PROCUREMENT IN A
NUTSHELL
The following table highlights the Key Points from the Procurement Quick Guides
Series.
If you need to refer to the full document – click on the relevant title hyperlink.
Debbie Quincey
Strategic Procurement Adviser
John Bridgwater
Strategic Procurement Officer

Ext. 7400

debbie.quincey@cambridge.gov.uk

Ext. 8178

john.bridgwater@cambridge.gov.uk
PROCUREMENT IN A NUTSHELL
Guide No. & Title
Key Points
All decisions must be fair, objective and transparent.
Why have it?
When to use it
To protect you and your
team from:
To brief all officers
involved in a
procurement before any
other work is done.
Officers must be aware of the need for:
i
Disclosure of interests in a bidder and avoiding conflicts of
interest.
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a. accusations of or the
appearance of
misconduct and
maintaining
professional
independence
ii
Avoiding supplier hospitality
iii
Maintaining confidentiality
No. 1
iv
Keeping clear and accurate records
Probity in
Procurement
v
The Officer Code of Conduct in the Constitution
b. bidder challenges
leading to stress,
delay and potentially
bad press
vi
Complying with the letter and the sprit of the law
c. disciplinary action
vii
It works both ways – we can demand the same level of honesty
and integrity from bidders
d. possible police
action e.g. if fraud is
suspected
viii
Reporting any concerns they have either to a line manager or via
whistle blowing procedure
2
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Guide No. & Title
Key Points
Why have it?
It is essential in a procurement project that everyone knows who
is doing what and who else is/needs to be involved in a project at
every level.
Key characteristics of
most of the projects we
have seen that have run
into problems have
been:
Guide describes purpose of each role for the bodies/individuals
involved in a project.
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No. 2
Roles and
Responsibilities
i
At a corporate level:
i
ii
iii
Executive Councillor
Scrutiny Committee
Directors
etc including e.g. Asset Management Group
At a project level:
i
ii
iii
iv
v
etc
Project Champion
Project Manager
technical input
user input
professional advisers
The team needs to be proportionate to the value and risk of the
procurement.
Best practice to write down the scope and responsibilities of each
member (or get them to do this!)
When to use it
In the early planning
stage
lack of resources at
the outset
ii lack of
understanding about
who needs to be
involved and who is
responsible for what
iii failure to engage
professional help at
a sufficiently early
stage
iv failure to get
appropriate
support/permissions
at key stages
v insufficient
supervision
It’s just as important (perhaps more so) to identify roles and
responsibilities at the start of any collaborative project.
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PROCUREMENT IN A NUTSHELL
Guide No. & Title
Key Points
Why have it?
When to use it
Every procurement carries some risk. It’s important to identify
and manage these in a structured way throughout the project.
To avoid, as much as
possible, anything derailing your procurement
or having an adverse,
sometimes long term
adverse, effect on the
resulting contract/
service.
Needs to be thought of
at the outset of your
procurement and
reviewed throughout the
project.
Typical procurement risks – strategic, procedural and operational.
Key steps:
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No. 3a
Managing Risk
in Procurement
Projects
i
Identify risks
ii
Analyse and profile risks
iii
Identify actions to control risks
Acceptance of risk needs to be understood and to have some sort of
commercial “reward” – or to reduce the likelihood of a commercial
penalty
Very important to review risk register regularly eg at Project Team
meetings.
Keep an accurate record.
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PROCUREMENT IN A NUTSHELL
Guide No. & Title
Key Points
Why have it?
Important to define the level of health and safety input for your
procurement and to secure appropriate expert advice at the outset
of the project. It will not be the same for every project.
You or your staff could,
in the worst case, be
found to be personally
liable for the
consequences of a
failure to ensure the
proper regulation of
health and safety.
When assessing the implications consider the potential impact on:
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No. 3b
Health & Safety
in Procurement
i
ii
iii
Council employees
Third parties – especially members of the public
Contractors/sub-contractors
