1. No category

How to tender for Council
work
a guide for contractors, suppliers and service
providers
Contents
1
Introduction
4
2
Rules affecting works, supplies, and services
5
General rules
5
European Law
5
UK Law
5
Council Standing Orders
5
How to find out about our contracts
6
Contracts above the EU limits
6
Contracts below the EU limits
6
Information on Lewisham’s website
7
E-tendering
7
How to apply for inclusion in the approved list of contractors
8
Applying
8
Further details
8
3
4
5
6
How to apply for inclusion in selects lists for contracts that are advertised 9
Applying
9
Restricted procedure
9
Open procedure
9
Providing information
10
General
10
Company details
10
Technical and professional capacity
10
Economic and financial standing
10
Quality management
11
Equality and diversity
11
Health and safety
12
Environment and sustainability
13
How to tender for Council work
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Contents (continued)
7
8
The tendering process
14
Tender documents
14
Returning your tender documents
14
Evaluating your bid
14
Awarding the contract
14
Contract performance
16
General procedures
16
On-site monitoring
16
Variations
16
Post contract evaluation
16
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1
Introduction
Lewisham Council spends millions of pounds on the procurement of work, supplies
and services each year, providing companies of all sizes with a wide range of
commercial opportunities.
This guide aims to help all potential contractors, suppliers and service providers to
tender for contracts with Lewisham Council. It explains what legislation affects the
Council’s tendering requirements and looks at the procedures necessary to apply to
tender for Council work.
There is, of course, a great deal of competition for Lewisham Council contracts and
this guide cannot assure individual companies of success. However, it should
provide sufficient information to help you understand the requirements in tendering
for Council work.
The guide gives a general summary of Lewisham’s procurement process, under the
following headings:
•
Rules affecting supplies, services and works
•
How to find out about our contracts
•
How to apply for inclusion in the Approved List of Contractors
•
How to apply for inclusion in a select list for contracts that are advertised
•
Providing information
•
The tendering process
•
Contract performance
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2
Rules affecting works, supplies, and services
2.1
General rules
Lewisham Council purchases services, supplies and works from many companies
that range in value from a few pounds to millions of pounds.
As well as the Council’s own rules or ‘Standing Orders’, the two other main factors
which affect how the Council purchases works, supplies and services, are European
and UK law:
2.2
European Law
The Council must follow European Law on Public Sector Purchasing. Most contracts
for services and supplies above £172,000 (approximately) or for construction works
above £4.3 million (approximately) must be advertised in the Official Journal of the
European Union (OJEU).
Even if contracts are not covered by European procurement regulations, their general
principles should be followed.
2.3
UK Law
As well as general contract law, tenders are governed by the principles of ‘Best
Value’, which can be defined as, “Arrangements to secure continuous improvement
in the exercise of an Authority’s functions, having regard to a combination of
economy, efficiency and effectiveness as required by the Local Government Act
1999; the relationship between worth and cost.”
Recently the Public Service (Social Value) Act came into force, the Act requires
Councils to consider how what services are proposed to be procured might improve
the economic, social and environmental well-being of it’s community.
2.4
Council Standing Orders
These are the Council’s rules and procedures that govern its activities, including
procurement of goods, works and services. They are part of the Council’s
Constitution, which can be viewed on the Council’s website at
http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/mayorandcouncil/aboutthecouncil/how-council-isrun/Pages/constitution.aspx.
The Council’s Standing Orders reflect the requirements of European and UK law in
terms of tendering and contract procedures.
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3
How to find out about our contracts
3.1
Contracts above the European Union (EU) limits
Where Lewisham Council advertises for contracts depends upon the type, value and
legal requirements for awarding such contracts.
Type of contract
EU limits
Services
£172,514
Supplies
£172,514
Works
£4,322,012
These threshold figures are applicable from 1st January 2014 to 31st December
2015:
These contracts are advertised in the Official Journal for the European Union
(OJEU). This publication is available in electronic form - either in CD-ROM format or
via online access (through the Internet) to the “Tenders Electronic Daily” (TED)
database [http://ted.europa.eu].
3.2
Contracts below the European Union (EU) limits
For contracts below the EU limits, the Council may still advertise the contract or use
an existing Approved List or Framework.
Approved and Select Lists
Lewisham Council maintains different types of approved or select lists for supplies,
services and works. When your company has been selected to tender for a contract,
from an approved or select list, you will be contacted and invited to tender. Further
information on these lists is provided in the section ‘How to apply for inclusion in the
Approved List of Contractors’ and ‘How to apply for inclusion in a select list for
contracts that are advertised’.
