Applying for a contract

The council advertises its contracts within a range of trade journals, local newspapers, Contrax Weekly and our own website.  In addition, contracts over the EU threshold will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU). and can be viewed at: http://www.ted.eur-op.eu.int/

The information that we require form a supplier when applying for a contract will depend upon the estimated value of the contract.

Low Value Contracts that are not advertised

Up to £1500 - we will simply purchase from a selected supplier

£1501 - £5000 we will seek quotations from three suppliers. These may be from catalogues, websites or verbal quotations. Quotations will be compared and we may award a contract

Written Quotations

For purchases between £5,000 and £40,000, we will provide a written requirement to possible suppliers and seek three competitive quotations. Where applicable, advertisements will be placed and interested parties may be sent a prequalification questionnaire (PQQ) to assess their suitability. Quotations will be compared and we may award a contract

Click here to see typical content of the PQQ

Formal Tenders

For purchases over £40,000 the Council will adopt a formal tender process.

Tenders will be invited from selected companies that have responded to advertisements or have been placed on pre-qualified lists

When a supplier has been short listed for a formal tender, or has expressed an interest for an open contract that has been advertised, they will be sent tender documents which must be returned by the closing date given. This is typically four to six weeks after the advert first appears. Click here to see typical contents of the tender documents

Tenders must be returned to the Council in clearly marked envelopes that will be provided. These will be opened at a predetermined time by authorised officers and councillors and will be recorded in the tender register.

All tenders received will then be evaluated against a set of criteria that will have been provided to tenderers. Tenders will be compared and we may award a contract

Depending on the type of the contract it may take some time to evaluate the tenders received. An indication will be given in the tender documents of the time this is likely to take.

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