Tendering Procedure(Non Electronic Tendering)

Version 4 : June 2012

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Officers are reminded that they can only source on behalf of the Council for Non Addressable Spend. Transform Sandwell Procurement Service are responsible for sourcing Addressable spend (See Appendix 5). If your requirements fall within this remit then the relevant team within the Procurement Service should be contacted.

Once a request for the formulation of a Framework Agreement, Contract, or Smartform, for addressable spend, has been submitted to Transform Sandwell Procurement the responsibility for compliance with the Procurement & Contract Procedure Rules falls with them. This document has been produced to assist officers to comply with the requirements of the Procurement and Contract Procedure Rules. It is assumed that officers have already identified that a tendering exercise needs to be undertaken and has obtained the relevant approvals to do so. If tendering requirement dictates that the EU Public Procurement Directives need to be adhered to then contact must be made with the Director of Legal and Democratic Services who will nominate a solicitor to offer advice. The Procurement Strategy Officer should also be contacted for additional advice and support.

The whole of this procedure is applicable to any contracts, with an estimated value in excess of £50,001, for which tenders are to be invited and should be read in conjunction with the Council’s Procurement and Contract Procedure Rules which can be found on the Council’s Intranet (within the Strategic Resources pages).

The requirements of the Council’s Corporate Procurement Strategy should be included within any tender documents that are produced. If you have any queries relating to this then you should contact the Council’s Procurement Strategy Officer. Appendix 7 includes details of specialist officers who can be contacted for guidance with regard to how these requirements can be met.

All tenders and contract documentation shall be worded in such form so as to protect the Council’s interests, in accordance with advice from the Director of Legal and Democratic Services. Details of who to contact to comply with this can be found in Appendix 7 of this document.

The requirement for achieving “value for Money” remains, but this does not mean the lowest price. The Procurement officer must ensure that the best combination of cost and quality are used when awarding Council Contracts to ensure that the full requirements are met.

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Where tenders are evaluated on a price/quality basis, other than for Adult or Children's Social Care Contracts, a maximum score of 20% should be given to the quality element of the award criteria. As indicated this is a maximum score and officers need to be able to justify the reasoning behind any award criteria for quality by keeping details on the Contract File. The Procurement Strategy Officer or Director of Legal and Democratic Services may require to examine these details prior to approving tender documentation.

In some instances, where companies have already been assessed with regard to the capability of undertaking the contract and the Specification/Terms & Conditions of Contract are sufficient to fulfil the needs then consideration should be given to a Price only award.

If for any reason it is deemed necessary to include a higher score for quality then agreement must be sought from the Procurement Strategy Officer.

The process must be transparent and details of how the tender will be analysed must be included within any adverts, Pre Qualification Questionnaires (PQQ’s) and Invitation to Tender (ITT) documentation relating to the process. The agreed criteria will be included, in full, within the tender documentation. It is important that once the Procurement Process has commenced and this information is within the public domain that it is not altered in any way. Officers must be mindful at all times that they are acting on behalf of the Council and as such are required to protect the Council’s interests. Again, if in any doubt contact either the Procurement Strategy Officer or Director of Legal and Democratic Services.

If officers are considering using contracts awarded by other Council’s or Buying Consortia (eg Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation (ESPO), Office of government & Commerce (OGC)) then advice must be sought from the Procurement Strategy Officer. This will ensure that the correct approval route is followed.

Also included at the back of this document are:

Notes to Tenderers (Appendix 1)

Business Continuity Checklist (Appendix 2)

Anti Collusion Clause (Appendix 3)

Non-Canvassing Certificate (Appendix 4)

Equality & Diversity Contract Clause (Appendix 5)

What is Addressable Spend (Appendix 6)

Contact Officers (Appendix 7)

Exemption Report (Appendix 8)

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Tendering Procedures

There are different tendering procedures that can be followed and the decision with regard to which one needs to be followed must be made prior to commencing any Procurement process. Officers are advised to seek advice from officers within TS Procurement or the Council’s Procurement Strategy Officer with regard to what process to follow.

It is suggested that officers also read the Selection and Award Criteria document that is available.

A brief overview of each procedure is listed below:

Open Procedure

Full requirements are issued to all companies who, following advertisement, show an expression of interest to supply/provide the required goods, works or services to the Council.

The document includes all of the required Terms & Conditions of Contract, Specification and tender evaluation criteria.