Guidance can be found on the intranet or via the corporate health and
safety team
Consider health and safety in some or all of the following:
i
ii
iii
iv
v
vi
Procurement strategy
PQQ/ITT
Specification/Schedule of requirements
Contract terms and conditions
Designing evaluation processes (including method statements)
Implementation
Health and Safety not just a matter for the contractor – it’s the Council’s
responsibility not only to fulfil its obligations but also to satisfy itself that
the contractor properly manages health and safety.
Responsibility does not end with the award of the contract – it
lasts throughout the life of the contract.
When to use it
At the outset of your
project.
Serious accidents can
have fatal
consequences or leave
someone with a
permanent serious
injury.
More common
outcomes can include:
i
disruption to a
service/closing
down of a site
ii loss of key workers
iii long, costly legal
cases sometimes
leading to payment
of fines and
compensation
iv adverse publicity
v loss of staff
morale/confidence
vi disciplinary action
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Guide No. & Title
Key Points
Safeguarding (protecting
abuse or neglect) will be
the contractor is likely to
vulnerable adults during
doing for the Council.
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No. 3c
Safeguarding in
Procurement
children and vulnerable adults from
relevant when letting a contract where
come into contact with children and/or
the course of the work that they are
Safeguarding requirements need to be considered:
I
ii
iii
iv
v
vi
in the PQQ/ITT
in the Specification/Schedule of Requirements
Contract terms and conditions
Designing evaluation processes (including method statements)
Implementation
During the life of the contract – especially if complaints about the
contractor’s staff are received by the Council.
Why have it?
Safeguarding is our
responsibility. When
we appoint contractors
to deliver services for
us, some of that
responsibility is
transferred to the
contractor. We are
responsible for
checking that they are
capable of fulfilling this
and do actually fulfil it.
When to use it
At the outset of the
procurement
Safeguarding is not just a matter for the contractor. As with health and
safety the Council retains a responsibility for fulfilling its own obligations
and for satisfying itself that the contractor can and does fulfil its contract
obligations.
CRB checks are not enough. Safeguarding is about more than
CRB checks
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Guide No. & Title
Key Points
Top line definition is minimising the impact that your procurement
makes on the environment.
Biggest environmental gain is to only buy what you really need
and to consider other options at the outset of the project – e.g.
second hand/repair/share/do without.
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Why have it?
Procurement is an
excellent tool for
realising some real
environmental gains.
When to use it
When you are drafting
your procurement
strategy.
There’s a tool on the Sustainable City intranet site to assess the
environmental impact of procurements for large-scale projects.
No. 4
Some set standards for some commodity purchasing, which are set out
in Buying Green in Cambridge
Sustainable
Procurement
Some very helpful guidance in the European Commission Green
Procurement toolkit
Sustainable procurement not just related to commodity purchasing –
particularly important in construction contracts.
Explore sustainability of proposals via method statements at RFQ/ITT
stage.
All requirements must be directly relevant and proportionate to
the subject matter of the contract e.g. we cannot require that a
contractor replaces all the light bulbs in their Head Office with low
energy ones - much as we might like to!
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PROCUREMENT IN A NUTSHELL
Guide No. & Title
Key Points
Problem with procurement is that there is a whole raft of:
European and UK legislation to tell us how to procure things – and
the consequences if we don’t.
ii Local government law which defines whether we have the
appropriate powers to do the things we want to.
iii the Council’s constitution incorporating the Financial Regulations
and the Contract Procedure Rules.
Need to have an awareness of this background and to know when to
ask for help.
i
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No. 5a
The Constitution
and Basic
Procurement
Law
The Public Contracts Regulations set financial thresholds (the OJEU
thresholds) above which we have to follow the very specific rules in the
Regulations:


