How to tender for Council work a guide for contractors, suppliers and service providers

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 3 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 4 How to apply for inclusion in the approved list of contractors 8 Applying 8 Further details 8 5 How to apply for inclusion in selects lists for contracts that are advertised 9 Applying 9 Restricted procedure 9 Open procedure 9 6 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 June 2012 2

Contents (continued) 7 The tendering process 14 Tender documents 14 Returning your tender documents 14 Evaluating your bid 14 Awarding the contract 14 8 Contract performance 16 General procedures 16 On-site monitoring 16 Variations 16 Post contract evaluation 16 How to tender for Council work June 2012 3

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 How to tender for Council work June 2012 4

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. How to tender for Council work June 2012 5

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". How to tender for Council work June 2012 6

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. How to tender for Council work June 2012 7

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: 0844 892 0313 (Suppliers helpline) http://www.constructionline.co.uk 4.2 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 procurement@lewisham.gov.uk 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. How to tender for Council work June 2012 8

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. How to tender for Council work June 2012 9

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. How to tender for Council work June 2012 10

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/. How to tender for Council work June 2012 11

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. How to tender for Council work June 2012 12

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. How to tender for Council work June 2012 13

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. How to tender for Council work June 2012 14

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 5 th Floor, Laurence House Catford London SE6 4RU Phone: 020 8314 8548 e-mail: procurement@lewisham.gov.uk How to tender for Council work June 2012 15