Selection & Award Criteria can be used following this Procedure however there needs to be a clear distinction between the two and transparency with regard to how companies may be excluded.

Restricted Procedure

This is a two stage process where there is a requirement to assess a Companies capability prior to issuing the tender documentation.

Stage 1: Pre Qualification Questionnaire: This is issued to all Companies who, following advertisement, show an expression of interest to supply/provide the required goods, works or services to the Council.

The Questionnaire will include details of how the Council intend to assess the interested Companies capability of undertaking the Contract.

At this stage the Council can limit the number of Companies that they intend to invite to Tender. However, the Procurement Officer must ensure that they have included details of how this will be achieved.

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Stage 2 : Invitation to Tender: Tender documentation including the Terms & Conditions of Contract, Specification and evaluation criteria must be included within the tender documentation.

For Construction related procurements the Council currently utilises Construction Line for the pre qualification stage. However, there is still a requirement to advertise on Find it in Sandwell, details of the requirement for Companies to be registered with Construction Line must be included within the advertisement. Any requirement for companies to be registered with a Safety Schemes in Procurement organisation must also be clearly stated.

Competitive Dialogue/Negotiated Procedure

These procedures are used when the Council cannot easily specify their requirements.

It is anticipated that these procedures will not be followed by many officers within the Council.

If further advice is required with regard to the possibility of following this procedure then the Council’s Procurement Strategy Officer or the Director of Legal and Democratic Services must be contacted.

Timescales

If the Procurement Process is over the E U Procurement Directive threshold then there are specific timescales that need to be followed. Details with regard to these can be obtained from the TS Procurement Service or the Procurement Strategy Officer.

It is best practice to follow these timescales for all procurements, but it is appreciated that these cannot be followed at all times or may not be proportionate to the requirement. Therefore, officers need to consider the complexity of the requirement and allow sufficient time for companies to complete the documentation.

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Invitation to Tender

The process below refers to issuing documentation in a paper based format.

All tenders must be returned as a sealed bid and officers must ensure that a label, with details of the tender, closing date & time and return address, is issued with each tender. Tenderers must be advised that this label must be used. The return address for all tenders will be:

Head of Legal and Governance ServicesDemocratic Services UnitSandwell Metropolitan Borough CouncilSandwell Council HouseOldburySandwellWest MidlandsB69 3DE

Packages shall bear only the words 'Tender' followed by the subject to which it relates and the date and time by which it is due.

Prior to the return date the Democratic Services Unit must be provided with a Tender Schedule by the officer undertaking the tendering process. The schedule should contain:

Officers are reminded that all tenders must be advertised, at a minimum, on Find it in Sandwell.

Receipt of Tender Documents

All returned tenders will be kept by the Democratic Services Unit until they are opened. An officer from the Democratic Services Unit will advise the date and time of the tender opening.

Tenders will only be opened in the presence of an officer from Both the Democratic Services Unit and the relevant Service Area. The Tender Schedule will be completed indicating the tenders received and where possible the price on the tender. Both officers must sign the Schedule. A copyof the completed Tender Schedule will be given to the procurement officer who can then take the tenders away for evaluation.

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Tender Analysis/Contract Award

Records must be kept of all data relating to the analysis of returned tenders.

Chief Officer delegations are to be taken into consideration with regard to Contract Award.

Details of all contracts awarded/extended should be sent to the Procurement Strategy Officer. To ensure that the information is submitted in the correct format, please contact the Procurement Strategy Officer to forward the most relevant format for this information.

Democratic Services must be advised of all Contract Awards to ensure that the information is reported to the relevant CAT for information. This minute number can then be used as part of the information required for the contract to be formalised.

Finalising the Process

All Contracts below £100,000 can be signed by the relevant Chief Officer (subject to having required delegations).

Any Contract above £100,000 must be signed by the Director of Legal and Governance Services

Please Note:

To ensure that the Contract can be signed officers must provide the following to Legal Services:

in accordance with the resolution set out in the report. A signed statement from appropriate officer that the details of the Contract Award has been sent to the Procurement Strategy Officer for inclusion within the Council's Contract Register.

All unsuccessful tenderers must be notified in writing and debriefed on request, in accordance with the Council’s Code of Practice for Debriefing Unsuccessful Tenderers.

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Contract Extensions

This relates only to the extension of contracts at the end of the current contract period – not to extend the content or addition of more goods/services.

