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What is procurement?
'Procurement' is a term that is widely
used in local government and you may come across it in Council
documents and information. But what does it actually
mean?
Procurement is the acquisition of goods, works
and services from both third parties and inhouse providers. The
procurement process spans the whole cycle from identification of
needs, through to the end of a services contract of the end of the
useful life of an asset. It involves options appraisal and the
critical 'make or buy' decision, which might result in the
provision of services by external or in- house providers.
In the context of the procurement process,
obtaining best value and value for money means choosing the bid
that offers the optimum combination of whole life costs and
benefits that meet the Council's requirements. This is not the
lowest initial price option and requires an assessment of the
ongoing revenue and resource costs as well as initial capital
investment.
The Council's requirements can include
social, environmental and other strategic objectives
and should be defined at the earliest stage of the procurement
cycle. The criterion of best value for money should be used at the
award stage to select the bid that best meets those
requirements.
Corporate Procurement Strategy
Harrogate Borough Council has a Corporate
Procurement Strategy 2005-2008 this was last revised and published
in January 2006. The aim of the Corporate Procurement Strategy
is:
"To create a strategic approach to
procurement that contributes to the Council's improvement agenda
and its aim to be a well managed Authority, by embedding modern
procurement methods in its business planning and service delivery,
and using them to realise cash savings and efficiency gains that
can be re-invested in
services to the public."
The Council's Strategy has five strategic
priorities, four of which are aligned to those of the National
Procurement Strategy for Local Government
You can view or download our Corporate
Procurement Strategy 2005-2008 by following the link in the right
hand column of this webpage.
The Council has also signed up to The National Procurement
Concordat for small and medium enterprises (SME's). The purpose of
the National Procurement Concordat is to set out what small firms
and others supplying Local Government can expect when tendering for
Local Authority contracts. The Concordat also
sets out the standards that public sector buyers should expect from
their suppliers. It is a voluntary, non-statutory code of practice
and is consistent with the delivery of Best Value and EU and UK
procurement regulations.
To read articles from the Harrogate Advertiser on the Councils
commitment to the Concordat click here
Want to know more?
Fill out our online Procurement Enquiry Form.