Contact:
  • Corporate Procurement Unit
  • Address:

    First Floor, Trimbridge House, Trim Street, Bath BA1 2DP

  • E-mail:
    val_slack@bathnes.gov.uk
  • Telephone:
    01225 477334
  • Fax:
     
  • Minicom:
    Not available
  • Page Updated:
    19/07/2008
  • Author:
    Val Slack
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Procurement - Policy

Welcome to Bath & North East Somerset’s Suppliers Guide


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The Bath & North East Somerset area is noted for its historic architecture and the splendour of its countryside. Bath is a World Heritage City set in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It also has a thriving business centre with high technology and multi-media businesses.

The population of Bath and North East Somerset is over 170,000. Around 6,500 people are employed by the Council, which became a Unitary Authority in 1996.

This Guide has been produced to help both current and potential suppliers understand how to do business with the Council. The Guide explains how the Council is structured and outlines how suppliers can find out about contracts. The Council procures goods, works and services from a wide range of suppliers and service providers. This can range from small, one-off purchases up to multi-million pound service contracts which run for several years.

These pages contain the following information:

  • Examples of the supplies, services and works we buy
  • The methods we adopt in order to put contracts in place
  • The principal laws and procedures that apply
  • Relevant Council policies and strategies
  • Contact points for further information

We hope potential suppliers find this guide useful and we would welcome any comments/questions potential suppliers may have. To communicate any feedback pleases contact:

Eddy Hale, Corporate Procurement Manager, Procurement Team, 1st  Floor, Trimbridge House, Trim Street, Bath , BA1 2DP, Telephone: 01225 477334

E-mail:  Eddy Hale

How the Council buys goods and services

The Council has established a range of procedures for offering work or buying products depending on the value and type of product under consideration.

The Council does undertake some spot purchasing for low value items, but many of its general supplies are purchased through pre-tendered contracts.  These are let by the Council or as a collaborative procurement with other public bodies. Some of the contracts in place are framework agreements, arranged as part of wider Public Service Consortia, e.g. the Office for Government Commerce (OGC).

New contract opportunities are advertised via public advertisement in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU), usually supplemented with advertising in local newspapers and relevant trade journals. The majority of Council contracts are between 3 and 5 year terms.

Apart from key corporate contracts covering authority wide requirements, (which are either handled by the Procurement Manager or a nominated Lead Officer); all other procurement is devolved to a Responsible Officer in a specific service area. This ensures that the goods, works and services purchased are tailored to user’s particular requirements.

Potential suppliers may contact the relevant service area for more advice or information on how to engage with the Council.

How much does the Council spend?­­­­­­­­

The Council typically spends in excess of £150 million* per annum, £112 million of this on goods, works and services and a further £40 million on construction works and other capital projects.

The Council procures goods, works and services from a wide range of suppliers, contractors and service providers. This can range from small, one-off purchases up to multi-million pound contracts lasting several years.

There are three categories of contract:

  1. Works contracts
  2. Supply of goods and materials
  3. Provision of services

Procurement legislation specifies the process which must be followed for each of these categories. The Council’s Contract Standing Orders set out the Council’s internal rules and procedures to be used in complying with this legislation and offers further useful guidance to Council Procurement Practitioners and Suppliers.

*Excluding staffing costs and certain education spending

What the Council buys

Active Suppliers

In 2004/5 we had approximately 7,500 active suppliers and we processed in excess of 93,000 invoices. We are actively working to rationalise our supplier base and move to consolidated electronic invoicing as and when appropriate.

The Council buys a range of Goods, Services and Works. An indication of the wide range of these purchases can be found below:

Services

  • Advertising
  • Adult Social Care Services
  • Agency Staff
  • Child Care and Education Services
  • Consultancy Services
  • Electrical Maintenance
  • Green waste & cardboard recycling
  • Hygiene Services
  • Mechanical Maintenance
  • Public Transport
  • Residential Care Contracts
  • Refuse Collection
  • Security Services
  • Telecommunications
  • Transport
  • Vehicle Hire
  • Waste Disposal

Goods

  • Books
  • Building Materials
  • Electrical Goods
  • Office Furniture and Equipment
  • Stationery
  • Street Furniture
  • Uniforms and Protective Clothing
  • Vehicles

Utilities

  • Gas
  • Electricity
  • Water
  • Fuel
  • Street Lighting

Works

  • Highway Construction
  • Highway Maintenance
  • Property Construction
  • Property Maintenance

Best Value

Since April 2001 all local authorities have been subject to the duty of Best Value and the Councils policies and procedures are consistent with delivering Best Value.

Local authorities are required to make arrangements to secure continuous improvement in the way in which they carry out their functions, having regard to a combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness. Best Value recognises that good procurement practice is essential if local government is to obtain real improvements to service cost and quality.

Best Value puts the interests of the public first. It requires us to make a full appraisal of all possible options for service delivery and select the option that is best able to meet these standards. In order to arrive at the most economically advantageous solution the Council may decide that  the best option will involve the procurement of services from external providers or through some form of partnership arrangement with other providers.

Should the decision be taken to outsource service provision through a tendering procedure, we have a duty to ensure that the contract demonstrates Best Value and continuous improvement.

Our aim is to encourage long term arrangements and strategic partnerships which make the requirement for continuous improvement more readily achievable.

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