Contracts can only be extended if :

Provision has been made in the initial Advertisements and tender documents that it may be subject to an extension;

Benchmarking, with similar organisations has been undertaken to prove that the contract continues to provide value for money;

Any price increase are in accordance with the relevant contractual provision (eg. In line with an appropriate published index);

The appropriate Chief Officer and the Procurement Strategy Officer are satisfied that no better terms could be obtained by competitive tendering, or the nature or urgency of the work make it desirable that the same Contractor is employed and

Not more than one negotiated extension is permitted for any one contract or series of related contracts unless a report is approved in Accordance with Rule A7.

Comments of the Chief Officer, Procurement Strategy Officer and copies of any Exemption reports must be kept on the appropriate Contract file.

The extension must be reported, for information, to the appropriate Cabinet Member at his/her next public decision making session (Cabinet Advisory Team). This is done so by reporting the extension to the relevant Democratic Services Officer.

Details of all Contract Extensions should be forwarded to the Procurement Strategy Officer so that the Council’s Contract Register can be updated.

6. Exemptions to Procurement & Contract Procedure Rules

Exemptions are only to be used when consideration of all other avenues to obtain the goods, services or works have been exhausted. Other than Special Circumstancse such as“sole provider”, Insufficient responses to a quotation/tendering process or justification for an extension to a contract (that has already been extended previously or provisions do not allow) it is doubtful that an exemption will be approved.

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Details are to be included within the report to justify why it is felt that an Exemption is appropriate.

Officers must at all times be able to demonstrate that the recommended course of action provides Value for Money to the Council and that any risks have been considered.

The process must be undertaken in consultation with the Procurement Strategy Officer, whose comments must also be included within the report.

No Officer within the Council or Transform Sandwell can approve an Exemption to Procurement & Contract Procedure Rules.

Chief Officers (for Non Addressable Spend) and TS Head of Procurement (for Addressable Spend) can endorse the Exemption, but they do not have the authority to approve.

The Council’s Director of Strategic Resources signature is required before final approval is sought from the Cabinet Member for Strategic Resources.

If an exemption is required the process to follow is:

1. Speak to the Procurement Strategy Officer to confirm that this is the correct route to follow and to obtain comments for inclusion within the report;

2. Non Addressable Spend: Produce report and obtain endorsement from the relevant Chief Officer.

Addressable Spend: An Officer within the TS Procurement Service to produce the report and obtain endorsement from the TS Head of Procurement.

3. Forward report to the Procurement Strategy Officer who will obtain required signatures from the Director of Strategic Resources and the Cabinet Member of Strategic Resources.

4. Once approved the Procurement Strategy Officer will forward a copy of the report to all signatories. Details of the Exemption will be retained within Strategic Finance and where applicable details will be added onto the Council’s Contracts register.

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Appendix 1

SANDWELL METROPOLITAN BOROUGH COUNCIL

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO TENDERERS

It is important that your tender complies with the Council’s tendering procedure.

Your attention is drawn to the following points in particular:

(1) The deadline for the submission of tenders must be observed.

Any tender received after the time specified in the invitation to tender, for whatever reason, will not be considered.

(2) Tender documentation should be submitted bearing the label supplied, to ensure it is identified and dealt with appropriately.

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The Council’s requirements with regard to tenders do not permit any discretion and therefore any tender which does not comply, for whatever reason will be declared invalid and be disregarded.

Jan BrittonChief Executive

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Appendix 2

Business Continuity

BS 25999 Compliance checklist for suppliers / partners / contractorsThe question:Is there documented evidence of ...

Completed? Adequate?

… a plan owner… a plan writer or plan writing team… the date of completion… version control information… proposals for review and amendment (who and when?)… signing off / approval (who and when?)… links with any other plans

Scope of the plan… a clear purpose for the plan… persons or groups covered by the plan… locations covered by the plan… causal scenarios… triggers identifying how and when the plan is to be invoked… definition of the roles and responsibilities for people and teams having

authority under the plan… listing of activities and processes within service delivery

Critical activities to be recovered… how the activities that are critical have been selected… timescales for their recovery… recovery levels required for each activity… evaluation of alternative strategies and tactics… risk assessment options (accept, prevent, reduce, treat)… measures for prevention of disaster escalation

Alternative working arrangements… staffing arrangements when levels severely affected… provision for alternative locations when access denied… ICT back-up, alternative ways of working… transportation provisions… schedules of alternative suppliers… contact details for stakeholders… next of kin and emergency contacts… mobilisation of teams at different levels

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Communications plan… provision for communications with employees… provision for communications with customers… provision for communications with the media

Checklist of actions to be taken ‘on the day’… rendezvous points… B.C. Management Team meeting locations… identification of vulnerable persons during incidents

and special support to be given… site evacuation procedures… mobilization of first aid or evacuation teams … provision for head-counts

And finally…is there a standing down process?

