(a) All costs stated in these Rules are exclusive of VAT, staff costs and fees;

(b) Authorised Officers shall be those post holders identified by Strategic Directors in their scheme of delegation and approved by the s151 Officer.

(c) Call-off/Framework Arrangements, are arrangements established by formal contracts, which establish the terms and conditions for the supply of goods and/or services and/or works to be provided, but not the quantities as these are unknown at the time of tender.

(d) Designated Opening Officers and Receiving Officers shall be those officers designated by Strategic Directors to carry out the functions allocated to them in these Rules.

(e) Partnering Arrangements are contracts with a preferred partner or partners who have been selected through a tendering process in accordance with these Rules.

2.1 Every contract made by or on behalf of the Council shall comply with all the relevant European Union (EU) and United Kingdom (UK) Legislation and as provided for in these and other Procedure Rules of the Council’s Constitution.

2.2 It shall be the responsibility of all Officers of the Council to ensure that they adhere to Rule 2.1, when administering Council contracts.

2.3 It shall be a condition of any contract between the Council and anyone who is not an officer of the Council, but who is authorised to carry out any of the Council’s contract functions, that they comply with Rule 2.1 as if they were Officers of the Council.

2.4 These Contract Procedure Rules shall apply to any contract entered into by the Council for the supply of goods, services or works, where no exemption from these Rules exists.

3.1 These Rules do not apply to:

3.2 A Strategic Director may seek an exemption from these Rules in a report to the Executive, a Committee of the Council or the Chief Executive acting under delegated powers. The report shall set out the reasons for the exemption and must include an alternative process to be adopted, together with any legal and financial appraisal provided by the Solicitor to the Council and the s151 Officer. The Executive, a Committee of the Council or the Chief Executive acting under delegated powers may only give exemptions from any of the provisions of these Rules, where they are satisfied that each exemption is justified on its own special circumstances. The decision of the Executive, a Committee of the Council or the Chief Executive shall be recorded in accordance with the Access to Information Procedure Rules.

3.3 In cases of emergency the Strategic Director may verbally authorise and record in writing, an exemption from these Rules, for works to be undertaken by the most expedient means necessary to safeguard the Council’s position; where, if the work is not undertaken immediately, there is a significant risk of:

In these cases no more work shall be undertaken other than that which is necessary to safeguard the Council’s position prior to formal approval being obtained.

The Strategic Director shall at the earliest opportunity inform the s151 Officer and Solicitor to the Council of the action taken in dealing with the emergency. The Strategic Director shall also submit a report, to the Executive or the relevant Committee of the Council that details the circumstances of the exemption made in accordance with Rule 3.3. The specific circumstances in which the exemption was justified shall be recorded in accordance with the Access to Information Procedure Rules.

3.4 Each Strategic Director shall maintain a register of exemptions granted in respect of their directorate detailing the nature and value of the contract, the circumstances justifying the exemption and the name of the contractor awarded the contract.

3.5 Each Strategic Director shall report to the s151 Officer at least once every six months summarising their Register of Exemptions.

4.1 The quotation and tendering processes contained in Rules 7 to 12 do not apply to the provision of individual social care contracts which are established through the Council’s Care Management process; and the Director of Social Services has approved the contract or commissioning arrangements in accordance with these Rules and the Constitution.

4.2 Rules 7 to 12 shall not apply where goods, services or works are to be supplied under the call-off/framework or partnering arrangements made by:

where the call-off/framework or partnering arrangements have been tendered in compliance with EU directives. Officers shall maintain records of all transactions and the details supporting the compliance arrangements.

4.3 Rules 7 to 12 shall not apply in the following cases where:

5.1 Sub-delegation of a Strategic Director’s powers shall be in accordance with the Constitution.

5.2 Strategic Directors shall ensure that a scheme of delegation for the authorisation of contract procedures and financial limits has been established within their Directorate and that it continues to operate effectively. The scheme of delegation shall identify "Authorised Officers", their delegated authority, together with their expenditure limits up to the maximum in accordance with these Rules.

5.3 Strategic Directors shall supply to and agree with the s151 Officer their scheme of delegation before the start of each financial year, and on making any amendments. The s151 Officer shall keep a register of all schemes of delegation and shall supply a copy to the Solicitor to the Council at the beginning of each financial year, and notify the Solicitor to the Council of any subsequent amendments.

5.4 Strategic Directors shall ensure that any Officers authorised to carry out any of the Council’s contract functions shall receive the necessary training to be and remain conversant with these Contract Procedure Rules and other requirements of the Constitution.