Services and supplies £173,934
Works £4,348,350
Why have it?
To ensure that we get
what we want at a price
we can afford.
When to use it
As the start when you
are deciding on your
procurement strategy.
Complying with the law
means that we cannot
be successfully
challenged.
Challenges lead to:




Delay and service
disruption
Wasted money
Fines/compensation
Adverse publicity
Services split into Part A (priority) and Part B (also rans) services. Part
A more heavily regulated than Part B
If Regs do apply, the procurement process can be quite long winded
and it will be essential to spread the load among a team of people and
to get procurement help from the start.
Bidders have a right to be treated fairly, openly and transparently. At
the end of the process, they have a right to feedback about their bid
and how it compares (in broad terms) to the winning bid (but without
breaching confidentiality).
Have to have a standstill “cooling off” period at the end of all contracts
valued over the OJEU thresholds – gives unsuccessful bidders the right
to challenge the Council.
Consequences of challenge can be very expensive and disruptive.
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Guide No. & Title
Key Points
Why have it?
When to use it
Following the rules will enable us to resist challenges.
The golden rule here is to consider at an early stage whether you
need to involve the lawyers.
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I won’t try to summarise this here. Suffice it to say that if your contract
is high risk or high/ moderate value you will need a bespoke contract
(low risk/low value contracts are covered by the Purchase Order terms
and conditions) and you will need to engage Legal at the outset of the
project
To ensure that at the
end of your
procurement you can
enforce the wonderful
deal that you have
secured.
For mid-value and
above and/or high risk
projects engage legal at
the start of your project.
No. 5b
Basic Guide to
Contract Law
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Guide No. & Title
Key Points
Procurements over £30k need to be treated as projects.
Guidance re projects can be found in the Project Management
Guidelines (under review) - .
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No. 6
Planning your
Procurement
Project and
Considering
options
Apply guidelines in a way that is proportionate to the value of your
procurement.
Why have it?
To ensure a structured
and comprehensive
approach to the task
and analysis of the
options to set clear
objectives and outputs.
When to use it
At the start of the
project.
Project initiation is a key step whatever the value. Gives you the
opportunity to step back and to go through a structured process to
review







Why your doing the project- do you really need to?
What your objectives are – what benefits and outcomes are you
looking for?
Who your stakeholders are
Who will be in the project team
What the key risks are and how they will be managed
Identify all the available options
Estimate costs
Most of this work will be done in a team setting. It will benefit from a
plethora of brains.
Project Teams comprise two groups – core group (the day to day
“doers”) and associate group (the “advisers”) usually lawyers,
procurement, finance, HR etc).
Options appraisal starts with all the options available (including “off the
wall” ones) and gradually eliminates options as objectives are refined.
The purpose of a procurement project is not to deliver a contract –
it’s to deliver the outputs from the contract.
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Guide No. & Title
Key Points
The Value of your contract is not just the annual value
Decide what outputs are required – are they the same as
before/less/more?
Why have it?
When to use it
Having an accurate
contract value will
determine what:
Once you know what
you want.
a. what budget you
need
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Start with a 12 month price – if contract is longer than 12 months must
value over the life of the contract and remember to include any spare
parts/maintenance/options.
No. 7
If not sure of how long the contract will be e.g. a “rolling contract”, the
value is the annual value times 4.
Calculating the
estimated value
of your Contract
b. what authority you
need at the outset
c. what process you
must follow
d . what terms and
conditions you need
If you want to include options e.g. an extra couple of years or some
new work – the value of these must be included.
Some contracts may be low value but high risk – e.g. if a contractor is
going to hold our money for a period of time. If this is the case be
extra careful!
e. whether you need a
Parent Company
Guarantee/Bond
f.
who signs/seals
your contract
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Guide No. & Title
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No. 8
Preparing a
Procurement
Timetable
Key Points
Why have it?
High value or high risk procurements take longer and use more
resources than low value/low risk ones. If you do not resource
properly or try to rush through and ‘cut corners’ your
procurement will probably run into problems.
To ensure that you
allow sufficient time and
adequate resources for
your procurement.
When to use it
At the beginning of the
project
Factors that influence how long you allow for a procurement and the
timetable e.g.:
i
ii
iii
iv
Capital purchases take longer than revenue ones
Whether the money is already in the budget
High value projects tend to take longer than lower ones
Tender process to be used Open/Restricted/Competitive Dialogue
(CD can take well over 18 months!)
v
If TUPE (transfer of staff) is involved
vi Repeat or new procurement – experience makes things quicker!
Vii How many people need to be consulted?
viii Whether the contractor needs a long implementation period?
viiii Whether the project is innovative or high risk?
ix Whether you intending to collaborate?
x
Whether you going to use a framework agreement?
xi Whether you going to use e.g. ESPO (or similar)?
xii How clear are you about what you want – is the specification
mature or still a blank page?
Several phases need to be planned. Always the same:





