Guidance for Suppliers and Contractors
Melton Borough Council spends in excess of £5 million on
supplies and services, providing businesses of all sizes with a
wide range of commercial opportunities. The Council's priority is
to secure the best value for money throughout a large and diverse
organisation. To achieve this objective, businesses wishing to
contract with the Council should have some understanding of the
purchasing process that operates within the Council, in addition to
where they can obtain advice if required. There is, of course, a
great deal of competition for Melton Borough Council contracts and
this guide cannot assure individual businesses of success. However
it should provide sufficient information to allow businesses to
present their products or services in compliance with the
purchasing process.
Melton Borough Council purchases supplies and services which
range in value from a few, to many hundreds of thousands of pounds.
They must comply with European Procurement Directivies, UK
Procurement Laws and our own contract procedure rules for the
procurement process. There are several types of contracts entered
into by the Council: these could be purchases for a given
quantity or service by a specified date, regular requirements in
part amounts over a given period, e.g. twelve months call off, or
running contracts over a set period without any firm
quantities.
Melton Borough Council is a partner of the Welland Procurement
Unit who provide procurement capacity, advice and strategy for
the Council. The Welland Procurement Unit may support or run
contract opportunities on behalf of Melton Borough Council or its
other partners which Melton may be party too.
The Welland Procurement Unit is a shared service for six
councils:
Contract Decision Notification
Contract Award
If you are successful in your tender submission you will be
notified in writing, and may be requested to sign a form of
agreement to signify acceptance of the contract award. The Contract
may be made under seal where considered appropriate by the Head of
Legal Services.
Debriefing Tenderers
If you are unsuccessful you will also be notified in writing.
Please note that Melton Borough Council cannot breach contract
confidentiality and disclose contract prices, however if requested,
the Council can inform interested parties of the name(s) of the
successful tenderer(s). The Council is subject to the
Freedom
of Information Act and will disclose information as requested
under the obligations of the Act.
Information businesses may be expected to provide
Before being invited to quote or tender, businesses must note
that they may be required to provide specific details about their
company.
Technical Information
Businesses may be required to demonstrate that they have a good
track record of providing supplies and services to other local
authorities or Government Agencies. Particular emphasis will be
placed upon compliance with specifications and the ability to
deliver and perform the contract in accordance with the terms of
engagement. Businesses should note that references may be requested
and checked by the Procurement Team or relevant Service
Manager.
Financial information
Businesses may be required to provide a copy of their last three
years audited accounts or Bank reference. This is most likely to
take place though a pre-qualification exercise for particular
contracts or tenders. Failure to achieve the desired technical and
financial criteria may result in a business not being invited to
quote or tender.
Purchasing Policy
The Purchasing Policy of the Council has been designed
to provide a formal framework to be used by all the Service Units
engaged in procurement on behalf of the Council. Its purpose is to
ensure that all goods and services purchased are of the optimum
quality, and obtained at the most competitive price to meet the
needs for which they are required. The policy ensures that the
requirements of the public and member accountability are met at all
times and that the Council is seen to trade efficiently and fairly
based on the principles of equal treatment, transparency and
competitive procurement. To view the Council's Procurement
Strategy, please click on the link below:
Melton Borough Council's
Procurement Strategy
European Public Procurement Rules
Contracts for Supply of Good and Services over the value of
£139,893 and Works Contracts over the value of
£3,497,311
All Local Authorities and Public Sector bodies are subject to
European Procurement Directives (that are part of UK law) which
govern how we may purchase goods, services and works over a
specified value. Where the estimated value is expected to exceed
the relevant European threshold, the requirements have to be
advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU).
The threshold is reviewed every two years to commence on the
following 1st January. The regulations stipulate that formal time
scales that must be adhered to. These are intended to ensure that
suppliers are given a reasonable time to respond to adverts. This
includes responding to requests for expressions of interest as well
as responding to invitations to tender. OJEU notices are published
in electronic format and may be accessed via an electronic on-line
service entitled Tenders Electronic Daily provided by OJEU. The
website can be viewed by clicking
here.
Reasons for non acceptance or disqualification
Reasons for disqualification
There are sometimes obvious mistakes and errors that can lead to
a tender being disqualified or not accepted. Most of these can be
avoided if you avoid the following:
- Putting an Identifying mark on the Tender envelope.
- Late submission. Tender documents received after the closing
date for the receipt of tenders will not be considered. You should
return your tender documents no later than the time indicated on
the closing date for the return of tender documents.
- Incorrectly addressing tender submissions. Tender documents
must be sent to the stated return address.
- Incorrectly posting tender submissions. Tender documents
returned in the open post but not in the Tender return envelope
will not be considered.
- Not signing the form of tender.
Reasons for non acceptance
- Uncompetitive - failure to submit the most cost effective, best
value offer.
- Not quoting a price for the specified product (and the
alternative submitted is not an equivalent).
