Introduction to Procurement Contracting Guidance

Jane Carter, Head of Contracts and Purchasing Children’s Services Department Danny Simpson, Auditor Corporate Resources Department

Sources of Advice

• Czone – School Management pages - Contracts & Purchasing - Contracts guidance for schools - specific TUPE and Equalities guidance - purchasing manual Finance - Contract Standing Orders, Conflict of Interest • The Government Procurement Service ( www.buyingsolutions.co.uk

information but portal name likely to change soon) for frameworks and UK / EU procurement

Legal Framework

• ESCC Contract Standing Orders and the Tendering and Contracting Code • EU Public Procurement Directives (for Part A supplies and services over £173,934) • TUPE Regulations for services involving a relevant staff transfer

The Five ‘R’s of Purchasing

• Right product or service  • Right quality  • Right price  • Right time  • Right place 

First Steps

• Plan as far ahead as possible for significant purchases.

• Have a firm budget / target price to work to.

• Research the market.

• Draft a specification – make it functional in focus and avoid over-specifying but clearly define quality standards.

• Determine whether competitive tendering is appropriate.

• Decide which competitive tendering option to use.

Determining Contract Value

• Estimate the value of the supplies or service as a one-off or over a period of time, as appropriate.

• If a contract is longer than 1 year the value must be aggregated i.e. the 1 year value multiplied by the duration of the contract.

• If the contract value is near an ESCC or EU threshold assume the threshold applies.

Competitive Options

• Consider whether to access a Framework Agreement, corporate contract if available or establish a consortium.

• Procure collaboratively if there are minimal differences in the required specification.

• Seek competitive tenders for the goods or service.

Which Procedure?

• CSO4 ‘Contracts exceeding £50,000’.

• Open Procedure – if you are unsure of the likely interest from suppliers and you have the time to evaluate a number of tenders.

• Restricted Procedure – where there is potentially a great deal of interest and you wish to have a pre-qualification stage to limit the number of suppliers to be invited to tender.

Timetable

• Draw up a timetable of key events / stages.

• Alert and involve support network and stakeholders (Governors/Procurement / Legal / Finance / Audit) • Build in sufficient time for suppliers to draw up their tender (a minimum of 10 working days) • Give yourself enough time for evaluation / clarification of tenders.

• Timescales are legally set for EU tenders.

Advertising

• Advertisements are called Contract Notices. • Trade journals and local press can be used.

• The Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) is used for EU contracts.

Restricted Procedure – Pre Qualification Stage

• To limit the number of companies that will be invited to tender.

• Generates a shortlist.

• ESCC has a standard questionnaire (PQQ) which aids evaluation of basic eligibility, financial and technical capability and references.

• Use pass or fail questions together with weighted scoring on some answers.

• It is good practice for more than one person to score PQQs and for scores to be moderated for consistency and objectivity and to spot any errors.

• Notify bidders whether or not they have been included on the shortlist for Invitation to Tender.

Invitation to Tender

• This is the set of documents that the buyer (ESCC) sends out to the suppliers.

• Under the Open Procedure all suppliers are invited to tender.

• Under the Restricted Procedure only those suppliers that passed the pre-qualification stage are invited and this number can be limited if you have stated this in your Contract Notice.

ITT (continued)

The ITT contains: • General information for tenderers about the tendering procedure to be followed; • Schedules for suppliers to complete detailing their prices and other elements of their offer; • Standard and mandatory ESCC terms and conditions; • Specification of the goods / service required; • Special conditions and appendices if needed.

Communication with Tenderers

• Communicate any changes to the tendering process or evaluation exercise to all bidders.

• Circulate answers to questions raised to all bidders.

• No bidder should be given preference, or assisted with clarification, without the same advantage being given to other tenderers.

• Accurately record all conversations and meetings.

• Name the authorised person for bidders to communicate with in the ITT.

Delivery, opening and recording of tenders

• CSO5 for full details.

• Sealed, plain envelopes.

• Late tenders should not be accepted.

Evaluation and award criteria

• determine at the outset of the process and detail in the Contract Notice or Invitation to Tender documentation.

• Award basis – ‘Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT)’ or ‘lowest price’.

• Check bids for compliance first, and that all parts are complete, then for best value for money overall.

• Criteria must be objective and consistently applied by the evaluation team.

• Make sure that the evaluation team has the necessary financial, technical and procurement skills.

• The evaluation exercise must be fully documented and retained as evidence.

Debriefing unsuccessful suppliers

• Mandatory under EU Directives and best practice in any procurement exercise.

• Should be offered at pre-qualification stage too if possible.

• Can be done via email or letter, over the telephone or in person (keep notes of what was said).

What to include in a debriefing

• The unsuccessful tenderer’s positioning in a league table.

• % disparity between their bid and the winning bid.

• Areas where their bid failed to meet the required standard or benchmark.

• An assurance that they would be considered in future if appropriate.

Contract Award

• Approved by Governing body • Must be signed by both school representative and the successful tenderer.

• Both parties must have full set of signed documents (ITT, tender, any clarifications / meeting notes etc) for retention.

In summary

• Have a clear idea of what the school wants.

• Do some initial market investigation.

• Decide the best way to get what you want in compliance with CSOs / EU and UK regulations.

• Give yourself enough time to undertake the process.

• Seek help if unclear - particularly for significant purchases / contracts over £50,000.