Business

Registering an interest

When responding to advertisements in the OJEU or over the value of £50,000 where a tender might be advertised in a Trade Journal, local newspaper and/or e-portal the Council may require you to provide a written Expression of Interest (EoI) sent to the department named in the advert.

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Checking your viability

Following receipt of the EoI, you may be asked (dependent on the procurement process) to complete a Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ), so that we can satisfy ourselves that you are capable of carrying out the work. For high value and/or high risk procurement, this will also include a risk assessment.

The Council is a member of Constructionline, the UK's largest register for pre-qualified contractors and consultants.

The Council is also looking to develop and utilise the Build Up North Staffordshire (BUNS) data-base of SME’s, suppliers being able to register for this service at no charge.

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Invitation to tender

Following receipt of the PQQ a decision will be made by the officers involved in the contract as to whether they wish to invite you to tender. The Council will normally set the number of shortlisted providers it wishes to take forward to tender. However, if this not prescribed, at least four chosen by the Cabinet or appropriate Committee, must be invited to tender. Where less than four suitable providers express an interest all will normally be asked to tender.

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Supplying information

If you have been selected to tender, you will be sent the tender documentation, which may contain the following information:-

• A procurement timetable
• Financial reference request 
• Insurance details request
• Health and safety checklists 
• Draft contract terms. 
• A specification that describes clearly the Council’s requirements in sufficient detail to enable the submission of competitive offers. 
• Pricing mechanism and instructions for completion. 
• Information you supply will be subject to the ‘Freedom of Information Act’ and you should review these requirements, as contained in the tender documentation.

There will also be supplementary questions specific to the contract. Usually these questions will be the ones that determine whether you have the necessary skills and capacity to fulfil the contract in relation to other firms who may be tendering.

PLEASE NOTE – it is vitally important that you answer all questions fully and provide all requested documentation. You may contact the project manager to ask supplementary questions or seek clarification, however:

• The Council reserves the right not to answer certain questions and  
• There is a requirement to make the answers to any questions available to all shortlisted providers involved in the tendering process.

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Decision making

You must complete and return all the required tender documents, by the given time and date.

The Council can only accept tenders that:

• are enclosed in a plain sealed envelope 
• have only the words 'Tender' and the title of the contract written on it 
• have NO mark, name, stamp or any other way of identifying the tenderer on the envelope

Where tender documentation is too bulky to be placed in an envelope a plain package should be used and the address label provided securely affixed to it.

Due to the requirements to conduct an open and honest process, we unfortunately cannot accept tenders that arrive late, whatever the reason, so please ensure that your tender arrives on time, using couriers, if necessary.

After the receipt date has passed, the tenders shall be opened and recorded at one time and by not less than two officers designated for that purpose by the Executive Service Director, Head of Central Services, or the appropriate Head of Service.

Any member of the Council who so wishes may be present at the opening, a representative from the council’s Internal Audit department also has the right to attend any tender opening.

Electronic tender documents can only be accepted if this is clearly stated in the tender information pack and must be received by the required date. The Borough Council has made provisions to ensure that these are treated with the same degree of anonymity and fairness as documents received by post.

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Awarding the contract

The Council evaluates tenders on the basis of the ‘Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT). This means that we do not necessarily choose the cheapest option but look at other qualities as well. Prior to sending out the tender information, Council officers will have set the evaluation criteria by which they will judge applicants – these criteria will be detailed in the tender information that you receive. Applications will be scored against these criteria and a decision made on the basis of the points score. Feedback will be offered to un-successful providers if required and requested.

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Terms and Conditions

These will vary according to the type, size and value of contract, but will be clearly stated in the tender documents.

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Managing the Contract

As part of our continuing commitment to ensure that tax-payers money is being wisely spent, the Council has procedures in place to monitor your performance and to assess your compliance with pre-defined performance criteria (set out in the tender documentation). The Council continually strives to improve its own performance and consequently has high expectations of its suppliers – as is the case in the ‘customer supplier relationship within the supply chain!

Your company must be capable of delivering the contract. The Council applies contract conditions fairly, particularly with regard to quality and performance. Where adverse performance is identified, you will be expected to investigate such shortfalls, feedback on your findings and rectify the situation. Examples of adverse performance might include; poor quality workmanship, regular delivery delays, little control of sub-contractors, poor health and safety standards.

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