Selling to the Council

This guide gives comprehensive information to enable suppliers and contractors to understand how they can ‘Do business with the Council’. You can use the Council’s Procurement Portal to find out about our contracts that are currently up for renewal either now or in the future.

Contents

Introduction
Advertising
Contractual arrangements
The importance of effective procurement
Procurement rules and regulations
How to find out about opportunities
Applying for contracts that are advertised
Tendering for contracts
Tender evaluation and contract award
Electronic trading
Contract performance
arbitration
Further information

Introduction

Stevenage Borough Council has produced this guide to explain to existing and potential suppliers how they can ‘Do business with the Council’.

Throughout this document reference to “suppliers” means the suppliers of goods, providers of services and contractors/constructors for works. It aims to help in three ways:

• It will make you aware of the rules the Council must follow.
• It informs companies about the opportunities to supply the Council.
• It explains how to bid for Council work.

The Council encourages competition and welcomes bids from new and established suppliers. Contracts are generally awarded on the basis of the optimum combination of quality, service and cost (best value) to meet the customer’s requirements. The Council cannot discriminate in favour of local suppliers or suppliers from minority backgrounds, but they will be given every encouragement to compete for Council contracts.

In providing the information and guidance contained within this document it is hoped that suppliers will recognise that the Council makes full use of fair, non-discriminatory, honest and professional processes in the way it awards contracts and conducts its business processes.

Advertising

The Council legally has to advertise tender opportunities in the OJEU (Official Journal of the European Union) if the nature and value of the contract determines it (see section 5 for an explanation). The tender may then be advertised on the Council’s website - Procurement Portal, appropriate trade journals and/or the local press.

Contractual arrangements

The Council arranges contracts covering the procurement of a wide range of goods, works and services. Some of the contracts will be in the form of a framework contract. These contracts allow the Council to identify a number of companies that have successfully met our standards in competition and enable us to place orders (commonly called a “call off arrangement”) with the selected companies over the period of the contract without the need to use the tender process each time.

In addition the Council utilises collaborative procurement contracts through a number of sources such as the Hertfordshire Procurement Forum, Office for Government Commerce and the Central Buying Consortium.

The importance of effective procurement

Effective procurement, based on value for money, supports the Council in achieving its vision and corporate objectives and helps to provide high quality, value for money services that respond to people’s needs. The Council strives to ensure that its activities are characterised by honesty, equality, integrity and transparency with the objective of delivering value for money.

Procurement rules and regulations

The Council is subject to regulations at a European, national and local level.
All public sector bodies are subject to the treaty of Rome, which incorporates the free movement of goods and services and which prevents discrimination against prospective bidders on the grounds of nationality. The principles of the treaty are backed up by a series of EC Procurement Directives.

The directives and regulations require the Council to follow detailed procedures for all procurements above financial thresholds. The thresholds are reviewed every two years (for the two year period 01.01.2006 – 31.12.2007 the threshold is £144,371 for Supplies and Services and £3,611,319 for Works).

The Council endeavours to follow a set of basic principles:

• For supplies, services and works contracts above the thresholds a specific Tender Notice must be placed in the supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) to give all Suppliers in the EU an equal opportunity to tender.
• Tenders must be invited in accordance with one of the prescribed procedures (open, restricted, negotiated). Each procedure imposes minimum time-scales covering the tender activities to ensure that reasonable time to respond to adverts and prepare submissions is given to interested parties.
• A notice of contract award must be placed in OJEU. Unsuccessful     contractors will be advised and must be debriefed if requested.

Further information about the EU Procurement Directives can be viewed at www.simap.eu.int/

The Council recognises that effective procurement is at the heart of Best Value and that the Best Value review process will help deliver the best possible services for the people of the district. Further information about Best Value can be viewed at www.communities.gov.uk

The Council must also have regard to Part ll of the Local Government Act 1988 (as amended) that prohibits “non commercial considerations” (apart from workforce matters) being taken into account when awarding contracts.

