Get Fit for Tender 6 th November 2019

1. Get Fit for Tender6th November 2019

2. Get Fit for TenderWednesday 6th November 2019Mayor’s Function roomsCivic Centre, Bromley Sponsored by

3. Agenda

4. Get Fit for TenderLBBromley Procurement6th November 2019

5. Content • What do we procure? • How do we procure? • How do you find out about opportunities? • What’s involved in a tender process? • Who are Commissioners and what are they looking for? • View from a Commissioner • View from a Contractor

6. 1. What Do We Procure?

7. 1. What do we procure? https://www.bromley.gov.uk/info/200110/council_budgets_and_spending/311/council_spending • Detail of all spend over £500 published • Contract Database published (£50k+) • Quarterly reports to Members on Contracts (£50k+) published

8. Third Party Spend (May 2019) = £41M • Estimated £495M annually

9. But majority of spend not necessarily related to procurement

10. Payment: • Individuals • Schools • Other Public Bodies • Nurseries • Adults and Children's Placements: • Nursing Care • Mental Health • Learning Disabilities • Domiciliary Care • Special Educational Needs • Looked After Children • Property: • Rent • Rates • Leases • Managing Agents

11. Contract spend primarily related to £50k+ contracts – details published • Remainder is low value goods, works or services, often one-off

13. Streets and Green Space – mainly Waste (Veolia), Parks (Idverde) and Highways (J B Riney) • Adult Social Care – Nursing Care, Supported Living, Extra Care Housing and Adult Support primarily with local voluntary sector • Staffing – agency contract (Adecco) • IT Services – primarily BT and range of applications • Capital/Construction – range of tendered or framework contracts for various capital schemes • Finance – primarily Liberata and others (insurances etc) • Public Health – substance misuse, sexual health • Facilities – primarily through Amey contract

14. Other • Utilities and Telecoms • Traffic and Parking contracts – primarily through Apcoa and J B Riney • Recreation – mainly Library contract and museums • Transport – mainly home to school transport through local framework • Children’s Social Care / Education – range of services, often with local voluntary sector • Healthcare Equipment – London consortium contract (Medequip) • Printing – Canon • Public Protection – Pest Control • Health / Assessment – for individual clients e.g. GPs, psychiatric, drugs

16. Specialist – assessments, health, legal, safeguarding, architects, planning • Children’s Social Care – appropriate adults, independent visitors and other primarily with local voluntary sector • Training – contracts with individual trainers, often in Social Care • Facilities – cleaning / caretaking not covered elsewhere • Transport – taxis, ad hoc transport, vehicle repair • Finance – insurance services • IT Services – software packages • Other – a wide range of one off purchases of goods, works or services, on average less than £5k

17. Recorded Contracts - Overview

18. Recorded Contracts - Overview • 41% of all Council Contracts above £50k are delivered by small businesses • Of these: • 39% based in Bromley • 26% based in London • 8% based in Kent • 3% based in Surrey • 25% based in Other

19. Main Contractors • The Council may hold large contracts with a single supplier for services – e.g. Total Facilities Management, Highways, Parks and Green Spaces • Providers may have their own supply chain arrangements in place – e.g. Approved Lists. • Small Businesses operating in these categories may find opportunities here.

20. 2. How Do We Procure?

21. Overview – Procurement • Councils are public bodies subject to the Public Contract Regulations (2015). • This means we must ensure fairness, transparency and value for money in procurement – and there are a wide range of legal requirements, rules and regulations that must be followed in how we procure services.

22. Overview – Procurement • Below £5k – one quote is required • £5k to £100k – three quotes, using ‘Local Rules’ where possible. Managed through eprocurement system. May be openly advertised. • £100k + - Invitation to Tender using eprocurement system. Must be openly advertised • Certain services (e.g. Social Care) may be subject to ‘light touch’ arrangements (if below £615k)

23. Overview – Procurement • We take a proportional approach meaning higher value contracts are subject to wider advertisement. All opportunities over £100k, and some under £100k, will be openly advertised. • The Council makes use of its ‘Local Rules OK’ protocol for opportunities under £100k. This requires that where an unadvertised ‘request for quotation’ (RFQ) process is followed, at least one local supplier should be included if possible. • Therefore, it may be beneficial to let council officers know about your products/services in case any RFQs are upcoming.

24. Overview – the Procurement Team • The corporate Procurement Team is a support service. It provides support in managing procurement to commissioners across Bromley. It ensures we carry out procurement in the right way. • Commissioners are based within services. They are the budget holders and make decisions on what services are required and how they are delivered. Where procurement is required the Procurement team provides advice, support, management of the process and governance.

25. Engagement with Suppliers • It is estimated that 41% of Bromley contracts over £50k are delivered by small business, of which 75% are delivered by providers based in Bromley or surrounding areas of London, Kent and Surrey. • The council considers disaggregation, provides feedback, publishes transparency notices for contracts advertised and contracts awarded, applies our ‘Local Rules’ procedure and holds supplier events for specific opportunities where appropriate.

26. 3. How Do You Find Out About Opportunities?

27. London Tenders Portal/ ProContract i • We recommend that all organisations interested in doing business with us sign up to the procurement portal.  • You can sign up to our e-tendering system called ProContract, which is accessed via the London Tenders Portal (www.londontenders.org).   • Signing up is free and easy, and you will be able to receive notifications from a number of London Boroughs using the Portal about relevant opportunities.

28. London Tenders Portal/ ProContract ii • Specific categories, key words, and/or geographic areas of interest can be selected. • To avoid confusion, it is recommended that an organisation has a single company profile. • Ensure there is someone responsible for checking alerts and messages coming in. • You can contact the Proactis Supplier Support Team here: • ProContractSuppliers@proactis.com • 0330 005 0352 • Guide: https://tinyurl.com/ProContractBromley

29. Contracts Finder • An online UK government portal which allows suppliers to search for information about opportunities and awarded contracts. • It can be accessed for free and alerts can be set up in a similar way. • www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk

30. Tenders Electronic Daily • Contracts which exceed certain thresholds must be advertised across the European Union. • Tenders Electronic Daily is the online version of the supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) and can be searched for free to find opportunities. • https://ted.europa.eu

31. Frameworks • The Council will also make frequent use of Frameworks. • A procurement framework is an agreement put in place with a provider or range of providers that enables buyers to place orders for requirements without running lengthy full tendering exercises. • Examples of organisations who establish frameworks: • Crown Commercial Services • ESPO • YPO • https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/become-a-crown-commercial-service-supplier • https://www.espo.org/Suppliers/Becoming-An-ESPO-Supplierhttps://www.ypo.co.uk/suppliers/useful-links • https://www.ypo.co.uk/suppliers/useful-links

32. Larger contractors to the Council • There may be opportunities with larger subcontractors to the Council, fulfilled via their own supply chains. • You can find a list of the Council’s active contracts here to make your own investigations: https://www.bromley.gov.uk/info/200110/council_budgets_and_spending/311/council_spending/3 • We are working on collating the points of contact for joining the supply chains of our larger providers, which we can provide in due course.

33. 4. What Is Involved in a Tender Process?

34. Participating in a procurement process • In general, the process will require the return of: • A price • Quality questions • Policies, certificates and a declaration • Lower risk/ lower value procurements will be more straightforward and require less effort from bidders. • Higher risk/ higher value procurements will have greater requirements and require more input from bidders. • The next few slides explain in general terms what you will need to provide and what you can expect in general in a lower value procurement process.

35. Low value request for quotation i • Financial information • As relevant and proportionate to the opportunity • References • Contract details of 3 organisations where similar services have been or are provided. • A bank reference. • Form of Tender/ Declaration

36. Low value request for quotation ii • Pricing schedule • Response to quality questions • Suppliers self-certify in the first instance, but on award we require: • Insurance certificates (lower thresholds of £2m public liability, £5m employers liability, and £1m professional indemnity). • Potentially policies, depending on the nature of the requirement (e.g. equality, child protection, health and safety). • DBS checks if relevant.

37. Low value request for quotation ii You may be invited to a clarification interview as part of the evaluation process. You may be able to attend a site visit. You will receive some debriefing information on strengths and weaknesses.

38. Higher value processes • https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-policy-note-816-standard-selection-questionnaire-sq-template • https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/551130/List_of_Mandatory_and_Discretionary_Exclusions.pdf Higher value processes (over £181k) will additionally make use of the Standard Selection Questionnaire issued by the Cabinet Office, or, for works contracts, the PAS 91 produced by the BSI. As an overview, the SSQ covers:

39. Low value request for quotation - Quality • Scored from 0 to 10, with a minimum score of 5. • Typical quality criteria may include: • Financial standing • GDPR • Operational competence e.g. working methods • Organisational ability e.g. capacity and infrastructure • Sustainability

40. Higher value processes You may need to provide a Parent Company Guarantee or Bond Undertaking valued at 10% the value of the contract. You will receive debriefing information on strengths and weaknesses.

41. Higher value processes – Modern Slavery Statement https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transparency-in-supply-chains-a-practical-guide • Cabinet Office guidance states an organisation will need to produce a statement if they: • are a body corporate or a partnership, wherever incorporated; • carry on a business, or part of a business, in the UK; • supply goods or services; and • have an annual turnover of £36m or more.

42. Common areas of error • The common areas suppliers make mistakes are: • Not submitting all the required documents. • Submitting documents after the deadline has passed. • Not answering quality criteria in full. • If you are already a supplier to the Council, don’t assume prior knowledge – if it’s not in your response we cannot consider it.

43. 5. What are Commissioners Looking For?

44. Commissioners Commissioners are typically Heads of Services / Budget Holders within a Service. Commissioning and Procurement is typically a small part of their overall role. Dedicated Commissioners within the People Department – typically focused on Adult Social Care, Children’s Social Care, Education and Public Health. Procurement is only one part of a Commissioner’s role.

45. Commissioners • What Commissioners are looking for varies significantly from requirement to requirement: • Training • Mobility and Habilitation for Visually Impaired Young People • Supported Living for Adult with Disabilities • MIS • Cleaning • Child Sexual Exploitation • Catering • Children & Family Centre provision • Housing Build Projects

46. Commissioners • The approach taken will often depend on the value and route: • Less Than £5k – one quote required • May seek more than one quote • Who have we used before? • Category knowledge / local knowledge • Library of contacts • Research • Bromley Business Directory • Yell • Google • Framework

47. Commissioners • £5k to £100k – three quotes required • As above • Research of other local authorities • Open advert via London Tender Portal • Framework

48. Commissioners • £100k+ - Invitation to Tender • As above • Detailed market research • Provider engagement • Meetings / telephone interviews • Supplier engagement events • Prior Information Notice • Framework Research • Previous tenders

49. 6. View from a CommissionerMaya Vadgama – Strategic Commissioner

50. 7. View from a ContractorDavid Griffiths, Procurement Manager J B Riney