main content Tenders and contracts

The London Borough of Bromley spends a significant proportion of its annual budget on a wide range of goods, services and works with an annual expenditure of around £180m. Tenders for the supply of goods, services and works for the Council are advertised on an ongoing basis and we encourage as wide a selection of contractors as possible (particularly Bromley-based concerns) to submit bids.

Local authority tendering and contracting is strictly governed by Contract Standing Orders, Financial Regulations and the relevant EU Procurement Directives where applicable. It is all fully transparent and is based on genuine and fair competition.

Corporate Procurement

The Council has a Corporate Procurement function to co-ordinate procurement activity within the borough. Its remit includes promoting the use of corporate contracts (and where possible entering into contracts with other London boroughs or other consortia), ensuring that all staff concerned with procurement and tendering follow best practice, and implementing the recommendations detailed in the National Procurement Strategy.

The Council now produces its orders electronically using the Oracle I-procurement system. Suppliers are now able to receive their orders as an e-mail attachment (if appropriate) and can now receive payment by BACS, thus making the process more streamlined.

What the Council Buys

The Council has established a number of contracts either through the normal tendering processes, the London Contracts and Supplies Group, Office of Government Commerce or one of the other central or local government consortiums. These contracts cover such areas as stationery, mobile telephones, fire extinguishers, photocopiers, advertisements (public notice and vacancies), document scanning, window cleaning and leased cars.

In addition most direct services have been placed via term contracts with private contractors, i.e refuse collection, waste disposal, recycling, street cleansing, highway maintenance, building maintenance, building consultancy, office cleaning, grounds maintenance, golf courses, sports pavilions and swimming pools, highways engineering, heating and ventilation, electrical engineering, structural engineering, payroll and pensions administration, payment of benefits, staff restaurants, computer development and IT training, etc. Please note that this list is indicative only.

Temporary Staff

All temporary staff for the Council are now obtained through a company called Comensura. They provide a ‘Vendor Neutral Managed Service’ in that they do not supply any staff themselves but manage all the agencies that supply temporary staff to Bromley. The Council no longer deals directly with agencies as all placements are put through Comensura.

Agencies must therefore be registered with Comensura before they can supply temporary staff to Bromley. If you are interested in supplying temporary staff to Bromley you can get further information and register on-line at www.comensura.co.uk or ring on 0871 4239878

Printing

The Council has appointed Corporate Document Services (CDS) to manage its print requirements. CDS will obtain quotes and source printing jobs as appropriate on behalf of the Council. They will ensure that printing companies will be asked to supply quotes on work best suited to their printing set up and will also take proximity to Bromley into consideration, though this will not necessarily in itself determine to whom a print job is given.

Printing companies who wish to be considered for print work for the Council must therefore be registered with CDS and the Council will no longer directly engage with printing companies. If you are interested in being considered for printing work for Bromley, further information can be obtained from Ken Blooman at CDS on 01245 505586 or at ken.blooman@cds.co.uk .

Contract Standing Orders

For the purchase of goods and services, the Council's Financial Regulations and Standing Orders require that quotations and tenders be obtained according to the value of the contract as follows:

Up to £5,000 - only a single quotation need be obtained.
£5,000 - £50,000 - at least three competitive quotations.
£50,000+ - at least four tenders to be obtained. (EU directives apply if over appropriate threshold.)

Tendering for Council Contracts

When a contract is due for renewal an advertisement is placed in a local newspaper and where applicable, a trade publication. If the total contract value exceeds the appropriate EU thresholds it must also be advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU). Please note however that contracts for works and services included on the Council’s approved list of contractors are not subject to this procedure unless they exceed the EU threshold.
There are two main procedures for tendering:

Open Tendering

A one-stage procedure where all interested contractors receive tender documents and can submit a tender accordingly. The advertisement will state where tender documents are obtained and the tender return date.

Restricted Tendering

This is a two-stage procedure where a shortlist of potential contractors is drawn up before tender documents are issued. The advertisement invites expressions of interest and potential contractors are vetted both technically and financially by means of a Pre-Qualifying Questionnaire (PQQ) before the list is drawn up. Tender documents are then sent only to contractors included on the list. The advertisement will state where to send initial expressions of interest and the tender return date.

Negotiated Tendering

There is also a third tendering procedure known as Negotiated Tendering. This is not as widely used as the two methods described above and is only used under specific circumstances, ie where there is a case of extreme urgency, there is only one supplier in the given market or where received tenders have been deemed inappropriate.

Submission of Tenders

Tender documents are issued under the open or restricted procedure as above and usually consist of the contract specification, terms and conditions, form of tender, Certificate of Non-Collusion and all the information required to submit the tender documentation. For the open tender procedure, the tender package will normally include the required financial and technical questionnaire.

The return date will be clearly marked and all tenders must be returned by this time and date. Tenders received after this deadline will not be accepted under any circumstances and may be returned to sender. This rule is strictly observed to ensure fairness and true competition.

Once received, tenders are evaluated accordingly in a fully auditable and transparent manner. The evaluation criteria will normally be stated within the tender document. The contract will be awarded to the contractor whose tender offers the Council the best value for money regarding price, quality and ability to meet the terms of the specification. This is sometimes referred to as the ‘Most Economically Advantageous Tender’ or MEAT for short.

The Council is not however obliged to award the contract solely on the lowest price tendered.
Remember...

Before submitting tenders, potential contractors should ensure that they:

have read the advertisement and fully understand the contract requirement
have answered all questions accurately and in full
have included any required documents and attachments with the tender submission;
have discussed any queries about the contract or the tender with the lead officer named on the tender document before the due date; and
return the tender by the due date and time duly signed where required.

Select List and Small Works List

The Council makes use of a ‘select list’ of major contractors as well as a ‘small works’ list of contractors who are authorised to carry out minor works up to £25,000. The lists contain works associated with the building, civil engineering and landscape trades. Both lists are now administered by Exor Management.

For works or services for which there is an associated category on the lists, only contractors included on the ‘small works’ or ‘select list’ will be invited to tender or quote.

If you wish to be considered for inclusion on either of these lists, please speak to Exor Management who will be pleased to explain how the lists operate and tell you how to register your company.

Details can be found on the Exor website at www.exorgroup.co.uk or telephone on 08708 707272.

Sustainability

We recognise that we play a leading role in promoting a sustainable community. We are a major purchaser locally of works, goods and services and many of these can have a significant impact upon the local area. We therefore emphasise the importance of contractors' procedures and how they deal with sustainability issues at a practical level.

Equalities and Diversity

We are committed to equal opportunities in all aspects of our operation and encourage suppliers and contractors to implement similar policies. It is therefore a requirement that all prospective contractors are able to demonstrate their compliance with our policies in this respect.

Health and Safety

We are committed to ensuring the health, safety and welfare of our employees, contractors’ staff, the public and all others affected by our undertakings. All contractors will therefore be expected to demonstrate compliance with all relevant health and safety legislation and to submit their health and safety policies and procedures, along with confirmation of their level of public and employee liability insurance cover.