Frameworks/Call-off Contracts
The Council also uses a number of ‘frameworks’, which are agreements or
arrangements to provide goods, works or services on specified terms. They are
similar to approved lists, but cover a specific service for a specified period of time.
Once in place, frameworks can be used as the basis for placing orders or for minicompetitions with all suitable firms on the framework. Orders for goods, works or
services covered by Framework Arrangements or Agreements are commonly
referred to as "call-offs".
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How to find out about our contracts
Advertising low value contracts
Where no approved list or framework exists for the type of contract, the Council may
still advertise through a number of publications, in the local press, and/or nationally in
appropriate trade journals, and through appropriate websites.
3.3
Information on Lewisham’s website
The Council also places copies of tender advertisements on its website at
http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/myservices/business/tendersandcontracts/tenders/Page
s/default.aspx.
As well as current advertisements, the website also contains information on
forthcoming and past tenders, which will give you an idea of the opportunities
available, whether there are existing contracts or frameworks in place, and when the
current arrangements expire.
3.4
E-tendering
The Council is introducing an e-tendering system (ProContract) provided by Due
North; this system is accessible by the London Tenders Portal at :
https://www.londontenders.org/portal/CMS.nsf/vHomePage/fSection?OpenDocument
which is used by approximately half the London Boroughs to provided an electronic
tendering system. It is free to register on the system, please click on the Suppliers
Area link. Use of electronic systems are being promoted by the UK Government and
the EU are changing the Public Procurement Regulations to make this form of
tendering mandatory in the next few years. Some of the advice in this document will
require updating when rollout of the system is completed.
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4
How to apply for inclusion in the approved
list of contractors
4.1
Applying
The Council’s Approved List of Contractors includes many categories from which
companies are selected to tender for certain Council construction-related works
contracts.
If your company would like to apply for a place on the Council’s Approved List of
Contractors you are required to go through an application process to verify your
suitability and competence. Registration of companies seeking inclusion in the list is
undertaken by Constructionline, and to apply for inclusion on the Council’s List..
Constructionline
PO Box 6441
Basingstoke
Hampshire
RG21 7FN
Telephone:
Website:
4.2
0844 892 0313 (Suppliers helpline)
http://www.constructionline.co.uk
Further details
If your company would like further details on this process, you should contact the
Procurement Team at:
5th Floor, Laurence House
Catford
London SE6 4RU
e-mail
[email protected]
Telephone no.
020 8314 8548
Once your company is on the Approved List, your details will be available online to
staff in the Council who let contracts for construction and related works.
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5
How to apply for inclusion in select lists for
contracts that are advertised
5.1
Applying
Where contracts are not covered by the Approved List of Contractors or frameworks,
select lists are often drawn up following a public advertisement. The Council’s
advertisements state what is required from potential tenderers and invite companies
to apply for consideration.
If your company would like to be considered for a particular contract you must follow
the application instructions detailed in the advertisement.
The Council generally advertises using the ‘restricted’ or ‘open’ procedures.
5.2
Restricted procedure
The ‘restricted’ procedure is one of the procedures for procurement under the EU
Directives, where only eligible applicants who meet the Council’s criteria are invited
to tender in a two-stage procurement process.
You will be asked in the advertisement to write, e-mail or fax the directorate
concerned to express your interest and request the project-related business
questionnaire. You must complete the questionnaire and return it with any
supporting documents within the specified timescale to be considered.
Your business questionnaire will be assessed on the same basis as the Approved
List application, but may also cover more specific project related issues. Once all the
returned business questionnaires have been evaluated, a shortlist of tenderers is
compiled – tender documents are sent to the companies on the shortlist, and a letter
is sent giving feedback to firms not successful in getting onto the shortlist.
5.3
Open procedure
On some occasions the Council uses an ‘open’ tendering procedure, which means
that any interested company can tender for the contract. You will still be asked in the
advertisement to express your interest for the contract, but you will automatically be
sent the tender documents and invited to submit a tender. The information from you
and your referees will then be considered together with your tender bid and
supporting documentation at the same time.
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6
Providing information
6.1
General
If your company applies for a place on an approved or select list or expresses an
interest in a specific contract that has been advertised, the business questionnaire
(sometimes known as a ‘pre-qualification questionnaire’ or PQQ) that you will be
required to complete may ask for specific details about your company in the following
areas:
6.2
Company details
The questions in this section are designed to allow you to provide basic information
on your company. This includes your main address for correspondence and contact
names for both the application process and future tender invites. The questions here
are designed to ensure that Lewisham Council knows exactly with whom it may be
entering into a contract.
