College Tendering Procedures

Long Road Sixth Form College

Introduction

1These tendering procedures should be read in conjunction with the college financial regulations and procedures.

2The Board of Governors is responsible for the efficient and effective use of college resources. As part of this process the following procedures are to be carried out wherever the transaction limits set out are exceeded, to ensure that the college is obtaining best value formoney.

Financial interests of governors

3A register of governors’ financial interests will be maintained. Any contract which may involve a governor in a financial interest shall be considered by the Corporation. A governor shall declare his interest and shall take no part in discussion of, or voting on, the said contract.

Order and tender limits

4Single orders shall be subject to the following approval procedures:

Order value / Procedure
£0 - £500 / budget holder authorisation & order approval by Financial Administrator
£501 - £5,000 / budget holder authorisation & order approval by College Accountant (CA)
£5,001 - £50,000 / 3 alternative written quotes to be obtained and submitted with order requisition. Authorisation by budget holder, approval by CA or Principal
£50,001 + / formal competitive tendering. Authorisation by budget holder or specific group if convened to oversee a project. Approval by CA & Principal. Finance committee to be notified of all such transactions
Major capital projects / Contracts > £50,000 for major capital projects will be approved by the Capital Projects Committee.

The above approval procedures also apply to any series of orders, within a month of each other from the same budgetholder to the same supplier.

5Contracts should be reviewed at least every 5 years. Contracts lasting or capable of lasting more than one year (this does not include annual subscriptions) should be dealt with as follows:

Contract value

/ Procedure
£0 - £5,000pa / authorisation by budget holder and approval by the CA
£5,000 - £10,000pa / at least 3 written quotes should be obtained. Contract should be awarded after approval by budget holder and CA or principal.
£10,000 + pa / formal competitive tendering. Approval by CA & principal. Finance committee to be notified of all such transactions.

Formal competitive tendering must be used for maintenance contracts where additional services provided may be expected to accumulate to the contract level of £10,000 + in any one year. The successful tenderer will become a preferred supplier.

6Exceptions

6.1Estates

Orders & the related authorisation procedures set out above are not required in the following circumstances:

  • Emergency callouts to a preferred supplier for the same service as a maintenance contract, where the scope and price of the work may be unknown eg heating failure, water leak. Preferred suppliers will be given authority to accept verbal authorisation for emergency callouts from Estates staff.
  • Estates maintenance supplies up to a value of £250 for collection only by one of the Estates Manager, Works Officer or Maintenance Officer. Suppliers will be given authority to accept orders from these 3 specified staff only and must provide fully detailed priced delivery notes signed by one of these staff before invoices will be authorised for payment.

6.2Requirement for 3 quotes

Where it is not possible to obtain 3 quotes for orders below the level for formal competitive tendering the budgetholder will provide a written explanation attached to the order requisition of the actions taken and reasons, for approval by the CA before the order will be sent out. Circumstances where it is not possible to obtain 3 quotes include:

  • there are less than 3 suitable suppliers in the area (based on the experience and knowledge of the budgetholder)
  • suppliers are unwilling to quote
  • suppliers cannot complete the work in the timescales required

6.3Accumulation of series of orders

Orders to preferred suppliers for the same service as a maintenance contract, which has been subject to formal competitive tendering within the last 5 years, will not be subject to the accumulation rule on series of orders. This means that each such order will be subject to the tender limits based on that order alone.

6.4Repeat or continuity orders

For repeat or continuity orders (eg same specification furniture or IT equipment) made within a year of the original order where either a full tender or alternative quotes were obtained, a further tender or alternative quotes are not required if prices have been checked to ensure that increases are within the limits of reasonable inflation for the period from the original order.

Specific variations

7Framework agreements

Where contracts with suppliers have been EU tendered under a Framework Agreement through a consortium and suitable suppliers are included in the Framework Agreement (eg including the college’s usual supplier for the goods or services and other suppliers the college has been advised are appropriate) then a full tender will not be necessary. In these circumstances:

  • follow the consortium’s procedures for quoting as advised,
  • obtain a minimum of 3 alternative written quotes,
  • submit the written quotes with the order and
  • have the order authorised by both the budgetholder and either the CA or the Principal

If suppliers outside the Framework Agreement are included then this exemption is not valid and normal tender rules (including full EU tender rules where necessary) will apply.

