We aim to achieve best value in all our procurement activities.
Our procurement strategy
You can download our procurement strategy here
The majority of procurement staff are located in their respective service areas, undertaking service specific procurement.
Some act as lead department, letting corporate contracts on behalf of the whole authority e.g. building cleaning and grounds maintenance.
Rules and Regulations
As a local authority, there are regulations at a European, national and local level that we need to follow. These are summarised below:
European Rules
European Procurement Directives promote non-discriminatory and transparent competition and stipulate timescales that must be observed.
Where the estimated value of a contract is expected to exceed the relevant EC financial threshold, currently at £156,442 for goods and certain services, and £3,927,260 for public works contracts, it must be advertised in the Official Journal of The European Union (OJEU).
This is an invitation to potential providers to formally register their interest. Following evaluation of these expressions of interest a tender list is drawn up. Invitation to tender documents will then be sent out that will indicate the evaluation procedure that will be used. Once the contract has been awarded, an Award Notice will be published in OJEC giving brief details of the company selected.
National Rules
Whilst there is no general requirement for local authorities to tender out specified services, we have a duty to ensure our services are competitive and that we aim to continuously improve them.
Council Rules
The Council has its own contract standing orders that regulate how we conduct our business. These standing orders govern how procurement of different values must be handled. They ensure that the process is based upon fair, transparent and open competition.