Initiation
Approval
Conduct
Implementation
Review and learn
It’s important to review progress against the timetable regularly.
Shortcuts are available if they are really needed but they carry risks!
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Guide No. & Title
Key Points
Having money in the budget is not the same as authority to spend
it!!
Several things can determine the approval/scrutiny process that you
have to go through e.g.:
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No. 9
Approvals and
Scrutiny
i
Capital projects involve more hoops than revenue ones (though
most are the same)
ii
Higher value projects have more hoops – key and non key
decisions
Why have it?
If you don’t have
approval, your project
cannot proceed so you
need to get it in place
as soon as you can.
When to use it
Once you have
completed your project
initiation/options
appraisal and are clear
about what you are
buying/why/and your
budget for the
procurement.
iii If the money is not in the budget there will be a delay. Contact
Finance.
iv How urgent your project is. You can get out of cycle decisions for
urgent projects.
v
Projects involving any unusual financing arrangements e.g. deposits
will take longer.
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Guide No. & Title
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No. 10
Specification
Writing
Key Points
Why have it?
Specification is important and will take time to put together. It’s
the cornerstone of the contract you will end up with – make sure it
gives you what you needed!
A good specification will
usually get you what
you want.
Specification needs to reflect the through life requirements of your
contract.
A bad specification will
not and will have to pay
more to get what you do
want.
Specification required for all contracts over £10k but needs to be
proportionate to the value.
When to use it
Once you have
completed the
initiation/options
appraisal.
Two main types:
a. Input where we tell a contractor what he is to do to achieve the
outcome we have specified i.e. cut the grass twice a month.
Leaves no scope for flexibility or contractor innovation. Not often
used these days.
b. Output where we tell the contractor what outcomes we require i.e.
grass that is no longer than 50mm long. Leave it to contractor to
tell us how he will achieve this – explored in a series of method
statements at ITT stage. This allows for contractor innovation and
expertise.
Writing a specification is a team effort at the outset – need to gather
ideas and information from many sources. Be clear what are
mandatory (must haves) and desirable (nice to haves)
Golden rules
 Plain English
 Clear and accurate
 Logical
 Consistent
Once the specification is mature, it needs to undergo a challenge
process to ensure that the end result will achieve what you want.
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PROCUREMENT IN A NUTSHELL
Guide No. & Title
Key Points
Price = consideration and all contracts must have this.
Price usually cash but not always – if something else e.g. “free”
advertising or services, this need to be valued.
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No. 11
Preparing a
Pricing Strategy
Different types:
 Fixed price – the default position
 Maximum i.e. “no more than”
 Hourly/daily rates – volume driven, can be used in combination
with maximum
 Catalogues e.g. buying stationery. Ask for discounts on
multiples
 Incentivised e.g. sharing any savings on a fixed price
Why have it?
Need a clear price and
payment mechanism to
give both parties
certainty. Important to
managing risk
effectively.
When to use it
When you are putting
your tender pack
together.
Price almost always agreed before contract award, exceptionally
e.g. where requirement is urgent, may be agreed later but you
should always be clear about the strategy to be adopted to get to
the final price.
Choosing the pricing method will depend on what you are buying/how
complete and comprehensive your specification is.
The worst
combination is a vague/incomplete specification and a fixed price.
Bidders will price uncertainty as risk and add it to the bottom line.
If a contract is for more than one year you will need to include a price
review mechanism – this may be up or down.
Agree payment mechanism up front – talk to your Finance rep.
Payment is almost always in arrears. If anything else, talk to your
Finance rep.
Different types of payment mechanism:
 On completion of all work – default position
 Interim – when each specified milestone is achieved
 Regular e.g. monthly - where an ongoing service.
Council looking to increase transition from paper to electronic invoices.
Talk to Finance about it’s requirements for this so you can include these
requirements in your specification
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Guide No. & Title
Key Points
Why have it?
Requirements will depend on the type of work (different rules for Works
than for Services or Supplies) and the value.
The purpose is not only
to comply with law/rules
but to inform market
place of requirement
and get a good range of
appropriate bidders so
that you end up with a
good result
The rules set the minimum requirements. The guiding principle is
“what is the best way of getting good competition?”
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No. 12
Advertising your
Contract
If below the EU threshold (see 5 above), have to advertise (e.g. on
the Council’s website) if likely to be supplier interest in other parts
of the EU and/or we want to attract a local supplier base.
When to use it
When you are planning
your timetable.
Various places to advertise:
a. OJEU – mandatory for all contracts over EU thresholds
b. Council’s website mandatory for all procurements over £75k and
advisory for all procurements over £30k
c. Source Cambridgeshire Portal
d. National/ specialist publications
Some national publications have a long lead in period – need to factor
this into your timetable (6).
Once advertisements appear you need to be ready to send out
documents – ITT or PQQs. Cannot delay.
Don’t need to advertise call offs from Framework contacts.
Mandatory thresholds for advertising likely to be substantially
reduced in near future!
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Guide No. & Title
Key Points
Used for procurements between £10k and £30k. Much simpler and
quicker than an ITT route.
May be low value but high risk (e.g. if the contractor is going to
hold onto our money for some time before it is paid to us) so still
need appropriate/proportionate project and risk management.
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No. 13a
How to Request
for a Quotation
(RFQ) for
Contracts
between £10,000
and £30,000
Why have it?
To get what you want
and give clarity to and
certainty about what
you have agreed.
When to use it
Once the option
appraisal has been
completed.
Still need a timetable, simple specification and evaluation criteria that
are fair and transparent and a contract – these usually the Purchase
Order terms and conditions. If an unusual or higher risk requirement,
discuss terms with Legal.
Use the template RFQ in the Guide. Need Head of Service authority
before RFQ is issued, as he/she will be the one signing the contract.
Allow minimum 10 working days for responses to come back.
No requirement to advertise but may be a good idea for some more
unusual requirements or where want to attract local suppliers.
Response to RFQs will come back to the purchasing officer but the
same principles as for the receipt of tenders must be followed e.g. keep
responses safe, open all quotations at the same time and late
responses cannot be accepted.
Evaluate in accordance with criteria in RFQ – you may still be asked for
feedback by unsuccessful bidders.
At the end of the process inform all the bidders of the outcome of the
exercise.
The contract will comprise your letter accepting the winning quotation
and the purchase order. There are template letters in the guide.
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Guide No. & Title
Key Points
Why have it?
PQQ = application form for inclusion on list of companies to be invited to
tender.
To select the shortlist of
organisations to be
invited to tender.
Use it when running a two stage (restricted) tender i.e. when there are lots
of potential providers to limit the number of tenders that have to be
evaluated and not waste companies time.
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Do not advertise until the PQQ is ready – you will get requests
immediately after advertisement appears and should send the
documents out as soon as possible.
No. 13b
There are limits on the questions that you can ask an applicant at this
stage i.e.:
The PreQualification
Questionnaire
(PQQ) Process
When to use it
Once you have
published your
advertisement.
PQQs must be sent to anyone who asks.



To assess whether one or more of Specified reasons for their
disqualification applies
To assess their economic and financial standing
To assess their professional and technical capability
All criteria at PQQ stage are classed as Selection Criteria. Some critical
requirements are pass/fail e.g. passing a financial viability test, having
certain insurances or qualifications (e.g. Gas Safe registered for a gas
maintenance contract). If these requirements are not met, then the
application fails without more ado.
There are also scored criteria applied to those that get through the pass/
fail tests.
Beware of setting standards unnecessarily high – will limit the market and
unnecessarily disadvantage e.g. small, often local, companies.
Give thought to a pass mark – two types:


E.g. all who score over (say) 55 marks; or
Highest scoring (say) 10 applicants.
You must inform applicants about the outcome at the end of the process.
All applicants are entitled to a de-brief, so it’s important to keep clear and
accurate records.
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Guide No. & Title
Key Points
Why have it?
When to use it
Use the template documents which Procurement can let you have for
the PQQ stage.
The ITT = the formal approach to the market place inviting offers with a
view to appointing a contractor. Used for procurements in excess of
£30k.
Guiding principle in putting together the ITT is achieving a “level
playing field” between potential bidders i.e. it must:
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No. 13c
Inviting a
Tender (ITT)



To get consistent and
comprehensive
proposals to compare
and choose a contractor
When you have
identified the
organisations to be
invited to tender to
deliver your
services/works or
supplies.
Be non-discriminatory
Enable equal treatment between bidders
Be transparent.
Two types of ITT:
i
Open (One stage): involves the publication of an
advertisement/issue of ITTs/evaluation/award of contract and is
used where the potential supply base is limited
ii
Restricted (Two stage): involves the publication of an
advertisement/issue of PQQs/evaluation of PQQs/issue of ITTs/
evaluation of ITTs/award of contract and is used where there is a
wide supply base.
Templates for each type of ITT are available in draft from Procurement
Team. Each follows a similar format:
i
Background and instructions – the important part here is the
design and publication of the evaluation process – consider which
method statements (how the contractor will deliver your services)
you ask for very carefully.
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Continued …..
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No. 13c
Inviting a
Tender (ITT)
Key Points
ii
Council’s Service Requirements – the heart of the ITT and
contains the Specification and contract documents.
iii
Tender – the bit that the bidder fills in.
It contains the
prices/completion of a business questionnaire (for Open only), the
Method Statements/the legal documents.
Why have it?
When to use it
Drafting an ITT can take a long time. It’s a team effort and will
involve detailed input from the associates on the project team (see 6
above). It may be drafted in different parts e.g. specification and
contract documents and method statement questions. Once it is a
final draft it must be read through as a whole to ensure
consistency.
You will have to live with the consequences of the evaluation
criteria in the ITT for the whole life of the contract – make sure you
get them right!
You may get questions from bidders during the tendering period –
when you answer them you must ensure that everyone gets the same
information at the same time.
Tenders are returned to the CPSF – tell them in advance how many to
expect, when and what the tenders are for.
Evaluation (14) follows and can take a long time and involve a number
of people. Evaluation must follow the process described in the
ITT. You may want presentations/site visits to clarify aspects of a
tender.
The Standstill Period (15) comes after evaluation (for contracts over the
EU threshold) which, if there are no problems, is followed by the
Contract Award (16)
Tendering is a very sensitive process and time. It is essential that
confidentiality is maintained and that everyone is treated in
exactly the same.
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Key Points
The key messages here are that:
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i
the evaluation process must be and must be seen to be fair and all
bidders must be treated equally.
ii
it is essential to keep accurate records.
iii
the process must be carried out strictly in accordance with the
process set out in the RFQ or ITT. If you think that your evaluation
criteria are wrong, you will have to go back to the beginning of the
RFQ/tendering phase and re-issue the tender with the correct
evaluation criteria.
iv
the evaluation scheme and process will enable you to justify and
defend the basis for your decisions.
No. 14
Evaluation of
Tenders and
Quotations
Why have it?
To identify the bid that
gives the Council the
best overall value for
money
When to use it
Once you have received
your quotations or
tenders
Two bases for selection either:
a.
Most Economically Advantageous (MEAT), which will allow you to
evaluate price and quality.
b.
Lowest price – you must select the lowest price of all the compliant
bids. Rarely used these days.
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Continued …..
Key Points
Why have it?
When to use it
The complexity of the evaluation process will reflect the value and risk
of the procurement. Make sure it is proportionate.
Each evaluation criteria that you identify and the method statements
you identify must reflect/cross reference to a requirement in the
specification.
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Evaluation must be done by more than one person – check the rules in
the CPR. Use associate members of your project team to evaluate
specialist bits (e.g. comments on legal terms, health and safety,
financial).
No. 14
Criteria must be as objective as possible but the quality ones will be a
matter of judgement – make sure that the evaluation team is applying
the same judgement standards.
Evaluation of
Tenders and
Quotations
If you receive an unusually high or an unusually low bid, contact
Procurement.
The presentation/site visit stage is to verify that what has been written
down is shown in practice – no additional marks are given to this stage
but you may alter marks already awarded to reflect your confidence or
otherwise (this is known as moderation).
Once you are clear about the preferred bidder, you will need to go
through a standstill period (15) if your contract is over the EU
thresholds before you can award your contract. If the value is under
the EU thresholds, you can proceed to contract completion (16)
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No. 15
The Standstill
Period
Key Points
Why have it?
When to use it
Deal with challenges promptly. If in any doubt – especially if you
get a Letter Before Action or Court papers - involve
Legal/Procurement.
It’s the law for all OJEU
level contracts
At the end of the
evaluation period when
you have identified your
preferred bidder.
Applies to all contracts over the EU (OJEU) threshold and gives
disgruntled bidders the chance to air grievances about the process and
to right wrongs.
A challenge is an allegation that we have done some wrong. We have a
duty to consider all challenges.
Period starts after you have identified your “preferred bidder” at the end
of the evaluation process. The Standstill Letters have mandatory
content, so use the templates in the guide.
The period runs for 10 days (15 if you send the letters out by post) but
there are strict rules about this, so use the time calculator in the Guide.
If you ignore the standstill period there is a serious risk of challenge
and your contract, even if awarded, could be declared ineffective i.e. it
would not exist!
You cannot award your contract until all challenges have been
resolved.
Requests for debrief is not the same as a challenge (and need not hold
up the completion of the contract) but should be dealt with promptly.
Best way to avoid successful challenge is to follow the Rules and
to keep clear and accurate records.
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Key Points
You will have included your contract terms and conditions with the RFQ
(13a) or ITT (13c). This guide tells you about contract completion,
which is the point where a legally binding agreement is entered into
between the Council and the contractor.
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No. 16
Contract
Completion
Why have it?
To ensure that the
contractor is legally
bound to deliver the
services that we have
procured.
When to use it
When you have
selected your preferred
bidder
Be aware of the risk of binding the Council into a contract inadvertently
– it’s possible to do this in a meeting/telephone call or e-mail.
Contracts under £30k will normally use the Purchase Order (PO) Terms
and Conditions. High risk or contracts over £30k will need a bespoke
contract and it will be necessary to contact Legal at an early stage
in the project (see 5b above) – not at the end! If you engaging Legal
services, you will need to complete a Contract Instruction Form (link in
the guide).
You should raise a PO for every contract. Particularly important for
contracts under £30k as the PO includes the terms and conditions.
If you want to use a Framework contract – contact Legal and
Procurement at an early stage.
Who can complete the contract?