6.3
Technical and professional capacity
The Council will use the information you supply here to assess whether your
company is suitable for carrying out the category of work, service or supply you want
to apply for.
You must provide details of referees from previous similar contracts that you’ve
undertaken. These referees are contacted to obtain further information about your
company’s performance.
You should not ask to be considered for works, supplies or services that you would
totally sub-contract out to other companies.
6.4
Economic and financial standing
In this section you are asked for certain financial information relating to your
company. You are asked to submit audited accounts and annual reports for your
company for the last 3 years. If your company is newly established and cannot
provide formal accounts, this will be taken into consideration, but you will need to
provide a statement from your accountant.
The Council will use the information you provide to assess the financial position of
your company and to set contract limits.
You are asked to provide information on your insurance cover. Your company must
carry Employers’ Liability and Public Liability with at least £5m. If you are a sole
trader or partnership you may not be required to carry Employers’ Liability. For some
specialist contracts you may be required to carry Professional Indemnity insurance,
Product Liability insurance, or Fire/Contract Works insurance.
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6.5
Quality management
The questions in this section are designed to enable the Council to assess whether
or not your organisation has suitable quality management systems in place to
undertake the type of work for which you are applying.
Whilst it is not a requirement for contractors, suppliers or service providers to be
formally Quality Assured with an accredited certification body, it is a requirement that
organisations have adopted a quality management system that is at least to the
standard of ISO9001: 2000 (or equivalent). Such a system should take account of
the following principles:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
focus on customers
provide leadership
involve people within the organisation
use a systematic approach
encourage continual improvement
base decisions on facts
work with suppliers
If you are accredited through a recognised Quality Assurance body, you will need to
provide a copy of your certificate; if you are not, but have a quality management
system, you will need to provide a copy of that.
6.6
Equality and diversity
Local authorities have certain duties in the area of equality and diversity; and there is
a range of equalities legislation which underpins the Council’s own equalities
priorities, including the Equality Act came into force from October 2010. This
provides a modern, single legal framework with clear, streamlined law to more
effectively tackle disadvantage and discrimination.
Lewisham Council is committed to ensuring that its employees and the people it
serves are not discriminated against on the basis of age, disability, gender, race,
religion & belief, sexual orientation or transgender.
The Council also believes that the people of Lewisham have a right to expect that
money spent on goods and services on behalf of the Council should not promote
discrimination in these areas. Lewisham, therefore, hopes that companies that it
deals with have a similar commitment, and can demonstrate this.
You will need to provide evidence of you policy in this area, and your procedures for
implementing it, along with examples of recruitment advertising and, where
appropriate, workforce monitoring.
A new commission called the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC),
which brings together the work of three former Commissions, the Commission for
Racial Equality (CRE), Disability Rights Commission (DRC) and Equal Opportunities
Commission (EOC) came into effect in October 2007; it took on all of the powers of
the former Commissions as well as new powers to enforce legislation more
effectively
and
promote
equality
for
all.
Their
website
is
http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/.
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You can obtain a copy of the Council’s guidance document called ‘Guidance on
Equality and Diversity Policies’ from the Procurement Team, or from the Council’s
website on www.lewisham.gov.uk .
6.7
Health and safety
In this section you are asked questions relating to your Health and Safety
arrangements. Section 2(3) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires that
all companies employing 5 or more persons shall have a written statement of health
and safety. Even smaller companies should have a written policy, to demonstrate
their understanding and commitment to safety.
The Health and Safety Executive have issued a number of guidance pamphlets on
health and safety policies, which are available from: HSE Books
PO Box 1999, Sudbury, Suffolk CO10 2WA (telephone 01787 881165)
or from local offices of the HSE or from the HSE website www.hsebooks.co.uk.
This Council is also a participating member of the Contractors Health and Safety
Assessment Scheme, or CHAS, for contracts not tendered through its Approved List
of Contractors. The scheme is administered by the London Borough of Merton, and
provides a useful resource of information for contractors and Councils alike. Further
details of the CHAS Scheme can be found on the internet at www.chas.gov.uk.
You can obtain a copy of the Council’s document called ‘Guidance on Health and
Safety Policies’ from the Procurement Team, or from the Council’s website on
www.lewisham.gov.uk .
6.8
Environment and sustainability
Lewisham Council is committed to improving its own environmental performance
through use of best available materials, practices and technologies. In order to
achieve this aim, the Council expects companies from whom it purchases goods and
services to demonstrate similar levels of environmental care and commitment to
sustainability.
