12.1 All competitive procurement exercises must be conducted electronically using the Council’s e-procurement system unless the use of an alternative process has been previously approved in writing by the Director of Policy, Performance and Governance.
12.2 Receiving Expressions of Interest
All expressions of interest submitted by prospective tenderers in response to procurement opportunities advertised by the Council must be received by the Council no later than the date and time specified in the original advertisement. An Authorised Officer may consider exceptions to this CPR in situations where a late submission is genuinely outside the control of the supplier concerned, but only with the prior agreement of the Assistant Director of Legal Services.
12.3 Issuing Invitations to Tender
- Where a tendering process involves a conditions of participation/selection stage, an Authorised Officer shall only issue an invitation to tender to those suppliers that have met the required conditions of participation/basic selection criteria, including any minimum standards set. Suppliers may be shortlisted to be invited to tender on the basis of marks awarded against conditions of participation/basic selection criteria.
- An Authorised Officer shall ensure that an invitation to tender is based on a robust procurement strategy and model instructions for tendering approved by the Head of Strategic Procurement.
- Suppliers shall be allowed sufficient time to complete their tenders in accordance with UK public procurement legislation requirements whilst also taking into account the complexity of the requirement and contract, and the time required for suppliers to prepare their response.
- All suppliers that have been invited to tender by the Council must be issued with the same information at the same time and subject to the same conditions. Any clarification, supplementary information, or changes to the content or detail of the invitation, must be provided to them on the same basis.
- All communications with suppliers in relation to the procurement of contracts must be through the Council’s e-procurement system.
12.4 Receiving Tenders
- Where in accordance with CPR 12.1 tenders are submitted electronically, Authorised Officers shall ensure that they are stored securely in the Council’s e-procurement system and remain unopened until the specified date and time,, after which they shall be opened by an officer who has been authorised to do so by the Assistant Director of Legal Services in accordance with a procedure agreed by the Director of Policy, Performance and Governance.
- If any tenderer has not followed the instructions issued within an invitation to tender detailing how their tenders should be delivered, packaged, marked and referenced, such tenders should be excluded from further participation in the tender process to which such instructions related. However, in exceptional circumstances, the Assistant Director of Legal Services may permit an occurrence of minor non-compliance with such instructions provided that the principle of equal treatment of tenderers and the integrity and confidentiality of the tendering process would not be compromised.
- Any tender that does not comply with the instructions set out in the relevant invitation to tender (save for incidences of minor non-compliance of the type described in CPR 12.4(b), shall be rejected and returned to the tendering supplier together with an explanation for its rejection.
- Any tender received by the Council after the published tender submission deadline shall not be opened or considered unless, in the opinion of the Assistant Director of Legal Services or Principal Lawyer or Legal Services Business Partner, after considering relevant evidence provided by the Authorised Officer, the failure to meet the deadline was due to:
- the Council’s fault;
- an act of God, flood, drought, earthquake or other natural disaster;
- epidemic or pandemic;
- terrorist attack, civil war, civil commotion or riots, war, threat of or preparation for war, armed conflict, imposition of sanctions, embargo, or breaking off of diplomatic relations;
- nuclear, chemical or biological contamination or sonic boom;
- any law or action by government;
- the collapse of buildings, fire, explosion or accident; or
- an interruption or failure of utility service in circumstances which are beyond the control of the tenderer (but only in circumstances where such tender was submitted electronically).
12.5 Award
- All contract (including concession contracts) for the supply of goods, services (other than health care services) or works advertised via the Council’s e-procurement system shall be awarded to the supplier(s) that submits the most advantageous tender (assessed from the point of view of the Council) as determined with reference to the published award criteria.
- All contracts (including concession contracts) for the supply of goods, services or works (other than health care services) whose Estimated Total Contract Value exceeds the relevant UK public procurement legislation threshold shall be awarded according to award criteria that is set in accordance with section 23 of PA23.
- An Authorised Officer shall apply only award criteria that is linked to the subject matter of the contract.
- If, having completed a tender evaluation exercise in respect of a contract or concession contract for the supply of goods, services (other than health care services) or works, a tenderer has been identified by the Council as offering the most advantageous tender, a contract may be awarded to them.
- When awarding any contract or concession contract for the supply of goods, services or works (other than health care services) whose Estimated Total Contract Value exceeds the relevant threshold prescribed under the PA23, an Authorised Officer shall issue an assessment summary to all suppliers that submitted an assessed tender and then adhere to the mandatory eight (8) working days Standstill Period (beginning on the day on which a contract award notice is published) before entering into such contract.
- The award process in respect of any contract for the supply of health care services shall comply with the applicable requirements set out in PSR23 and the content of procurement guidance and toolkits issued by the Head of Strategic Procurement.