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Appendix 3

Anti Collusion Clause

Anti-Collusion Certificate

The essence of the public procurement process is that the Council shall receive bona fide competitive tenders from all Tenderers. In recognition of this principle we hereby certify that all of the submissions we shall make during the tendering process will be bona fide, that this tender is intended to be competitive, and that we have not fixed or adjusted the nature or amount of the Tender or the rates or prices quoted by or in accordance with any agreement or arrangement with any other Tenderer. We have not and insofar as we are aware neither has any other supply chain member:

Entered into any agreement with any other person with the aim of preventing tenders being made or as to the fixing or adjusting of the nature or amount of any Tenders or the conditions on which any Tender is made;

Informed any other person, other than the person calling for this Tender, of the detail including but not limited to the nature or the approximate nature or the Tender or the amount or approximate amount of the Tender, except where the disclosure, in confidence, or the amount of the Tender was necessary to obtain quotations necessary for the preparation of the tender for insurance, for performance bonds and / or parent company guarantee or for professional advice required for the preparation of the Tender;

Caused or induced any person to enter into such an agreement as is mentioned in bullets 1 and 2 above or to inform us of the nature and / or amount of any rival Tender in response to the ITT or had the benefit, in the preparation of this tender of any inside information about the intentions of any other Tenderer;

Committed any offence under sections 1,2,6 or 7 of the Bribery Act 2010 or under Section 117 of the Local Government Act 1972;

Offered or agreed to pay or give any sum of money, inducement or valuable consideration directly or indirectly to any person for doing or having done or causing or having caused to be done in relation to any other Tender; or

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Contacted any member or officer of, or any person engaged as an advisor by the Council about any aspect of the Tender in a manner not permitted by the ITT including (but without limitation) for the purposes of discussing the possibility of their future employment for or engagement by the Tenderer or for soliciting information in connection with this Tender.

We also undertake that we shall not procure the doing of any of the acts mentioned in bullets 1 to 6 above nor (in the event of the tender being accepted) shall we do so while the resulting contract continues in force between us (or our successors in title) and the Council.

We understand that if we have been involved in the conduct described above and/or falsely complete this certificate and/or we fail to declare any circumstances described above then the Council shall be entitled to exclude us and the Tender from this procurement process.

In this certificate the word “person” includes any person, body or association, corporate and incorporate and “agreement” includes any arrangement whether formal or informal and whether legally binding or not.

Signed:

For and on behalf of:

Dated:

Signed:

For and behalf of:

Dated:

Failure to complete this form could exclude your Companies Tender from any assessment as part of this tendering process.

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Appendix 4

Non-Canvassing Certificate

NON-CANVASSING CERTIFICATE

To: Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (the “Council”)

1. We hereby certify that we have not canvassed or solicited any officer, board member or employee of the Council or it’s advisers, agents or representatives in connection with this Tender or in connection with any other Tender or proposed Tender for the Contract and that no person employed by us or acting on our behalf has done any such act.

2. We further hereby undertake that we will not in the future canvass or solicit any director, officer, member or employee of the Council or their advisers, agents or representatives in connection with this Tender or in connection with any other Tender or proposed Tender for the Contract and that no person employed by us or acing on our behalf will do any such act.

Signed………………………..

Status…………………………

Dated………………………….

Duly authorised to sign tenders and acknowledge the contents of the Non-Canvassing Certificate.

For and on behalf of…………………………………(Name of Tenderer).

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Appendix 5

Equality and Diversity Clause

Officers should ensure the following:

(a) The Contractor shall adopt and at all times observe a policy of

equality and diversity in employment for all workers and in

relation to the provision of goods, services and facilities

regardless of age disability marriage and civil partnership

gender reassignment pregnancy and maternity race

religion or belief sex or sexual orientation and the

Contractor shall comply with the Equality Act 2010 and all

applicable Codes of Practice made thereunder

(b) In the event of any finding of unlawful discrimination being

made against the Contractor in the last three years by any

Court or Employment Tribunal or of an adverse finding in

any formal investigation by the Equality and Human Rights

Commission over the same period the Contractor shall

take appropriate steps to prevent repetition of the unlawful

discrimination

(c) The Contractor shall on request provide the Council with

details of any steps taken under Clause 10 (b)

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(d) The Contractor shall set out its policy or policies on

equality and diversity

(i) in instructions to those concerned with recruitment

training and promotion

(ii) in documents available to employees recognised trade

unions or other representative groups of employees

(iii) in recruitment advertisements or other literature

(e) The Contractor shall on request provide the Council with

examples of the instructions and other documents

recruitment advertisements or other literature

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Appendix 6

What is Addressable Spend?

