How to do business with the Council

James Trotter

Senior Procurement Manager

Leicestershire County Council

Structure

• The Opportunity

• The Tendering Process

• Further Information

• Questions

The Opportunity

• Public Sector spends over £175 billion

• Councils in England spend over £62 billion

• + £21 billion on capital projects

LCC’s Expenditure by Category Groups (2010-11)

24%

1%

23%

3%1%10%

1%

2%

0%

3%

3%

2%

6%

9%

4%

2%2%

4%

Adult Social Care

Books, Journals & Multimedia

Building & Civil Engineering

Consultancy & Professional Services

Design, Print & Marketing

Education & Children's Social Care

Facilities Management Services

Food & Catering Equipment/Services

Furniture

Human Resources

ICT

Miscellaneous

Public Sector

Transport

Unclassified

Utilities

Vehicles & Plant

Waste Management

£343m

Benefits of Public Sector Business

• Stable

• Good payers

• Local delivery

• Fair and transparent processes

• Useful referee, especially when looking to gain

further public sector business

How the Public Sector Buys

• Accountable - Value for money• Legal obligations (EC Treaty / EU Directive)• Principles

• No discrimination

• Equal treatment

• Fair competition

• Proportionality

• Transparency• Advertising• Formal tender processes• Consortia (e.g. ESPO)

What LCC Is Doing (1)

• National Concordat for SMEs

• Sustainable Commissioning & Procurement Strategy

- % spend with SMEs

- Number of local SMEs submitting Pre-Qualification Questionnaires to ESPO when expressing an interest in Council requirements

- CO2 (tonnes) emitted by Statutory Service suppliers with whom the Council spends £100k+ p.a.

• Contract Procedure Rules

• Advertise contracts

• Standardising documents and processes (PQQ-lite, RFQ)

• Proportionate evaluation criteria

• Financial Vetting Guidance (“sound business judgement, rather than just mechanistic application of financial formulae”)

What LCC Is Doing (2)

• Contract conditions, requiring prime contractors:

- to pay sub-contractors on time

- to advertise sub-contracting opportunities

• Bidders Conferences

• Meaningful feedback

• Complaints procedure

• ‘What it means to be an LCC supplier – our expectations’

• Publish list of prime contractors

• Single points of contact for all categories purchased

• Guidance for Procuring Officers, e.g. Break framework into lots

• ‘How to do business’ events / ‘Selling to the Public Sector’ / Website

The Tendering Process

Identify the right opportunity

Complete pre-qualification process

Submit your tender

Evaluation of tenders carried out

Contract awarded

Identify the right opportunity

• Read the guidance for applicants/tenderers• Consider the requirement, procurement process, evaluation criteria and weightings• Check deadlines for applications/tenders and asking clarification questions• Identify who is best placed to complete the application/tender• Ensure you have the supplementary documents required e.g. policies, accounts, insurance certificates• Remember to get sign-off from your senior management/management committee/Trustee Board

• Fit with your organisation’s aims, objectives and plans?• Do your governing documents allow you to do the work?• Will it enhance or detract from your other areas of work?• Do you have the capacity and infrastructure to deliver?• Is there an opportunity to submit a collaborative/consortia bid? • What do you know about the buyer/commissioner?• Are you qualified (staff and track record)?• Are you tender-ready?• Have you capacity to submit a tender?• What are the risks and benefits of applying/tendering?

LCC Procurement Processes

Estimated value Procurement Process Exception

£0 to £1,000 Obtain one oral / written quotation

£1,000 to £20,000 Obtain three written quotations

Keep written record of why three quotations were not obtained, where sought

Chief Officer approval, where not sought

£20,000 to £100,000 Request for Quotation Chief Officer approval

Over £100,000 Formal Tender Process Executive approval

Estimated value Advertising

£0 to £10,000 None required (optional)

£10,000 to £20,000 Source Leicestershire (where practical and appropriate)

£20,000 to EU Threshold

Source Leicestershire

Over EU Threshold OJEU and Source Leicestershire

LCC Minimum Advertising Requirements

Advertising

• Direct contact - websites

• Consortia (e.g. ESPO – www.espo.org)

• Advertisements (higher value contracts)

• Source sites - e.g. www.sourceleicestershire.co.uk

• Contracts Finder - http://www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/

• Contrax Online - http://www.contraxonline.com/

• Local / trade press

• Official Journal of the EU (large tenders above EU thresholds)

–Tenders Electronic Daily (TED) - http://ted.europa.eu/

Source Leicestershire

Complete the pre-qualification process

• Selection Criteria / Evaluate Organisation

• Restricted Procedure – Pre-Qualification Stage• Open Procedure – Part of the Invitation to Tender• Part of Request for Quotation

• Economic & Financial Standing- Financial Vetting Guidance (Credit checks, last 2 years audited accounts, opportunity to allay any remaining concerns)

• Technical Capability- Experience incl. references- Company policies (e.g. Equalities) and accreditations

• Pass or fail questions • Scored against pre-agreed criteria

Submit your tender

• Award Criteria / Evaluate tender

• Lowest Price, or• Most Economically Advantageous Tender (M.E.A.T)

- % Weighted Evaluation Criteria

• Method statements• Price

• Scored against pre-agreed criteria

• Check your tender before sending• Label and address tender documents correctly • Keep to the deadlines!

How will your tender be evaluated?

• Tenders opened at pre-agreed date and time

• Evaluated against agreed criteria by panel

• Process may include site visits, presentations as set out in the tender documents

• Clarifications - Respond quickly and professionally if asked for more information

Contract awarded

• Contract awarded to the supplier who best meets award criteria

• Intention to award letter

- score

- winner’s score

- characteristics and relative advantages

• 15 day ‘standstill period’

• Full debrief available

• Ask for feedback

Further Information

• Council Websites e.g. http://www.leics.gov.uk/index/business/business_with_council.htm

- ‘Selling to the Public Sector’ workshop slides

• Source sites - e.g. www.sourceleicestershire.co.uk

• Contracts Finder - http://www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/

• Contrax Online - http://www.contraxonline.com/

• Consortia websites - e.g. ESPO’s Buyer profile - www.espo.org

• Society of Procurement Officers - http://www.sopo.org/

• The Directory of Local Government - www.lgcnet.com/lgcdirectory

Any Questions?