6.1 No Officer shall:

6.2 No Officer shall commit the Council to expenditure unless:

Table 1 Goods and Services

Table 2 Works

7.1 The Authorised Officer shall be responsible for ensuring that all persons or bodies invited to quote or tender for the supply of goods, services or works to the Council have been suitably assessed in accordance with an assessment model. Where an assessment model has been agreed by both the s151 Officer and Solicitor to the Council this shall be used. The assessment process shall establish that all potential suppliers have sound economic and financial standing, technical ability and capacity to fulfil the requirements of the Council

7.2 At the time of issuing invitations to tender for a particular contract the Authorised Officer shall arrange the preparation of a ‘Schedule of Tenders’. The Schedule will list all the prospective tenderers, and a copy shall be forwarded to the Designated Opening Officer. At the same time a ‘Tenders Log’ shall be prepared and forwarded to the Designated Receiving Officer to initiate the log for the receipt of tenders. The Schedule of Tenders and Tender Log shall be in a format agreed by the s151 Officer and Solicitor to the Council.

7.3 It shall be the responsibility of each Authorised Officer to ensure that the Council’s tendering and contractual procedures secure Best Value through a combination of cost, quality and competition, using an evaluation model. Where an evaluation model has been agreed by the s151 Officer and Solicitor to the Council this shall be used.

7.4 Where the estimated cost of a contract is less than £25,000 Authorised Officers with delegated powers shall take such practicable steps to satisfy themselves that they are receiving value for money through a combination of cost and quality. The Officer’s evaluation process shall be recorded in accordance with Rule 15 below.

7.5 For all contracts of £25,000 or above competitive quotations or tenders shall be sought as follows:

7.6 Every invitation to tender shall specify the goods, service or works that are required, together with the terms and conditions of contract that will apply and the criteria on, which the selection of the Best Value tender shall be evaluated.

7.7 The invitation shall state that no tender will be considered unless it is received by the date and time stipulated in the invitation to tender. Any tender delivered in contravention of this Rule shall not be considered.

7.8 No form of tender shall be issued unless the tender is in accordance with any form prepared or approved by the Solicitor to the Council and includes the Council’s standard terms and conditions of contract for the particular type of contract;

7.9 All Forms of Tender shall include the following:

7.10 All invitations to tender shall include an instruction that ‘no tender will be received except in a format prescribed by the Council’.

7.11 Any electronic system used in the tender process shall be capable of emulating any manual process and retains compliance to these Rules. Including the processes of, identifying potential tenderers, invitation and selection, tender submission, freedom from collusion, transparency, scrutiny, tender analysis and secure storage, before the electronic system is introduced to the tender process. The new system may substitute entirely for paper versions of any aspect of the tender process.

7.12 Electronic systems may be introduced to the whole or any part of the tender process, following the written agreement of and in accordance with any requirements specified by the s151 Officer and the Solicitor to the Council.

8.1 Where it is determined that a partnering arrangement is appropriate then these Rules shall be complied with as if the value of the tender is equal to or exceeding the financial thresholds stated in the relevant EU Directive.

8.2 Every partnering arrangement shall specify the methods for achieving:

together with the terms and conditions of the partnering arrangement that will apply and the criteria upon which the selection of the Best Value tender shall be evaluated.

8.4 The Partnering Arrangement(s) will provide a framework agreement within which specific contracts for the supply of goods and/or services and/or works may be formally developed between the Council and the preferred partner(s) without the need to comply with Rules 7 to 12.

9.1 The Authorised Officer shall ensure that all tenders are returned to the Designated Receiving Officer and that the following arrangements are in place and complied with in relation to the receipt and opening of tenders.

9.2 Each tender received by the Designated Receiving Officer shall be marked immediately with an identifiable number and the date and time of its receipt within the building, and shall be initialled by the Designated Receiving Officer.

9.3 The Designated Receiving Officer shall maintain a log of all tenders received on the form supplied by the Authorised Officer, recording the identifiable number, date and time of receipt on the log sheet.

9.4 All tenders received shall remain unopened and kept secured (e.g. in a suitable locked container, with the key held by the Designated Receiving Officer) until the specified closing date and time for receipt of tenders has passed.

10.1 Only Designated Opening Officers shall open tenders submitted for Council contracts.

10.2 All tenders shall be opened at one time, as soon as practicable after the specified closing date and time for their receipt (e.g. within 2 working days).

10.3 The Designated Opening Officer in the presence of another officer nominated by the Authorised Officer shall open all tenders. Contracts expected to exceed £500,000 for Goods and Services and £2,000,000 for Works shall be notified in advance to the s151 Officer and Solicitor to the Council, with an invitation that they are present or represented at the opening of these tenders.

10.4 Tenders shall, immediately upon opening, be initialled and recorded by the Designated Opening Officer on the ‘Schedule of Tenders’ (referred to in Rule 7.2 above). The Schedule of Tenders shall be signed by each of the persons present at the tender opening session and passed to the relevant Authorised Officer, agent, or consultant, with the tender documents.

11.1 The Authorised Officer shall be responsible for ensuring that appropriate departmental or other Council technical and financial officers evaluate all tenders with due regard to both quality and price. In order to identify the tender that offers Best Value, the evaluation process shall be carried out in accordance with a pre-defined quality/financial implication evaluation model. Where a particular evaluation model has been approved by both the s151 Officer and Solicitor to the Council this shall be used. The evaluation process will clearly demonstrate the Best Value tender as being the tender offering the Council Best Value through a combination of both quality and price.

