LCT BREACH AND WAIVER PROCEDURES
Issued December 2007
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Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust - Procedures / Issued Dec 2007LCT BREACH AND WAIVER PROCEDURES
1BREACHES AND WAIVERS
1.1Introduction
1.2Scope
1.3Contacts
1.4Waivers
1.5Waiver Procedure.
1.6Breaches
1.7Breach Procedure.
APPENDIX 1:CONTACTS
APPENDIX 2:Waiver Circumstances......
1BREACHES AND WAIVERS
1.1Introduction
This procedure is issued in accordance with and is subsidiary to the Trust’s Standing Financial Instructions. The purpose of this procedure is to ensure that:
- All breaches to SFI’s, SO’s and the Scheme of Delegation identified by the Finance Department are reported to the Audit Committee;
- All waivers to SFI’s, SO’s and the Scheme of Delegation identified by the Finance Department are reported to the Audit Committee.
1.2Scope
This procedure is to be followed where any member of the Finance Department is made aware of a breach or waiver of SFI’s, SO’s and the Scheme of Delegation.
Where SFI’s SO’s and the Scheme of Delegation have not been followed but the breach has been intercepted, although this does not constitute a breach, the rationale or persistency of the incident/s should be considered before exclusion from this procedure.
1.3Contacts
All contacts are listed in the appendix 1.
1.4Waivers
Waivers relate primarily to the purchase of goods and services, where the requirement to obtain quotes or to go out to tender is to be set aside. Details of the circumstances and required authorisation levels are explicit within SFI’s SO’s and the Scheme of Delegation. See appendix 2.
A waiver form can be found at the end of this procedure. Supplies will not process a requisition requiring a waiver without a fully completed waiver form. Supplies will report details and provide copy documentation on request.
1.5Waiver Procedure.
A form is to be completed in all circumstances where the competitive tendering procedures or ordering procedures required under the Trust’s Standing Financial Instructions are to be waived.
All sections of the form must be completed in full by the Procurement Manager and/or the Requisitioning Officer before submitting for approval to an Authorising Officer.
The authorised waiver form should be forwarded to Procurement Department to enable the order to be raised
All waivers will be consolidated and reported to the Audit Committee on a quarterly basis.
A file will be made maintained by the Assistant Director of Finance.
1.6Breaches
Where SFI’s SO’s and the Scheme of Delegation have not been followed, this constitutes a breach, but even where the breach has been intercepted, there are circumstances under which the incident/s should be considered for inclusion in this procedure:
Breaches
Breaches generally relate to any instance identified by the Finance
Department where SFI’s SO’s or the Scheme of Delegation have not
been followed and the breach has not been intercepted.
Attempted Breaches
Where the breach has been intercepted, although this does not constitute a breach, the intention may have been to undermine or circumvent the SFI’s SO’s or the Scheme of Delegation, under these circumstances the intention should be considered a breach and this should be treated exactly as if a breach had been made.
Persistent Failure To Follow SFI’s SO’s or the Scheme of Delegation
Where there is a persistent failure to follow SFI’s SO’s or the Scheme of Delegation, regardless of intention and whether breaches are made or not, this should be considered as a breach and this should be treated exactly as if a breach had been made.
1.7Breach Procedure.
All breaches should be reported on a monthly basis to the Assistant Director of Finance.
Details will include:
Name of the Person Responsible for the breach
Date/Timing of the breach
Nature of the breach (inc Goods/Services involved)
Name of the Reporting officer
Persons to whom the breach has been reported (this will usually include a senior manager)
Action taken and by whom.
All breaches will be consolidated and reported to the Audit Committee on a quarterly basis.
Very serious breaches will be escalated to the Director of Finance immediately.
A file will be made maintained by the Assistant Director of Finance.
APPENDIX 1: CONTACTS
All queries with regard to Waivers should be addressed to:
Robin Armstrong
Capital & Systems Accountant
01772 695 330
All queries regarding breaches should be addressed to:
Shannon Carroll
Assistant Director of Finance
01772 695 328
or
Dominic McKenna
Assistant Director of Finance
01772 695 329
APPENDIX 2: Waiver Circumstances
When goods/services are purchased at a value exceeding £20,000 but less than £50,000 three written competitive quotes are to be obtained. Where the goods/services are purchased at a value exceeding £50,000 three written tenders must be obtained. These may be facilitated by the Supplies Department.