Local rules – procurement activities must also comply with the Council’s own Financial Regulations and Contract Standing Orders in relation to contracts. (These are contained within the constitution and can be viewed by clicking the following link www.stevenage.gov.uk/councilanddemocracy/meetingsagendasandminutes/constitution

How to find out about opportunities

• Potential suppliers are advised to regularly check local newspapers in the area along with trade journals for advertisements placed by the Council seeking tenders for goods, works and services.
• Potential suppliers can also check the Councils Procurement Portal  or contact the Council directly to establish whether a specific contract is up for renewal via e-mail to procurement@stevenage.gov.uk
• In addition, contracts over the EU thresholds are advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU). These can be viewed at www.ted.eur-op.eu.int/. or alternatively at www.govopps.co.uk/public/subscribe/cw.htm and suppliers should regularly view the websites to obtain details of potential opportunities.

Applying for contracts that are advertised

The contract notice or advertisement will inform suppliers of the procedure to be followed and the information required. In most cases potential tenderers will be required to complete a prequalification questionnaire to assess their suitability. Occasionally an ‘open’ process will be used where all potential tenderers will be invited to tender and there will be no prequalification stage. It is essential that companies supply all of the requested information and respond by the due date.

The general information requested provides basic details about an organisation, verifies that it can be identified as a legitimate discrete trading organisation (address of office, registration number and company group information), that it has acceptable levels of economic and financial standing and that it promotes good practices in areas of equal opportunities, protecting the environment and health and safety.

The areas assessed can be summarized as follows:

• Financial information - in this section companies will be asked for certain financial information relating to each of the last three years. Private limited companies and public limited companies must submit fully audited accounts as registered with Companies House. Other applicants should forward copies of financial statements, business plans or a certified statement of turnover. This information is used to assess the financial position of the company in relation to the size of the contract. Information is also required to check that an organisation has the relevant Insurance cover, which in general should include £5m Public Liability. For construction contracts, where appropriate, evidence is required of registration under the CIS Scheme for taxation purposes.
• Equal opportunity –The Council has a duty and does support equal opportunity, equal access and positive outcomes for all sections of the community. The Council aims to ensure that organisations that provide services comply with relevant equal opportunities legislation and promote equality of opportunity. Questions will be asked about how racial equality issues are included in a company’s employment practices.
• Environment -The Council is committed to protecting our local environment and ensuring a better quality of life for everyone – now and for future generations. The Council expects its contractors to meet similar levels of environmental care and commitment and will seek information and evidence specific to individual tenders to determine the commitment from potential suppliers.
• Health and safety – The Council has a duty and is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for its employees, service users and those affected by its operations. It recognises the key role its suppliers and contractors can play in achieving this. Prior to carrying out work for the Council, relevant information will be sought from suppliers concerning their safety policies, operational safety procedures and risk assessments.
• Experience and technical ability - further information requested seeks to assess whether a company has the relevant experience, resources and technical ability to carry out the categories of work or to provide the type and quality of service required.
  
  Note: In most cases it will be necessary to provide details of similar works carried out over recent years as well as providing contact details of at least 3 referees with whom the Council can directly obtain confidential references. Some further questions may be asked tailored to the needs of the individual contract and the responses and supporting evidence will be used to assess whether a company has the required level of skills and abilities to tender.

