Overview
We provide businesses and voluntary and community (VCS) organisations with a range of commercial opportunities.
Our priority is to secure value for money throughout our large and diverse organisation.
Once we identify a need to procure, we:
- set a budget
- define our requirements
- select the most efficient and cost-effective procurement method appropriate to the value of the purchase
To do business with us, you should have an understanding of:
- our purchasing process
- our core values
- where you can get advice
Our core values
Our core values influence our business needs and contribute to our definition of value for money.
Sustainable development
We promote sustainable development through procurement. This means we pursue economic, environmental and social objectives together.
We’ll:
- develop our value-for-money criteria to take account of short and long-term economic, environmental and social impacts
- specify the information we want from prospective suppliers, so that we can apply those criteria fairly
- work with suppliers to identify more sustainable ways of meeting needs
- welcome innovative solutions from suppliers, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs)
- commit to opening up procurement opportunities to SMEs, particularly local firms
Social value
The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 requires us to seek social value when we’re in our commissioning and procurement exercises.
This means seeking economic, social and environmental outcomes that contribute to the improvement and wellbeing of those we serve.
For us, social value means additional community benefits over and above core requirements. These:
- are realised through a commissioning and procurement activities
- benefit and contribute to the wellbeing of individuals and communities
For example, asking partners and suppliers to consider how they might provide benefits to the local community that address:
- poverty
- unemployment
- social disadvantage
This approach links our social value objectives to Council priorities.
Find out more in our social value framework and policy:
This ensures that where money is spent with suppliers, we’re always making the maximum contribution to meeting resident needs.
By implementing the social value policy and framework, our ambition and approach focus on:
- obtaining genuine social value outcomes out of all contracts
- opening procurement opportunities to the local voluntary and community sector (VCS) as well as small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs)
- achieving social value through the supply chain contractors
- promoting economic growth in the borough
Equal opportunities
As a Council, we look to promote equality of opportunity in all our activities. This includes procurement of buildings, goods and services.
Where relevant, we’ll specify this through our procurement processes.
Rules and policies
This section summarises the main rules and policies for doing business with us. It does not explain how to do it, just the rules that apply.
We try to ensure value for money, fairness and probity in all our transactions. We therefore have a strict set of rules to abide by in our purchasing activities.
Our business principles are:
- fairness
- honesty
- efficiency
- professionalism
Our rules for buying
We use a range of methods for procuring products and services. These depend on:
- the type of product or service
- its overall value
The pay for goods and services with public money. So, our rules ensure a high level of transparency at all stages of the procurement process.
Broadly speaking, the rules fall into 5 groups:
- European procurement directives
- UK legislation
- our financial regulations
- our contract and procurement rules
- our policy decisions
What we look for
Purchasing decisions can be extremely complex and not just about the cost. The lowest price is not always the most suitable and may not provide the goods or services we need.
Other consideration include:
- fitness for purpose, such as quality and suitability for the intended task
- delivery and availability
- cost of ownership
- whole-life costs, including spare parts, maintenance costs and projected downtime
- on-costs, such as transport and storage
- the cost of procurement itself
- sustainability, environmental and corporate social responsibility
Quality management requirements
In many cases, particularly with larger contracts, we’ll monitor the contract performance.
When submitting a tender, we may ask bidders to explain the quality management system they’ll operate. We’ll make sure this is in place at the start of the contract
It should include:
- an extensive inspection regime
- regular reporting on contract performance
This will be compared to our own monitoring results.
We may ask bidders to have a recognised accreditation in quality management systems. However, we’ll consider submissions from organisations that have developed their own systems that are equivalent to ISO 9000 series.