In July 2010 Transform Sandwell commenced provision of a Best Practice Procurement Service to the Council.

As well as a more streamlined Procure to Pay process signing the agreement gave Transform Sandwell the remit to Strategically source Brought in Goods and Services (BIGS) on behalf of the Council. For the purpose of this agreement the spend that falls within Transform Sandwell remit is known as Addressable Spend. All sourcing activity relating to Addressable Spend falls within the remit of the Transform Sandwell Procurement Service and cannot be undertaken by officers within the council.

Addressable spend equates to approximately £70 million per annum, but excludes spend for:

Social CareFleet

Waste Capital Coded Expenditure

Building Schools for the Future

Further details with regard to the Transform Sandwell Procurement Service can be found on the Transform Sandwell Procurement Services intranet site.

Council Officers will still be required to specify their requirements and must ensure that as much information as possible is submitted to the Procurement Service to ensure that these requirements are met.

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Appendix 7

Contact Officers:

Name Advice Contact DetailsTransform Sandwell Procurement Service

Head of Procurement : Jadon Silva

Endorsement of Exemption Reports for Addressable Spend;Procurement Advice and Support;Sourcing of Addressable Spend;Use of Construction line and West Midlands Equality Standards;

0121 569 3625

Karen Stringer Procurement & Contract Procedure Rules.Procurement processes. Corporate Procurement Strategy.Tender document/analysis approvalAdvice regarding Transform Sandwell Procurement Service.

0121 569 2371

Suzanne BurrellDan ReevesLee KinghamDel SinghDan Critchley

Tender/Contract content/Award Criteria and Contract signature

0121 569 32310121 569 35060121 569 31790121 569 37960121 569 3233

Paul SmithKaren Griffin

Employment benefits within Contracts 0121 569 33090121 569 2104

Janet Lock Sustainability Issues 0121 569 4001Steve Massey Advertising on Find it in Sandwell 0121 569 2105Mike Keay Tender opening procedures 0121 569 3184

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Appendix 8

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council

Action Taken Under Delegated Powers – Exemption from Procurement and Contract Procedure Rules

(Title of Contract)

The headings within the summary statement are for guidance only. If not relevant please delete.

1. Summary Statement

1.1 (Details of contract and reasons why an exemption from Procurement & Contract Procedure Rules is required)

1.2 (Period of time that the exemption is required)

1.3 (Cost of the Contract)

1.4 (Remedial Action to be taken)

1.5 (comments of the Procurement Strategy Officer)

1.6 Value for Money obtained?

1.7 Risk Assessment

1.8 In accordance with the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules (Rule A7), an exemption from any Rule may be endorsed by the most senior Chief Officer, independent from the initial decision making process, confirming the Chief Officer is satisfied that the exemption is justified by special circumstances. The report must be approved by the Cabinet Member for Strategic Resources.Transform Sandwell Head of Procurement will seek approval from the Director of Strategic Resources for Addressable Spend, prior to final approval from the Cabinet Member for Strategic Resources.

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2 Recommendation

2.1 That the contract for , be awarded to , at a cost of £. , for the period of

2.2 That any necessary exemptions be made to the Council’s Procurement & Contract Procedure Rules to enable the course of action referred to in 2.1 above to proceed.

In accordance with the Council’s Procurement and Contract Procedure Rules, I intend to take the action(s) recommended above.

I do/do not have an interest to declare in this matter

Director of or TS Head of ProcurementDate:

I do/do not have an interest to declare in this matter.

Stuart KellasDirector of Strategic ResourcesDate:

I do/do not have an interest to declare in this matter.

Cllr ElingCabinet Member for Strategic Resources.

Date:

Contact Officer

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3. Background Details

5.1

5.2

5.3

5.4

5.5

5.6

5.7

5.8

Source Documents(Do not list documents which contain exempt

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