8Specific discount arrangements

Where specific discount arrangements exist with a supplier that provide consistent best value for particular goods/services eg known discounts on books using a purchasing organisation contract and written evidence has been provided to the CA to demonstrate this, the CA may authorise the use of the supplier as a preferred supplier for those goods/services. Other suppliers may only be used for those goods/services where they are not available from the authorised supplier.

9Utilities contracts

For utilities contracts it may not be possible to obtain quotes on a comparable basis as it is for other goods and services. The college has been advised that the best deals are available through consortia rather than purchasing direct from the supplier.

For utilities contracts the Estates Manager working with the College Accountant will make every effort to obtain sufficient information from both the consortia and other colleges to judge which consortia provides the best fit for the college, balancing risk, pricing and historic performance. The Estates Manager and the College Accountant will prepare a paper summarising the judgment for approval by the Principal and reporting to the Finance Committee.

10College systems

For College systems (eg student database, finance system) there is likely to be a significant time investment in selecting, installing, debugging and embedding a new system together with impacts on other areas of the College. The time investment and other impacts may outweigh simple monetary savings from carrying out a tender process every 5 years so that it may not be in the best interests of the College.

The relevant senior manager will ensure that the suitability of any system will be kept under review through:

  • assessment of college needs from the system
  • performance of the system
  • possible enhancements available either internally or externally, including cost
  • regular monitoring of systems commonly used in colleges, including cost and functionality
  • cost/benefit analysis

These factors will be used to determine the appropriate time and method of procurement for enhancements or replacement of the system.

11Other departures

Any other departure from these procedures must be sanctioned by the Principal (as Chief Accounting Officer), acting in conjunction with the Chair of the Finance Committee.

Content of quotes and tenders

12When obtaining either quotes or tenders, full details of the contract terms and service requirements must be provided to ensure all relevant aspects as well as prices are taken into consideration in determining who to place the order with. Price may not be the only or key factor in determining best value. Other aspects include:

  • Timing eg goods/service delivery dates, maximum callout times
  • Service capability and experience
  • Reliability
  • Specific items to be included within price eg staples included, A3 copies at the same price as A4

13Wherever possible quotes will be obtained for the total price for the services. Where this is not possible hourly rates will be obtained and an assessment of the time taken will be made by appropriately qualified members of staff to ensure the college is not overcharged.

Competitive tendering

14EU rules for the advertising of competitive tendering will be followed if applicable. (Unlikely to apply to building projects below £3.5 million and consultancy appointments below £140,000.)

15For orders exceeding £50,000 either:

advertisements will be placed in either the local or national press or trade journals as determined appropriate by SMT and the relevant budgetholder.

or

an invitation to tender should be prepared and sent out to all identified potential suppliers along with a marked address label for reply.

(This last route will only be taken on the instructions of the Principal where specialist advice is available from an outside body such as the LSC, a governor or a member of staff who is able to confirm they have no financial interest in the competition. A report will be made to the FinanceCommittee.)

16Bids will not be opened until the competition closing date. Bids will be opened and logged in the college tender log by the relevant budgetholder and one other member of SMT or the CA.

17Tenders should be organised to obtain at least 3 firm quotes. If 3 firm quotes are not received the approval of the Finance Committee is required to proceed with the choice of tender. Recommendation for the choice of tender is by the budgetholder with approval by the Principal & CA.

SMT variation procedure

18SMT will minimise the need for variations to these tender procedures and manage any such variations to achieve best value for the college by ensuring each of the following procedures for proposed order(s) or contract(s) are carried out:

  1. forward project planning of possible expenditure likely to exceed the tender limits;
  2. estimating the main elements of expenditure and likely contractors to be considered to identify potential orders or groups of orders above the tender limits;
  3. providing alternative evidence of best value where variations to these tender procedures are being considered, including:
  • comparisons with similar work or circumstances elsewhere and
  • demonstrating that no other comparable tenders/similar firms/quotes are available where less than the required number of tenders or quotes is being received;
  1. providing risk assessment and management of the proposal;
  2. allowing sufficient discussion and information for proper consideration of the proposal; and
  3. obtaining authorisation from the Finance Committee for the use of or variation to the tender procedures to be followed to ensure best value for the college.