities to deliver tangible social value.

Health and Safety

Suppliers shall comply with all applicable laws, regulations, framework clauses and standards relating to health and safety in the workplace or any location other than the workplace where production, manufacture or work is undertaken.

Labour Standards and Human Rights

Suppliers must comply with all applicable human rights and employment laws in the jurisdictions in which they operate.  Suppliers shall ensure that slavery, including forced and compulsory (bonded) labour and human trafficking are not present in their business and operations. Suppliers shall comply with the provisions of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.  Where a supplier is required to make a statement, we would ask for a copy of this at the SQ stage of our procurement.

Wages and working hours

Suppliers shall comply with national laws regarding working hours, wages and benefits and shall put mechanisms in place to ensure that their supply chains also comply with relevant national laws. 

Discrimination

The supplier shall not discriminate on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, and sex and sexual orientation.  Suppliers should have, or work towards, a published diversity and inclusion policy, an action plan to improve diversity and inclusion in the workplace, and embedded good practice for workplace inclusion across all protected characteristics.

Confidentiality & Security of Information

Suppliers are expected to comply with the provisions in their contracts and any legal requirements to protect sensitive information. This information, even if it is not covered by contractual provisions, should be handled with the same care as information of similar sensitivity in the supplier’s own organisation. Suppliers are expected to fully comply with the standard NHS Terms and Conditions of Contract where confidentiality and security of information is concerned.

Conflicts of Interest

NOE CPC expects suppliers to mitigate appropriately against any real or perceived conflict of interest through their work with NOE CPC. A supplier with a position of influence gained through a contract should not use that position to unfairly disadvantage any other supplier or reduce the potential for future competition.

Monitoring

Suppliers are expected to have identified, or be working towards identifying, their business’ and operations’ impacts on the environment, society and economy and to have, or plan to, put systems and processes in place to manage these and report on their progress and provide regular updates and copies of such reports to NOE CPC when requested. This is also extended to the wider supply chain that providers to NOE CPC frameworks operate within.

Innovation

NOE CPC encourages its suppliers and providers on its frameworks to proactively support innovation in the contracts that they are awarded and expect for new ideas and ways of working to improve efficiency etc., to be highlighted to contracting authorities.