This guide has been produced to assist organisations to bid for our contracts. It also gives an insight into our tender procedures.

How to Find Out About our Contracts

A list of all contracts currently out to tender and those that are due to be relet soon will shortly be available on these pages.

Advertising Contracts

Where the estimated value of a contract is expected to exceed the relevant European Union (EU) financial threshold, currently at £153,376 for goods and certain services, and £3,834,411 for public works contracts, it is advertised in the Official Journal of The European Union (OJEU).

Tenders below the EU threshold but with a value estimated to exceed £20,000 will be usually advertised in the trade or local press.

Select Lists of Approved Contractors

We maintain select lists covering various service areas.

These lists are reviewed regularly. Suppliers can contact us at any time and ask to be considered when the next review takes place.

Information We Will Need From You

When you respond to a tender notice, or request inclusion on a select list, you will normally be asked to complete a Provider Appraisal Questionnaire (PAQ).

This enables us to assess an organisation's suitability for delivering a particular service, supply or works. This short-listing process saves both our time and yours in effort being unnecessarily spent on completing tender documents by companies who do not meet the selection criteria.

The information we ask for in the PAQ is to verify that an organisation can be identified as a legitimate discrete trading organisation i.e. address of office, registration number and company group information has acceptable levels of economic and financial standing and promotes good practices in areas of racial equality, environmental protection and health and safety. Because longer-term partnership working is becoming increasingly important to us, it is essential that we have a full understanding of our likely partners. The areas usually assessed can be summarised as follows: -

• Financial Information

  In this section, you are asked for certain financial information relating to your company for each of the last two years. The information is used to assess the financial position of your company in relation to the size of the contract. We also require information to check you are registered (if appropriate) for tax and that you will comply with our insurance requirements.

  A banker's reference and/or Dun & Bradstreet (or equivalent) report is often requested.

• Equal Opportunities

  We strongly support equal opportunity, equal access, and positive outcomes for all sections of the community. We strive to ensure that the standards we expect internally are supported by firms and organisations who carry out work for the council and we assess a firm's compliance with the Race Relations Act 1976 and awareness of the Commission for Racial Equality's Code of Practice. In this section, you are asked to respond to questions about how you include racial equality issues in your employment practices.

• Sustainability

  We are committed to the sustainable development of the district, a fundamental objective of which is the protection and enhancement of the environment. We expect organisations that we deal with to have similar levels of commitment.

• Health and Safety

  All organisations are required to submit a Health and Safety Policy signed by a senior person, which refers to Health and Safety legislation.

• Experience and Technical Ability

  We ask about your relevant experience and technical ability to carry out the categories of work or type of service that you wish to provide. You will be asked to provide a minimum of three references. We will also normally ask further questions tailored to match the needs of the individual contract. Your responses and supporting evidence will be used to assess whether you have the required level of skills and abilities to tender in relation to other interested firms.

• Workforce Matters

  A well-trained and motivated workforce is vital to the provision of Best Value services. We will use our influence to ensure, so far as possible, that those who work for the authority, whether directly or indirectly employed, are adequately and fairly rewarded and trained.

  The government has published a Code of Practice on Workforce Matters in Local Authority Service Contracts (February 2003) that will apply where a local authority transfers employees to a private or voluntary sector partner as part of a contract to provide any local services. These measures are meant to prevent the emergence of a two-tier workforce, dividing transferees and new joiners working beside each other on the same contracts.

Tendering for Contracts

If you are successful in your application for a tender, we will forward a set of tender documents to you. These documents will consist of all or some of the following:-

• Instructions for Tendering

  Guidance for completing the tender documentation - in particular the date the tender needs to be completed and returned by.

• Tender Statement

  Seeking your agreement to the terms and conditions of tender.

• Specification

  This sets out what needs to be achieved including policies, procedures, or guidelines to be followed. It sets out the performance standards and the outcomes expected.

• Schedule of Rates/Pricing Document

  This is the document where all prices are entered.

• Contract Conditions

  This defines the relationship between Stroud District Council and the service provider.

• Quality Requirements/Method Statement Questions

  In this section you will be expected to respond to questions about how you intend to provide the service including supporting evidence demonstrating relevant experience. Your submission will then be used to evaluate the quality of your bid.

• Interviews/Presentations

  At any time during the tender process (e.g. short-listing, tender evaluation), you may be invited to give a presentation or attend an interview as part of your submission.

• Tender Evaluation

  Returned tenders are evaluated against predetermined criteria usually by a panel of officers. Evaluation will focus on examining how the tender proposals will deliver the service (quality) and the cost of the service (price). The balance between quality and price will depend on the particular service area or product tendered for. You will be sent a letter informing you of whether or not you have been successful in your bid.

• Debriefing

  Within the limits of commercial confidentiality, we will always endeavour to offer unsuccessful tenderers feedback to find out why their bid was unsuccessful.

• Contract Monitoring

  We monitor our performance as part of our duty under Best Value, and this includes monitoring services provided on our behalf. You will be expected to provide the service in accordance with the requirements set out in the contract documentation and your proposals to carry out the contract.