PROCUREMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURES MANUAL Version No: Reason for Update Date of Update Updated By 1 Significantly revised policy to account for implementation of Public Contracts Regulations 2015, NIPPP requirements and new suite of purchasing procedures. May 2015 Procurement & Contracts Manager 2 Revised to reflect reduced OJEU level procurement thresholds due to classification as a Central Govt. authority as listed in Schedule 1 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. 5th June 2015 Procurement & Contracts Manager 3 Revised to reflect introduction of £2.5-£10k business case, amended £10k -£30k business case removal of business case templates from Appendices, add a section on exemption from requiring a business case, update to reference corporate Plan 2015-18 and amend page numbering and hyperlinks. 1st December 2015 Procurement & Contracts Manager 4 Revised to reflect the amended £2.5-£10k & £10k -£30k business case templates, PPE template and the amended OJEU thresholds effective from 1st Jan 2016. 8th January 2016 Procurement & Contracts Manager The College will continue to seek a number of easements from the additional burdens placed on the College as NDPB e.g. in terms of thresholds for progressing procurements via CPD and maintenance frameworks to reflect normal practices within Higher Education. Some minor amendments may be made to forms included in the appendices based on experience and feedback from usage of these new forms. Table of Contents £30k
to be purchased and issued to potential suppliers to enable quotations to be provided. Forward documentation to Procurement & Contracts Manager for review. D £5,001 - £30,000 All expenditure in this band must be reported to DEL on a monthly basis. Therefore DEL procurement templates must be used to enable information to be captured and compiled. A Business Case must be prepared to justify expenditure – see either ‘Small Business Case Template £2.5k - £10k’ or ‘Detailed Business Case Template £10k - £30k’ on Finance Office webpage. A Post Project Evaluation must be completed no later than 12 months after the purchase order has been placed - see ‘Post Project Evaluation Template £2.5k - £30k’ on Finance Office webpage. At least 3 written quotations/tenders managed by the Procurement Office. Contact Procurement & Contracts Manager as soon as possible after the need has been identified and approved by the Budget Holder. Procurement & Contracts Manager will advise on the most suitable procurement route and quotation/tender evaluation processes. A specification will be required, outlining the exact requirements, depending on the Supplies/Services to be purchased and issued to potential suppliers to enable them to provide a quotation/tender. Forward documentation to Procurement & Contracts Manager for review. Procurement & Contracts Manager will issue tender documentation to selected suppliers allowing suppliers up to 2 weeks to respond. Unless an award is on the basis of price only an evaluation panel will meet to evaluate tenders against quality criteria in the week following the submission deadline.
route and quotation/tender evaluation processes. A specification may be required, outlining the exact requirements, depending on the works required and issued to potential contractors to enable quotations/tenders to be provided. Forward documentation to Procurement & Contracts Manager for review. D £10,001 - £30,000 All expenditure in this band must be reported to DEL on a monthly Therefore DEL procurement templates must be used to enable information to be captured and compiled. A Business Case must be prepared to justify expenditure – see ‘Detailed Business Case Template £10k - £30k’ on Finance Office webpage. A Detailed Post Project Evaluation must be completed no later than 12 months after the purchase order has been placed - see ‘Post Project Evaluation Template £2.5k - £30k’ on Finance Office webpage. Contractors must be registered on Constructionline. Usually the first six contractors from a randomly selected list generated by Constructionline are invited to tender. Contact Procurement & Contracts Manager as soon as possible after the need has been identified and approved by the Budget Holder. Procurement & Contracts Manager will advise on the most suitable procurement route and quotation/tender evaluation processes. A specification will be required, outlining the exact requirements, depending on the works required and issued to potential contractors to enable them to provide a quotation/tender. Forward documentation to
upon a range of factors, including the likely number of responses, the complexity of the procurement etc., the Procurement Office will recommend which procurement procedure should be used for the competition. There are six main procedures available under the new Procurement Regulations: Open; Restricted; Negotiated; Competitive Dialogue; Competitive procedure with negotiation; and Innovation partnership. Each of the above procedures must adhere to certain timescales and other specific procedural rules which must be complied with (unless the contract is somehow exempt) including: Contracts must be advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU); Certain timescales for tendering of contracts must be followed; Contracts must be awarded on the basis of ‘most economically advantageous tender’; There are specific rules on what selection and award criteria are permissible; Bidders must be provided with detailed feedback; and There must be a standstill period of a minimum of 10 days after a preferred bidder has been identified but before a contract has been awarded. 6.9 Exemptions from Procurement Regulations Certain types of contracts known as ‘Part B Services’ were exempt under the previous Procurement Regulations. The distinction between Part A and Part B Services has been abolished under the 2015 Regulations and replaced with a more limited set of specialist services which will be subject to what is commonly referred to as the “light touch regime”. This will apply to services such as health and social services but also includes a list of other services contained in Schedule 3 to the Regulations (e.g. legal services). These services benefit from a higher threshold of €750,000 and will be subject to limited procedural requirements, notably the publication of contract and contract award notices. Although procurement of these contracts is exempt from the full application of the Procurement Regulations, fundamental EU Treaty principles of equal treatment and transparency must still be adhered to. Further advice on the application of these principles to the procurement of contracts which are exempt from the full application of the Procurement Regulations can be obtained from the Procurement Office. 7. Competition At the heart of Northern Ireland Public Procurement Policy is the achievement of best value for money through adherence to the 12 guiding principles of procurement. Included in these guiding principles is the principle of competitive supply which states that procurement should
Appendix 1 Tender Evaluation Panel Member - Conflict of Interest Statement Contract Title: Date of Evaluation: Panel Member: Responses were received from the following Suppliers: Declaration to be completed by the Panel Member I confirm that I have/do not have* an interest in any of the companies including any commercial, management or personal interest. I also confirm that I have/do not have* a personal relationship or friendship with Directors, Management or Employees of the above companies. *Delete as appropriate Details of any interest or relationship should be detailed in the section below: Declared Interests Signed: Date: