Tenders And Contracts
Where tenders are advertised
All contracts over £25,000 are advertised in the local papers, usually the Evening Echo and the Advertiser and where appropriate in the relevant trade journals or magazines. Contracts below the threshold for the European Public Procurement Directives are also advertised on the Government sponsored website Supply2.gov. Some contracts are also advertised in Government Opportunities and Contrax Weekly.
All contracts exceeding the threshold for the European Public Procurement Directives (currently £144,371 for supplies and services and £3,611,319 for works) are advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) unless they are contracts that fall under "Part B" (this includes all contracts involving health and social services). At the beginning of the year the Council advertises a Pre-Information Notice (PIN) for all contracts due to be tendered in that year.
A PIN notice is an advance warning for potential suppliers that later in the year the Council will be advertising these contracts.This is not the contract notice for expressions of interest which will be published later for each separate contract giving details of the contract and who to contact.
Tenders subject to the Directives cannot be advertised anywhere else before the publication in the OJEU and once published there, other adverts can give no more information than that contained in the OJEU.
What tendering involves
For low value contracts (normally under £10,000) we will benchmark and obtain comparative quotes and as best practice will seek a minimum of three quotes and purchase on a best value basis. Official orders are placed for the supply of all goods or services required, unless purchased using a Borough of Poole Purchasing Card.
For medium value contracts (between £10,000 and £25,000) we will obtain three written quotations which are evaluated and purchased on a best value basis and an official order is placed for the goods and services.
Formal tendering is carried out for any procurement of goods or services over £25,000 as required in the Council's Constitution. All such contract opportunities are advertised in the local press and in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) where appropriate.
Tender documentation contains details of our requirements, in some cases a Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) will be sent requesting various information and documentation as a first stage. This is then assessed against the criteria for the contract and tenders are then sent to the firms selected. The criteria against which the tender submission will be judged and the weighting (if any) applied to each criterion will be laid out either in the OJEU advertisement or in the tender documentation itself.
It is important to read through thoroughly and complete the documentation so you can provide all the information requested. Also ensure you complete the pricing schedule in the way requested. This will allow your tender to be compared on an equal basis and avoid the possibility of it being disqualified.
Either the tender or the PQQ will ask for some or all of the following information:
- Insurance details and copies of your current insurance policies
- Financial details including your last 3 years audited accounts and (where appropriate) your Companies House registration number
- VAT registration number
- Technical referees
- Details regarding Health & Safety, Equal Opportunities, Race Relations and Human Rights compliance
- Details of your technical capacity to fulfil the contract
- Management structure, staffing, qualifications and recruitment procedures and policy
To ensure integrity and fairness in dealing with your tenders, they are returned to Legal & Democratic Services who arrange for all tenders to be kept secure then opened together and witnessed by Councillors in the presence of the appropriate council officers. Therefore tenders must be returned using the day-glow label provided with the tender documentation. The label, the tender documentation and the contract advertisement will specify the time and date before which the tender must be returned
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