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Procurement procedures

We deal with contracts in four different ways depending on the value of the contract.

We calculate the value of a contract by multiplying the yearly value of the contract by the contract period in years (including any extension periods). We never deliberately split the value of contracts. So, a three-year contract with an annual value of £60,000 would have a total value of £180,000.

We advertise our procurement contracts on The Chest.

Below £5,000

We order goods or services using our eProcurement system. We make standard orders from established suppliers, or we get at least two quotes via ‘The Chest’ ‘Request for Quote’ (RFQ) functionality.

Between £5,000 and £49,999

We order goods or services using our eProcurement system. We make standard orders from established suppliers, or we get at least three quotes via ‘The Chest’ ‘Request for Quote’ (RFQ) functionality.

Between £50,000 and the EU Procurement Threshold

We go through a formal tender process. As a minimum, we invite tenders via ‘The Chest’. We also consider advertising more widely in external trade or professional journals. We assess the costs and benefits of using such advertising media and always call on the experience of our Corporate Procurement team in these cases.

Over the EU Procurement Threshold

The Public Procurement regulations 2006 apply to all procurements for supply contracts over this value and for most works. These regulations require us to go through a formal tender process and advertise in the EU Journal. We also advertise on ‘The Chest’.

The threshold where the regulations apply changes annually.  The current threshold is as advertised on the Official Journal of the European Union.