If a member of staff feels that a purchase does not require a competitive sourcing exercise i.e, that the circumstances of the purchase falls within those described within the Trust’s Standing Financial Instructions (see below), then the form attached must be completed.
Extract from the Trusts Standing Financial InstructionsVALUE OF QUOTE OR TENDER / MINIMUM NUMBER OF QUOTES/TENDERS REQUIRED
Up to £20,000 / 2 verbal quotations
£20,001 up to £50,000 / 3 written competitive quotations
£50,001 up to £93,737 / 3 written competitive tenders
Over £93,738 / Subject to OJEC rules
Exceptions and instances where formal tendering need not be applied
Formal tendering procedures need not be applied where:
a. the estimated expenditure or income does not, or is not reasonably expected to, exceed £50,000;
b. the supply is proposed under special arrangements negotiated by the DH in which event the said special arrangements must be complied with;
c. there are disposals as set out in Standing Financial Instructions No. 15;
Formal tendering procedures may be waived in the following circumstances:
d. in very exceptional circumstances where the Chief Executive decides that formal tendering procedures would not be practicable or the estimated expenditure or income would not warrant formal tendering procedures, and the circumstances are detailed in an appropriate Trust record;
e. where the requirement is covered by an existing contract;
f. where PASA agreements are in place and have been approved by the Board;
g. where a consortium arrangement is in place and a lead organisation has been appointed to carry out tendering activity on behalf of the consortium members;
h. where the timescale genuinely precludes competitive tendering but failure to plan the work properly would not be regarded as justification for a single tender;
i. where specialist expertise is required and is available from only one source;
j. when the task is essential to complete the project, and arises a consequence of a recently completed assignment and engaging different consultants for the new task would be inappropriate;
k. there is a clear benefit to be gained from maintaining continuity with an earlier project. However in such cases the benefits of such continuity must outweigh any potential financial advantage to be gained by competitive tendering;
l. for the provision of legal advice and services providing that any legal firm or partnership commissioned by the Trust is regulated by the Law Society for England and Wales for the conduct of their business (or by the Bar Council for England and Wales in relation to the obtaining of Counsel’s opinion) and are generally recognised as having sufficient expertise in the area of work for which they are commissioned.
The Director of Finance will ensure that any fees paid are reasonable and within commonly accepted rates for the costing of such work.
m. where allowed and provided for in the Capital Investment Manual.
The waiving of competitive tendering procedures should not be used avoid competition or for administrative convenience or to award further work to a consultant originally appointed through a competitive procedure.
Where it is decided that competitive tendering is not applicable and should be waived, the fact of the waiver and the reasons should be documented and recorded in an appropriate Trust record and reported to the Audit Committee at each meeting.
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Request for Waiver of Tender/Quotation Requirements (Standing Orders S10) /SECTION 1 : NOTES
1.1 This form is to be completed in all circumstances where the competitive tendering or quotation procedures required under the Trust’s Standing Financial Instructions are to be waived.
1.2 All sections of the form must be completed in full by the Procurement Manager and/or the Requisitioning Officer before submitting for approval to an Authorising Officer.
1.3 The authorised waiver form along with an authorised requisition form (SO6) should be forwarded to the Procurement Department to enable the order to be raised.
SECTION 2 : DETAILS OF REQUEST
Department & Locality______
Requisition/SO6 no.______Requisition Date ______
Requisitioning officer ______
Description of goods ______
Supplier ______
Purchase value£ ______VAT £ ______Total Value £ ______
SECTION 3 : INFORMATION TO SUPPORT WAIVER REQUEST [Insert comments from the Supplies Manager and/or requisitioning officer in support of the waiver request and also attach any supporting documentation.]
Please indicate by all boxes which apply below as to which reasons (as detailed on pages 7-8 of the Breach and Waiver Procedure 2008) you are submitting this waiver.
A / B / C / D / E / F / G
SECTION 4 : SUBMISSION OF WAIVER REQUEST
Request submitted by: ______Designation: ______
Signature: ______Date: ______
SECTION 5 : APPROVAL OF WAIVER REQUEST
Any two directors, at least one of which must be a non-executive.
Request approved by: ______Designation: ______
Signature: ______Date: ______
Request approved by: ______Designation: ______
Signature:______Date: ______