Procurement
Procurement covers all the supplies, services and works we need to deliver our services. We spend around £35 million per annum on a varied range of works, services and goods.
Procurement news
On 26 October, the Procurement Bill completed its passage through the UK parliament and became the Procurement Act 2023.
The Act, which is not expected to take effect until October 2024, introduces a number of changes which are intended to simplify the procurement
A series of Knowledge Drops that is designed to provide an overview of the Procurement Act 2023 is available. These are aimed at suppliers who deliver contracts to the UK public, utilities and defence sectors, who take part in competitive procurements or have delivered contracts under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (the set of rules followed by most contracting authorities), the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016, the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011, and the Concession Contracts Regulations 2016, or new entrants who would like to do so in the future.
It is designed to explain the key changes to the previous regulations, and how this may influence how you do business with the UK public, utilities or defence sectors accordingly.
For access to the knowledge drops please visit:
Tenders and contracts
Tenders
We usually run 2 types of tenders - open and restricted.
Under an open tender procedure all suppliers who respond to an advertisement are supplied with tender documentation which they can return as appropriate. This approach is usually followed when purchasing standard items such as goods.
The restricted procedure can best be described as a 2 stage approach in which we invite interested suppliers to undergo a pre-qualification assessment before inviting them to tender.
The restricted route is normally used for non-standard or large service requirements where it would not be economic for all parties concerned, if too large a tender field was invited to bid for the work such as for consultancy contracts.
We must advertise all our requirements over £25,000. The platforms used for advertising are:
How to express an interest
To express an interest in a particular tender, please contact us to request a tender pack. We aim to send the pack to you within 4 working days from receiving the request for tender documentation.
The pack will typically contain the following documentation:
- covering letter
- instructions to tenderer (contains administrative procedures, timeframes, method of tender return, evaluation criteria and contact information)
- tender questionnaire (requesting basic financial and technical information about your company)
- tender Specification (details our requirements)
- contract conditions (details of the terms under which we wish to do business).
What happens next?
Once received and checked we will evaluate the Expression of Interest. The process followed depends on whether the type of tender is open or restricted.
All suppliers will be notified in writing, whether they are successful or unsuccessful. Feedback can also be provided as requested.
Social value
Social value is a vital part of our tendering process and it is important that any business submitting a tender to us includes details of the social value they can add as part of their service. If you need to find out more about social value and TOM's (themes, outcomes and measures), the Social Value Portal held a webinar, which is now available on demand:
- webinar: Demystifying the TOMs for suppliers
The Social Value Portal have other information and resources available to access at any time, to help you incorporate more social value into your business:
Procurement procedures
We recognise the need for effective procurement practices to acquire and deliver value for money on goods, works and services bought by us.
To achieve this, we have a procurement policy and strategy which informs members, staff, the public and suppliers how procurement will be managed. In addition, we are working with Social Value Portal who will undertake social value evaluation of tenders over £25k and Social Value Portal will manage the delivery of social value through contract management, according to the principles of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012. You can view the relevant documents from the related documents section of this web page.
The rules governing how this money is spent (which are also subject to compliance with statutory requirements such as EU Regulations and the Public Contracts Regulations 2006) can be found in our contract procedure rules, available from the related documents section of this web page.
Our terms and conditions for good and for services are also available to view and download from the related documents section of this web page.
We have entered into an arrangement with Nottinghamshire County Council to provide procurement support, whilst the strategic ownership remains with Ashfield. The aim is to improve the process which may lead to revisions in policies at a later date.
We organise tender processes leading to the establishment of contracts and framework agreements for the provision of goods, services and works. Our services then uses these contracts on a day-to-day basis to place orders and make purchases.
Our current Contracts Register can be found on the Transparency code web page.
5 Year Procurement Plan
A 5 year procurement plan exists for all know procurement activities over £25k (whole of life value). The plan is reviewed twice a year, once in January and then again in June. Please note that Nottinghamshire County Council undertake all procurement work over £25k and therefore when the opportunities are tendered then the relevant portals will include those details.
We have signed the Small Business Friendly Concordat and it will ensure rules and policies are applied fairly and transparently without discrimination to businesses irrespective of size. Where possible we will seek to provide opportunities and encouragement for SMEs and local suppliers.
Sign your business up to our local business suppliers directory, to allow your business to be considered during our procurement processes:
Ways to contact us about procurement
If you have a question about procurement or tendering you can contact us by:
- email: procurement@ashfield.gov.uk.