Under £10k – the purchasing officer or Line Manager
Between £10 and £30k - Head of Service
Between £30 and 75K – relevant Director
£75k and over – Head of Legal Services as these contracts
need to be “under seal” to complete them as a Deed.
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Key Points
Why have it?
This is what all the hoo hah has been about and where your service
finally gets delivered. Taking your eye off the ball here can lead to
disaster! Do not put the contract in a drawer and forget it!
To make sure you get
what you are paying for.
When to use it
Following contract
award
The time needed to carry out this responsibility will depend on the size
and complexity of the contract.
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No. 17
Managing your
Contract and
Preparing for
the Next
The Head of Service must appoint a contract manager for all contracts
over £75k.
To manage a contract you will need to know what’s in it:




who is supposed to do what and when
what the outputs are
what we are supposed to pay and when
what happens if something goes wrong
Legal/Procurement can help you to understand your contract if it’s very
complex or you have just inherited it.
Effective management depends on good communication and kicks off
with a contract launch meeting before the contract starts. At this
meeting you log the obligations of each party, identify an owner for
each and set the timescales for completion/actions for each. The
Contract Management Log will be used throughout the life of the
contract.
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Guide No. & Title
Continued …..
Key Points
Why have it?
When to use it
Thereafter you will need regular meetings with the contractor.
Contract is a living document and may need/should be amended or
varied to reflect the current needs of the service or continuous
improvement. Any amendments/variations must be recorded in writing
and kept with the document. If there is a variation process set out in
the contract this must be followed. It’s essential that you always
know what the Council is paying for.
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No. 17
Managing your
Contract and
Preparing for
the Next
You cannot significantly change a contract – if you need to do this then
you may need to re-tender it – but minor changes to reflect changing
needs are acceptable.
May be defaults or non-compliances during the life of the contract –
don’t ignore them. They should be dealt with promptly and discussed
with the contractor. If it’s necessary to escalate an issue you must
follow the process set out in the contract and keep accurate records.
Most defaults can be remedied if tackled early enough. Procurement
may be able to help.
Ultimately it might be necessary to terminate a contract in part or in
total. If you have exhausted other options then don’t shy away from
this but always, always involve Legal.
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