Tenders

1. Tenders may be selected in a variety of different ways depending on the market relevant to the work, goods or service to be provided.
2. A selection of potential tenderers may be approached to assess their interest in tendering for the work, goods or service prior to competition.
3. Tenders may be advertised in national journals, or the local or national press.
4. All tenders above the EU threshold are advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU).

The Barnsley Schools Brokerage Service advertises for an approved list of contractors / suppliers in a certain field of work. Contractors / suppliers must satisfy the selection criteria before being admitted onto the list.

Where Are Tenders Advertised?

Contracts above EC value limits must normally be advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU). Business Link has a system that offers access to OJEU (Tenders Electronic Daily).

Contracts below EC value limits will normally be advertised in local newspapers and trade journals. For example, adverts for contracts between £50,000 and £153,376 will normally appear in the Barnsley Chronicle and/or the Yorkshire Post. Contracts in excess of this value will also need to be advertised in (OJEC) adverts and in a national specialist journal, eg TES, Government Opportunities and Contrax Weekly.

In future, arrangements are being made for all contract adverts placed by Barnsley MBC to also appear on the Buy Local website of the South Yorkshire Portal, and the schools own websites.

Tender Process

There are a number of different tender processes:

• OPEN process - all potential contractors / suppliers can bid for a contract.
• RESTRICTED process - a two or three stage process allows only those potential contractors / suppliers, who satisfy a number of criteria, to be short-listed and allowed to bid.
• NEGOTIATED process - used for complex purchases. Careful consideration is given to the use of this process
  When tenders are invited, bids must be submitted, by the indicated time and date, in sealed, unmarked envelopes (usually supplied with the Invitation to Tender documentation) to the address specified in the Invitation to Tender.

Received tenders are kept secure and unopened until the closing date, when they are opened in the presence of two officers and formally recorded. Late tenders are opened and recorded before being returned to the tenderer.

Opened tenders are passed to the contract officer for evaluation. This may take a few days or several weeks. All tenderers are notified of the outcome in writing and the successful tenderer will be issued with a contract. We offer to debrief unsuccessful tenderers on request.

Effective contract management is key to a successful relationship between ourselves and the supplier. We expect you to manage aspects of the business and work with us to improve the contract over its lifetime. We DO NOT "Let and Forget" our contracts.

Contracts entered into by Barnsley schools must comply with the Fair Funding Scheme for Financing Schools and the schools' own Standing Orders and, if the contract exceeds £153,376, then the procurement process will need to comply with the European Procurement Directives.

European Procurement Directives

Public authority procurement is covered by an EC Treaty, the basic principles of which are to prevent discrimination against companies from any member state and to remove restrictions on the free movement of goods and services.

The Treaty is backed by EC Procurement Directives, which have been adopted by UK legislation, and apply to contracts above certain values (currently £153,376 for services and supplies, and £3,834,411 for works). These Directives set out clear procedures and standards to be followed by the schools when choosing tenderers and awarding contracts, based on openness, non-discrimination and competition.

For further information please contact:

Julie Green
Brokerage and Procurement Officer
Tel:(01226) 773639
Email: juliegreen@barnsley.gov.uk