Nottingham City Council has been honoured for the way it buys goods and services for the public.
The Council scooped an award at the National Government Opportunities (GO) Awards, which recognises new and innovative ways to buy – or procure – for the public sector.
The Council was this year’s ‘Highly Commended’ winner in the GO Procurement Innovation or Initiative of the Year Award at the ceremony held at The Midland Hotel in Manchester.
Nottingham City Council won for its commissioning of a new Sign Language and Interpretation Service, which is jointly funded with other councils and NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups. Previously it was commissioned separately.
The main aim was to improve services for deaf people, who were involved and consulted throughout the commissioning and procurement process.
The awards praised the Council for its innovation in procuring the service, which is delivered by Nottinghamshire Deaf Society. The service employs a local skilled staff team which includes deaf people who understand the challenges faced by the Deaf community.
Councillor Alex Norris, Portfolio Holder for Adults, Commissioning and Health, said: “We pride ourselves on finding new ways of involving citizens in the design of services that affect them directly. This helps us to ensure people get the best possible services for their needs. This award is recognition of our team work and dedication – especially in face of some tough competition in a difficult category.”
Grahame Steed, Managing Editor of GO and Lead Judge, said: “Well done to all of this year’s Winners and Highly Commended; the competition in each category was fierce and to take home a GO Award really is procurement excellence at its best!”