• More than 400 people from all over Spain have followed the conference held in Madrid at the headquarters of the Economic and Social Council (CES) in person and by streaming to companies and entities of the Social Economy, technicians of the Public Administrations, political representatives and positions. public address.
• CEPES appreciates that in the new public procurement framework, which enters into force in March, social criteria are prioritized in a cross-cutting and mandatory way in hiring, configuring a system that effectively promotes a more humane and responsible economic model.
• The president of CEPES announced that work is being done on the preparation of a practical guide that will reflect in detail the impact that the new public procurement rules will have and in the launching of a specialized course to improve the participation of Social Economy companies in public procurement processes.
Madrid, January 26, 2018.- The Spanish Business Confederation of the Social Economy has shown in a Conference the opportunities presented by the new Law on Public Contracts, approved in the last quarter of 2018, to companies and entities of this business model .
"Thanks to this new legislative framework, public procurement abandons the outdated concept of cheaper supply and prioritizes social criteria in a cross-cutting and obligatory way in hiring, configuring a system that effectively promotes a more efficient and responsible economic model, involved with the territory and innovation, with companies that, like in the Social Economy, put people at the center, are governed by democratic criteria, reinvest profits, bet on the creation and maintenance of stable and quality employment and provide opportunities for groups at risk of exclusion, "said the president of CEPES, Juan Antonio Pedreño .
The president of CEPES explained that public procurement represents 20% of the state GDP and must involve an increase in the participation of Social Economy companies "that is what we hope will open the new contracting law".
During the day, the president of CEPES announced the next publication of a practical guide that will reflect in detail the impact that the new rules of public procurement will have and that will serve to translate in a simple and applicable manner what the possibilities offered the law to improve the participation of Social Economy companies in public procurement processes. In addition, it announced that it will hold specialized courses to improve the participation of Social Economy companies in public procurement processes.
This conference was aimed at companies and entities of Social Economy 'was directed to experts from the Public Administrations, Universities and Social Economy, with a great success of the public and followed via' streaming 'by more than 400 people.
NEW MODEL
The president of the CES, Marcos Peña , said during the conference that "after overcoming the recession is necessary a new governance as the existing Social Economy, which has characteristics that tune perfectly with what we intend: organization, commitment, quality and centrality of the human capital". He also added that "for institutions to work it is necessary that there be welfare and certainty, both social and economic."
For his part, the general director of Patrimonio del Estado, Juan Antonio Martínez, highlighted the three fundamental novelties of the new law: "the concessions, adapted to a European directive, compulsory electronic contracting, starting on March 9 and that will have great importance for both administrations and economic operators, and strategic public procurement ", which includes social criteria, innovation and in favor of SMEs.
For her part, the director of General of Autonomous Work, of the Social Economy and of Corporate Social Responsibility, of the Ministry of Employment and Social Security, Carmen Casero , affirmed that the new regulatory framework of Public Procurement "will provide legal certainty" to while "guaranteeing the equal participation of economic operators in public procurement". Also, she was confident that "the application of the law will be easier than it initially seems."
The Board of Directors of CEPES, Emili Villaescusa , and the expert in public procurement of the consultant 'Of par par par', Santiago Lesmes , explained the developments in the field of responsible public procurement in the new law.
Lesmes stressed the importance that public procurement has stopped "from being an oligopoly and finally allows the presence of SMEs and Social Economy companies." In his opinion, for the first time there is a regulatory framework in Spain where "the best offer is not the best price, but the 'how' - the service is provided - matters".
In this regard, the expert recalled that the Law provides that "in all public procurement cross-sectional and mandatory social and environmental criteria, provided they relate to the object of contract, in the belief that their inclusion provides a better relationship quality-price in the contractual provision, as well as a greater and better efficiency in the use of public funds ".
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATIONS
The round table entitled 'Impulse and commitment to social clauses from Public Administrations' was moderated by the president of CEPES, and the vice president of Social Rights of the Government of Navarre, Miguel Laparra , the first deputy mayor and public function and Interior Government of the City Council of Palma de Mallorca, Aurora Jhardi ; and the general director of Contracting, CSR and Community Services of the Logroño City Council, Bernabé Palacín .
The representatives of the Administrations detailed some of the experiences and good practices that they have implanted in their territories before the approval of this new normative framework. In this sense, Jhardi explained the process that has been followed in the introduction of social and environmental clauses in the procurement processes and measures that can be addressed to facilitate access to SMEs. For its part, Laparra reported on the measures to promote contract reservations and social clauses implemented and the specialized website that the Government of Navarre has to report on public procurement processes. Palacín explained in his speech the `Specific Unit 'that the City Council has for the monitoring and supervision of public contracts and the reports of compliance with social clauses.
The price and the quality of the service provided were topics addressed by the Professor of Labor Law and Social Security of the University of Jaén, Cristóbal Molina . In his opinion, "the new law can improve the externalization of public sector services and the very low costs that are paid in some of them, the result of lowering the quality ofthe service and the -irrisorios- prices that are sometimes paid to the workers ", data corroborated by the moderator of this table, Jose Luis Henarejos, responsible for Employment and Training of CEPES
Another aspect that was discussed during the conference was the possibility for Social Economy companies to participate in the "innovative public purchase" bid by the different administrations. In this sense, the director of Silo and former director of the Galician Agency of Innovation, Manuel Varela Rey , clarified in a presentation moderated by the director of CEPES, Carmen Comos , the opportunities offered by the Social Economy responsible public purchase, contracts pre-commercial and the Association for Innovation that regulates the new Law.
SPECIFIC WORKSHOPS
The event organized by CEPES also included two practical workshops in which different experts discussed different aspects of the new regulatory framework for Public Procurement.
The first workshop was entitled 'Contracts reserved for Special Employment Centers and Insertion Companies and Social Clauses in the contract documents' and was coordinated by the legal head of the Municipal Institute for People with Disabilities and Barcelona City Council delegate secretary, Antonio Galiano ; and the Gizatea manager and responsible public procurement expert, Leire Álvarez de Eulate .
The second workshop focused on 'How to facilitate public procurement of companies and entities in the social economy. Contracts reserved for companies owned by workers, award criteria and special execution conditions in these companies ', which was coordinated by the deputy secretary of the City of Valladolid, José Manuel Martínez , and the public procurement expert of the consultancy' De par en par ', Santiago Lesmes .
NEXT DISCLOSURE ACTIONS
CEPES, as the highest representative entity of the Social Economy, will soon make new dissemination, development and implementation actions on the new Law on Public Procurement that will be announced through the information channels of this Confederation, on its website and through the media. Communication.