In this section you are asked if you have an Environmental Policy. If you do not, it
will not prevent you at this stage from being considered for the approved list.
However, you may be asked for further environmental information when you are
invited to tender for specific contracts.
The Council has also developed a Green Procurement Guide, which is designed to
help staff, contractors and suppliers better understand the environmental issues that
surround our purchase of products and services. You can obtain a copy of the guide
and more information on sustainable procurement at
http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/Business/TendersAndContracts/Procurement/Sustainabl
eProcurement.htm.
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7
The tendering process
7.1
Tender documents
If and when you are selected to tender for a project, the tender documentation will be
sent to you from either Procurement Team or the Council Directorate supervising the
project. The tender documents usually contain the following information:
•
letter of invitation to tender
•
invitation and instructions to tenderers (often called an ‘ITT’)
•
pricing document and/or form of tender
•
specification and/or schedule of rates
•
contract conditions or conditions of purchase
•
method statement requirements (if necessary)
•
pre-addressed tender return envelope
•
any relevant supporting information
You must follow the instructions given in the ITT and tender letter, as a failure to do
so may prevent the Council from considering your tender.
7.2
Returning your tender documents
You will be asked to complete and return your tender documents by a given time and
date. The tender documents are all opened at the same time after the tender return
date. Once the tender documents have been opened they are forwarded to the
appropriate Council Officer for evaluation. If you fail to return your tender documents
by the specified deadline your tender will be excluded from the evaluation process.
7.3
Evaluating your bid
The tender documents will have indicated how your bid will be evaluated in terms of
price and quality. Your pricing schedule, method statements, business questionnaire
(if applicable) and any other supporting documentation will be evaluated by the
Evaluation Team to determine which bid provides the most economically
advantageous tender (sometimes known as ‘MEAT’). Each tender will be scored
against pre-determined criteria, which will have been weighted according to their
relative importance.
You may be required to clarify certain areas of your bid, and may subsequently be
interviewed, before the final decision is made. After evaluation, if the Council is
satisfied that you can undertake the work, supply or service, you will be awarded the
contract.
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The tendering process
7.4
Awarding the contract
Depending on the value of the contract, the decision to award will be made by either
an Executive Director or a Council committee. In either case, once the decision is
made the successful and unsuccessful bidders will be notified in writing of the
decision the following day.
The Council also has an Overview & Scrutiny Business Panel, which has an
overseeing role regarding ‘key decisions’; most decisions on tenders and contracts
come into this category. Therefore, whoever awards the contract, the decision does
not come into effect until the Business Panel has cleared the decision; this usually
takes 10-14 days, and the successful bidder will be notified after that period of the
result.
If you are not awarded the contract you will be notified in writing that you have been
unsuccessful, and be given feedback. Feedback is generally given first verbally by
phone, but more detailed feedback may be given in writing, if requested. A face to
face meeting may also be arranged if necessary in more complex bidding
arrangements.
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8
Contract performance
8.1
General procedures
Although all contracts differ, there are general procedures in place for monitoring the
performance of all companies carrying out contracts for Lewisham Council. All
companies are monitored to assess their compliance with pre-defined performance
criteria. Once awarded a contract, you must pay particular attention to the areas
listed below.
8.2
On-site monitoring
Your company must be capable of delivering the requirements of the contract. You
should be aware that Contract Conditions will be strictly applied especially with
regard to quality and general performance. The Council is continuously striving to
improve its own performance and it expects its contractors to do the same. By the
same token, the Council will look seriously at the position of any contractor that fails
to perform to the levels required.
You will be asked to comment on any adverse performance that is reported, but you
should be aware that serious instances of poor performance could lead to your
suspension or deletion from all approved or select lists. The Council is not
responsible for the consequences this may have on a company’s business.
Examples of adverse performance would include such areas as: poor quality of work,
poor supervision, poor adherence to work programme, poor control of subcontractors, or poor health and safety practices.
8.3
Variations
These may be needed from time to time throughout the contract. Lewisham Council
will always request variations in writing, except in an emergency where instructions
may be made verbally but will be confirmed in writing.
8.4
Post contract evaluation
General performance of a contract is monitored and recorded for future reference.
These records, known as contractor performance reports, are completed by the
project’s supervising officer and are kept by the client directorate.
Produced by:
Procurement Team
Directorate for Resources & Regeneration
5th Floor, Laurence House
Catford
London SE6 4RU
Phone:
e-mail:
020 8314 8548
[email protected]
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