Tendering for contracts

If a company is successful in applying for a tender, a set of tender documents will be sent to them. On some occasions the Council will use an open tendering procedure that means that any interested company can tender for the contract and will be assessed for suitability to deliver the contract following receipt of tenders. The tender documents will consist of all or some of the following:

• Letter of Invitation - this will advise when and where tenders should be submitted.
• Instructions to Tenderers – provides guidance for completing the tender documentation.
• Form of Offer – a company’s agreement to the terms and conditions of tender.
• Specification - 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 - the document where all prices are entered.
• Form of Bond or Parent Company Guarantee
• Terms and Conditions of Contract - defines how the Council will let contracts, the rules tenderers must comply with and the relationship between The Council and the successful supplier.
• Quality Requirements/Method Statement Questions - questions about how a company intends to provide the service including supporting evidence demonstrating relevant experience. This will be used to help evaluate the quality of the bid. A company will be expected to demonstrate its commitment to the Council policies as outlined in the documentation and supporting information in its responses.
• Tender Evaluation Criteria – advises how the tender submission will be evaluated and the contract awarded. The Council will ensure that this is clear and understandable.
• Pre-addressed tender return envelope – states the time and date by which the tender must be returned and where it is to be sent

Tender evaluation and contract award

Returned tenders will be evaluated against the pre-determined criteria. 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 characteristics of the contract. Normally the Council will award the contract on the basis of the most economically advantageous tender. Tenderers will be notified in writing by letter if they have been successful or unsuccessful. Unsuccessful tenderers will be advised why they have not been awarded the business including an indication of the areas (e.g. price, quality). The Council will also meet with unsuccessful contractors on request to give them a more detailed feedback session.

Electronic trading

The Council aims to increase the level of electronic business over time, which includes electronic tendering, ordering, invoicing and payment. The aim is to reduce the Council and supplier’s costs associated with the procurement process and the costs of normal commercial trading in line with the government (UK Online Programme) which made it a goal “to make all government services available electronically by 2005”. Stevenage Borough Council are currently investigating the following electronic commerce purchasing and payment tools.

• E-Procurement – Purchasing via the Internet from electronic catalogues. E-Procurement reduces the internal administrative costs of placing a purchase order (eg. It reduces the costs of manually raising and authorising a purchase order) and increases the amount of management information available for decision-making.
  
  We are invested in becoming part of the new Hertfordshire and Luton Marketplace, which will enable efficient and collaborative e-procurement. As part of this commitment the Hertfordshire and Luton Marketplace have contracted with @UKPLC, who offer suppliers an eProcurement enabled website at low cost. This will allow suppliers not only to communicate electronically with the Hertfordshire and Luton Marketplace but also with their other customers.
  
  This will be of particular benefit to SMEs and local businesses. If you are a  current supplier with a purchasing arrangement with one or more of the councils in the marketplace you may shortly receive a letter inviting you to register. Implementation of eProcurement using the Hertfordshire and Luton Marketplace within the 10 participating District Councils will be phased. All participating authorities will choose their own pilot department and timescales and will thereafter manage a roll out programme across their organisations.
• Procurement Cards (or ‘Purchasing Card’) – a procurement card is basically a corporate credit card for low value, high volume purchases. It is estimated that it costs the average business in the UK £60 to process a purchase order. This cost can be more than the value of the goods purchased! Procurement cards reduce this cost by automating parts of the process – raising a purchase order, authorisation and payment. These cards also have a number of controls, which prevent internal and external fraud. To view UK suppliers who can accept procurement cards with VAT reporting please check the Visa for Business website.
• E-Billing – the Council is also looking to reduce its administration costs by reducing the manual processing of invoices. Some suppliers have the capability to send the Council electronic invoices, so the Council is currently investigating how best to process and store these invoices.

Stevenage Borough Council has begun to investigate these tools and will seek to work with suppliers as they are developed.

Contract performance

The Council’s suppliers and contractors will be monitored to assess their compliance with pre-defined performance criteria. Contracts have to be performed in accordance with the requirements set out in the contract documentation. All contracts will be monitored and the Council will meet with contractors on a regular basis to review their performance.

Arbitration

The Council will adopt a variety of contract resolution arrangements appropriate to the value and nature of each contract. Most issues will be discussed and resolved through these arrangements.

Further information

If you require further information and guidance on the procurement processes followed by the Council, then please contact:

Zoe Harriss, Corporate Procurement Manager on 01438 242083 or email: procurement@stevenage.gov.uk.