11.2 The arithmetic in compliant tenders must be checked. If arithmetical errors are found they should be notified to the tenderer, who should be requested to confirm or withdraw their tender. Alternatively, if the rates in the tender, rather than the overall price, were stated within the tender invitation as being dominant, an amended tender price may be requested to accord with the rates given by the tenderer.

11.3 The Authorised Officer shall compare submitted tender prices with any pre-tender estimates and any discrepancies up to 20% shall be resolved to their satisfaction. Any discrepancies in excess of 20% of the pre-tender estimate shall be reported to the Strategic Director for resolution. The Strategic Director shall report any discrepancies in excess of 50% of the pre-tender estimate to the s151 Officer for resolution. All actions and resolutions shall be recorded in accordance with Rule 15.

11.4 Post-tender negotiations shall only be by exception and in accordance with EU Procurement Directives. Officers who are appointed by the Strategy Director to carry out post-tender negotiations shall ensure that there are recorded minutes of all negotiation meetings and that actions are agreed in writing by both parties.

12.1 Tenders shall not be accepted by the Council unless they;

12.2 Only the tender identified through the evaluation process as the Best Value tender shall be accepted for the award of contract in accordance with the following financial limits:

12.3 Any tender other than the Best Value tender shall not be accepted for the award of a contract, unless the Strategic Director has set out in a report the reasons for the acceptance of the alternative tender. Only the Executive, a Committee of the Council or the Chief Executive acting under delegated powers; following advice from the Solicitor to the Council and the s151 Officer, may accept the alternative tender, where they are satisfied that it is justified on its own special circumstances. The decision of the Executive, the Chief Executive or a Committee of the Council shall be recorded in accordance with the Access to Information Procedure Rules.

13.1 All contracts or agreements, which commit the Council to receive or expend monies, shall be evidenced in writing.

13.2 All contracts or agreements, which exceed £25,000 in value, but do not exceed £500,000 in value, shall be formally signed by two officers of the Council as follows (for the avoidance of doubt no Member of the Council may sign any contract for or on behalf of the Council):

Table 6 Goods, Services and Works

13.3 The Solicitor to the Council shall formally seal all contracts as deeds that exceed £500,000, on behalf of the Council.

13.4 Any contract not exceeding £500,000 which requires the additional limitation of 12 years rather than the 6 years for court proceedings in the event of default (s.8 Limitations Act 1980) shall be sealed as a deed by the Solicitor to the Council. This is particularly relevant to construction contracts in the case of latent defects.

14.1 No supply of goods, services or works shall commence until all contract documentation is duly completed except where a tender is accepted by a letter (signed by two Authorised Officers in accordance with the Strategic Director’s Scheme of Delegation) to the successful tenderer. Such letter shall state that it and the tender documentation shall form the basis of the Contract pending completion of the formal documentation.

14.2 The previous Rule 14.1 above shall not apply in cases of emergency authorised in accordance with Rule 3.3 above. In these cases formal documentation authorising the process shall be completed and exchanged at the earliest opportunity.

16.1 All contracts shall be in accordance with any form prepared or approved by the Solicitor to the Council including the Council’s standard terms and conditions of contract for the particular type of contract which shall also specify:

16.2 All contracts shall include a clause empowering the Council to terminate the contract under the circumstances described in Rule 16.3, and to recover from the contractor the amount of any loss resulting from such termination.

16.3 The contract shall be terminated if the contractor or any person employed by them, or acting on their behalf (whether with or without the knowledge of the contractor) shall:

16.4 Wherever possible, contracts shall require goods and materials used in their execution and all workmanship to be in accordance with a specified European Standard, or British Standard implementing a European Standard. Only if no European Standard exists should a British or other Equivalent Standard be stated.

18.1 Where it becomes apparent that the total project cost recorded in the Capital Programme is to be exceeded (excluding updated inflation), approval shall be sought in accordance with the Council’s Financial Procedure Rules set out in the Constitution.

18.2 As soon as it becomes apparent that the final cost of any other contract is likely to cause the revenue budget to be exceeded, the Strategic Director shall report this in accordance with the Council’s Financial Procedure Rules set out in the Constitution.

18.3 Before proposing or authorising the extension of any existing contract, the relevant Strategic Director shall ensure that the proposed extension fully complies with the relevant terms and conditions of the Contract and EU Procurement Directive and these Rules.

19.1 A person or body entering into a contract with the Council shall not be bound to inquire whether all relevant Contract Procedure Rules have been complied with. Non-compliance with these Rules shall not invalidate any contract entered into by or on behalf of the Council.

19.2 Any non-compliance with any Contract Procedure Rule must be notified to the relevant Strategic Director at the earliest opportunity.

19.3 If the non-compliance cannot be remedied by the taking of any appropriate step or measure, the matter must be notified to the s151 Officer and the Solicitor to the Council. Where a particular course of action is specified by both the s151 Officer and the Solicitor to the Council this shall be complied with.

19.4 If non-compliance has given rise to or is likely to give rise to illegality or mal-administration the s151 Officer and Solicitor to the Council will notify the Monitoring Officer.

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