- Not quoting a price for the specified fixed price period.
- Incomplete tenders - not completing the tender document in
full.
- Not supplying samples of products when requested.
- Not supplying samples of management information, reports or
COSHH data sheets with the tender documents.
- Unsatisfactory references (performance) or financial history
within the limits of commercial confidentiality.
The Officer of the Council responsible for the issue of the
Tender documents will indicate to unsuccessful tenderers the
reasons why their bid failed. This should be viewed as constructive
feedback and used to ensure that unsuccessful tenderers are aware
of areas for improvement to enable them to compete more sucessfully
for future contract renewals.
Delivery
Businesses must be capable of delivering the goods or services
in the manner prescribed in the contract. Appointed firms will
liaise with the Service Head should any unexpected failure occur.
Businesses must be aware that Contract conditions will be strictly
applied especially with regard to quality and general performance.
There will be an annual contract review meeting, and where
approiprate monthly and or quarterly meetings. From time to time,
goods or services may be tested to ensure compliance with
contractual requirements
Variations
These may be needed from time to time throughout the contract.
Variations will always be requested in writing, except in an
emergency, where instructions may be requested verbally but will be
retrospectively confirmed in writing.
Post Contract Evaluation
General performance of a contract will be monitored and recorded
for future reference. Businesses are strongly advised to keep their
own records with regard to performance, especially since this might
affect their opportunity to be invited to tender when the contract
expires.
How to find out about contracts
Where the council advertises for contracts will depend upon the
legislation and the type and value of contracts.
Supply and Service Contracts between £15,000 and the European
threshold - National and Local
Melton Borough Council requires that, as a minimum, tenders
worth over £15,000 and up to the EU threshold need to be
advertised. Advertising should reach sufficient potential
providers, and should not show bias. There are a number of free
websites which meet this transparency requirement and are suitable
for tenders of this value.
These include:
Melton Borough Council requires that an advertisement should be
placed in a local newspaper circulating in the Borough. Advertising
in appropriate trade press may also be used to attract bidders.
Supply and Service Contracts above the European
threshold (£139,893) - European Directives
These will be advertised in the Official Journal of the European
Union. Copies of this publication can be obtained from the
following places:
Applying for contracts that are not advertised
The Council does not normally advertise contracts for goods and
services that fall below £15,000 in total. In these cases, the
Council's Service Mangers have the delegation to choose the most
appropriate businesses to be invited to give quotations.
Melton Borough Council uses different methods to select suppliers.
We use new suppliers, suppliers with previous experience, ESPO
approved contracts, Framework contracts let by consortia, the
Welland Procurement Unit and Government Contracts (http://www.ogcbuyingsolutions.gov.uk/),
Catalogues and E Market places. It would be impossible in this
guide to list the diverse types of supplies and services that the
Council purchases.
The Council may go directly to appropriate Framework
contracts to meet its procurement requirements without
advertising. These Frameworks may cover values in excesss of the
European thresholds.
Works Contracts below £3,497,313
Works projects under the European Threshold value will be
advertsied as per the Supply and Service contracts non-European
threshold. Melton Borough Council has a stock of approximately 2000
properties. The Primary duty of the Repairs & Improvements
Service is to maintain and improve the Council housing stock
(Decent Homes) and garages. This includes day to day repairs,
planned maintenance and major repair and improvement schemes. Aids
and adaptations for disabled tenants and their families are also
included in this service. Contracts for this type of work are
likely to be awarded through the operation of a Framework
Contract.
Works Contracts above European threshold (£3497,313) – European
Directivies
Contracts of this value are rare but growing in frequency as
contracts are being let by Welland Procurement Unit on behalf of
the Partner Authorities. This is likely to be for Leisure and
Sporting facilites or other projects of a community benefit.
Construction Industry Tax Scheme
Melton Borough Council is a contractor under the HMRC
Construction Industry Tax Scheme. If your company comes under the
CIS scheme you must supply full documentation to the Finance
department when you commence any work with the Council.
If you do not provide all the required CIS information you may
risk non-payment or a deduction of the full amount of 40%.
Submission of Invoices
When invoices are submitted to the Council they must include the
following information:
- Your company name must be clearly shown at the top of the
invoice
- Company address
- VAT registration number
- Order number (if applicable)
- Clear description of goods/services supplied
- Gross, VAT and nett amounts
How will you be paid?
Melton Borough Council's payment methods are by cheque or Bacs.
We endeavour to pay invoices electronically (Bacs) where possible,
and would appreciate your bank details to be included on your
invoice where possible.
Payments are processed weekly on a Thursday. If being paid by
cheque it should reach by the following Saturday, or if by Bacs it
should be in your account the following Monday.
If you have any queries regarding payment of your invoice please
call Customer Services on (01664) 502502
If you are not satisfied with the payment services provided for
whatever reason please see our Complaints Procedure.
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