Procurement

A tender process is required for all contracts that exceed a value of £100,000. There are three different tender process options available to the council. These are:

• Restricted tender process

Companies that respond to advertisements expressing an interest in tendering are required to complete a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) to show that they have sufficient experience and resources to meet the needs of the council. Only organisations that are subsequently short-listed and invited may submit a tender.

• Open tender process

All companies that request the tender documentation will be invited to submit a tender. There is no PQQ and short-listing stage prior to the invitation to tender. Instead, the information is requested as part of the tender. This process would normally only be used where the known market place is limited and the council needs to seek out extra interest or where the timetable does not allow the two-stage restricted process to be followed.

• Negotiated tender process

This is similar to the restricted process in using a pre-qualification stage. However, this process allows the council to negotiate the terms of the contract within strict guidelines, prior to awarding the contract. This process is used only in exceptional circumstances, e.g. where the company is the sole source of supply, in cases of extreme urgency or where the precise specification can only be determined by negotiation (such as the provision of intellectual services).

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