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What's Involved in Tendering with the Council?
All contracts are tendered and awarded in compliance with EU
regulation, the Council's Financial Procedure Rules and Contract
Procedure Rules. These govern our contracting activities and lay
down procedures for placing orders, obtaining quotations, tenders
and the award of contracts. They are designed to ensure that:
- Proper procedures are followed
- The tendering and selection process is open, fair and transparent
- Contract documentation includes certain essential terms and conditions
The process will vary depending on the value of the
work.
Tendering
The Council uses several different types of tendering.
Selective Tendering
Selective tendering can be either where prospective
contractors are invited to tender by public notice (ad-hoc list)
or where invitations to tender for a contract are
limited to those persons whose names are included in a list
compiled and maintained for that purpose (selective list or standing
list).
Open Tendering
Tenders for a contract are obtained by open competition.
Single Tendering
In exceptional circumstances, and where it is in the best
interests of the Council, tenders can be invited from a single
contractor or can be negotiated with a contractor already engaged
by the Council.
Serial Tendering
In exceptional circumstances, where it is in the best
interests of the Council, and where the contract forms part of a
serial programme, tenders can be invited from and negotiated with a
particular contractor, based on the rates and prices contained in
the initial contract that was awarded competitively.
Please note - the above definitions are for guidance only. Full legal definitions of terms and circumstances under which they apply are set down in the Council's Financial Procedure Rules and Contract Procedure Rules.
Typical Procedures
Short listed contractors will be invited to submit a tender,
or quotation, our documents would normally include:
- A letter of invitation
- Instructions - this will guide you on the time you have in which to complete the tender, how it is to be returned to us (special envelopes), points of contact for queries and our evaluation criteria for selection.
- Drawing and / or Specification this will give exact detail of work required in order to ensure competing contractors are quoting for the same things.
- Contract conditions - details of the terms and conditions you must comply with when working for the Council.
- Schedule of Sub-Contractors any work that you have priced which will be carried out by a third party must be declared at the tender stage.
- Form of Tender. A simple form which indicates your total price for the work (excluding VAT), and accepting that you have examined and understood all what will be required of you in carrying out of the works.
It is in your own interest to carefully read all information
supplied and submit all the documentation as detailed by the
stipulated date. Your success will be determined by the quality of
the information you provide.
Your tender will be opened at the same time as the competition
in order to ensure fairness is maintained throughout the process.
Complicated submissions usually take longer to evaluate. We will
usually award the contract to the contractor who is either the most
competitive on price only submissions or whom we consider offers
best value, having regard to price and quality.
We will always write to unsuccessful contractors to assist them in identifying what area of their submission was weak in order to develop their abilities for any future tendering opportunities with either this Council or others.