Use of Single Tender Waiver

USE OF SINGLE TENDER WAIVER

Tender thresholds:-

£0-£15,000 – does not require a formal tender process, but SHA procurement guidelines should be adhered to

£15,000-£25,000 – obtain written quotations from three suppliers

£25,000+ – obtain tenders from a minimum of three suppliers (EU requirement apply for goods and services in excess of £93,738)

In limited circumstances the need to obtain three or more quotations/ tenders may be waived. Decision to do so must be made in advance of awarding the contract and a waiver request form completed and authorised.

Formal tendering procedures may be waived in the following circumstances:

i) 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 Authority record;

ii) where the requirement is covered by an existing contract;

iii) where PASA agreements are in place and have been approved by the Board;

iv) where a consortium arrangement is in place and a lead organisation has been appointed tocarry out tendering activity on behalf of the consortium members;

v) where the timescale genuinely precludes competitive tendering but failure to plan the workproperly would not be regarded as a justification for a single tender;

vi) where specialist expertise is required and is available from only one source;

vii) when the task is essential to complete the project, and arises as a consequence of a

recently completed assignment and engaging different consultants for the new task would beinappropriate;

viii) 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 financialadvantage to be gained by competitive tendering;

ix) for the provision of legal advice and services providing that any legal firm or partnershipcommissioned by the Authority is regulated by the Law Society for England and Wales forthe conduct of their business (or by the Bar Council for England and Wales in relation to theobtaining of Counsel’s opinion) and are generally recognised as having sufficient expertisein the area of work for which they are commissioned.The Director of Finance will ensure that any fees paid are reasonable and withincommonly accepted rates for the costing of such work.

x) where allowed and provided for in the Capital Investment Manual.

Flowchart of Process:-

Failure to comply with the process can leave the SHA exposed to legal challenge.

The Tendering & Procurement Policy and Single Tender Waiver form can be found on the intranet under Policies: Tender Waiver Procedure and Forms