UK Procurement Regulations

2015 Procurement Regulations – How They Effect Tenders & PQQs

4 minutes of reading

The new 2015 Procurement Regulations came into force on the 26th February 2015. They contain many changes that affect public sector tenders.

2015 Procurement Regulations - How They Effect Tenders & PQQs?

 Government’s Aims

“For contracting authorities, this means being able to run procurement exercises faster, with less red tape, and more focus on getting the right supplier and the best tender.

“And for suppliers, the process of bidding for public contracts should be quicker, less costly, and less bureaucratic, enabling suppliers to compete more effectively.”

Guide to Main Changes in the 2015 Procurement Regulations

Here are the main changes relating to new 2015 Procurement Regulations.

Helping SMEs

Vince Cable set a target of 25% of public contracts to go to SMEs. The initiatives below are very helpful in that respect:

  • Contracting authorities urged to break contracts into smaller lots to help SMEs take part.
  • A cap on required turnover ratio to help smaller businesses take part in bidding. Authorities cannot set company turnover requirements at more than two-times contract value (except when justified).

The previous ‘turnover yardstick’ was that a contract should not represent more than around 30% of a bidder’s turnover. (But I’ve seen 10-20% at times!) So raising it to 50% is a big change. In light of this, our Fit to Tender Check-list has been updated.

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How to Answer Social Value Tender Questions

9 minutes of reading

The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 became law on the 8th March 2012 and went live 31st January 2013. Public sector now have to consider social value as part of any procurement. Not just value for money (cost and quality). So now you may have to respond to social value tender questions when bidding for public sector contracts.

How to Answer Social Value Tender Questions

What is Social Value in Tendering?

The Act requires authorities to make the following considerations at the pre-procurement stage:

  • How what is proposed to be procured might improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of the “relevant area”
  • How in conducting a procurement process it might act with a view to securing that improvement

Some tenders have method statement questions on what social value you will provide. Others have social value calculator Excel spreadsheets to complete (see below).

Some public sector tenders completely ignored social value when tendering! But the Government’s latest measures (below) reinforce the need to include social value in tender evaluation.

Some tenders weight social value as high as 10-30% of the total possible score! So, there can be a lot at stake.

Social Value Tender Questions

Social value tender questions can appear daunting at first. But once you start to understand social value, they become a lot easier. These types of tender questions can also help local businesses to score higher than non-local competitors. The reason is that they are already contributing to their local “relevant area”. For example:

Economic – employment, training and work-experience opportunities for local people.

Environmental – local staff, local suppliers and local work reduces your carbon footprint.

Social – supporting local community initiatives e.g. charities, local amateur sports teams etc.

Many of the terms used by councils and government can be confusing: “social integration and community cohesion” and “community development and engagement“. But in fact most of it is common sense. Here are some typical areas for social value and how you might respond:

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New EU Procurement Rules 2014

2 minutes of reading

The new EU procurement rules 2014 are designed to ensure better value for money and improved quality. The reduction of red tape should also make it easier for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) to tender.

New EU Procurement Rules 2014

EU-rules on public procurement apply to public authorities buying works, goods or services.

Note: See latest public sector contracts thresholds.

New EU Procurement Rules 2014 – Summary

They will include tougher rules on subcontracting and have a new award criteria that will put more emphasis on:

  • Quality
  • Environmental considerations
  • Social aspects
  • Innovation

Procurement will use the MEAT criteria (most economically advantageous tender). This balances the above elements with price.

One of the aims is to encourage more innovation. This will be achieved through openness – making it possible for tenderers to negotiate innovative solutions during the tendering procedure (as opposed to bidding on a pre-determined specification).

New EU Procurement Rules 2014 – Helping SMEs

Red tape will be reduced to make it easier for SMEs to tender:

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New EU Procurement Rules 2014 Read More »

Understanding Public Sector Tenders

4 minutes of reading

Understanding public sector tenders follows on from Why do Companies Tender – so do read that first to get to grips with the reasons for tendering.

The Dynamics of Public Sector Tenders

Councils, central government, NHS, housing associations and the rest of the public sector (or publicly funded organisations) will all go to tender for the same reasons set out in Why Companies Tender. However, there are two drivers that are specific to public sector tenders:

  1. They are spending public money
  2. Government wants to ensure that laws, policies and initiatives are met
Understanding Public Sector Tenders

They are Spending Our Money

It must be remembered that public sector tenders are used to make purchases using our money. As tax payers we all want to see that our money is spent wisely, therefore  the public sector use a robust tendering process to help ensure that good procurement procedures are used.

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