Procurement is the process of acquiring goods, works and services from third parties.

Procurement includes the process by which our requirements are defined and contracts are awarded, as well as the management of contracts once established.

Effective procurement seeks to evidence and achieve value for money, which is not simply about the cheapest option, but a balance of features such as quality and sustainability for the entire contract duration.

Procurement is different from purchasing, which is the process of ordering, receiving, and paying for goods and services.

We are:

• fair, non-discriminatory, transparent, professional.
• a long-established organisation, with professionally qualified staff.
• prompt to pay invoices, we pay on time.
• adding social value to our procurement activity; this may enhance your reputation in the community and wider business sector. Find out more about our Procurement policy and strategy.
• providing links to other County Durham institutions through the County Durham Pound project.

There are rules and regulations at both national and local levels which we have to follow when procuring goods, works and services to ensure transparency and value for money.

National rules

The main English law covering procurement is the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCRs). This should be seen as a starting point and brings together a legal framework for public procurement.

All our contracts, no matter what their value, are covered by the PCRs which incorporate the free movement of goods and services and prevents discrimination against firms on the grounds of nationality.

We are required to follow detailed procedures for all our procurement activity above the financial thresholds detailed below:

* known as the light-touch regime (LTR), this applies to health care, social care, education, cultural contracts, that involve individuals or groups of people who require services from such contracts that can only be delivered from within the UK. For statutory services, these are outside the scope of VAT.

All activity above these thresholds is advertised on the Gov.uk: Find a Tender Service.

Local rules (our own rules)

We have our own Contract Procedure Rules (CPRs) which we must comply with. These are part of the Constitution of the council.

We also have our own minimum procurement thresholds, as follows: 

It is important to note that all quotation exercises are conducted electronically through the North East Procurement Organisation (NEPO) Portal. In order to bid for business, you must therefore be registered on this portal.

To register your organisation

1. Visit the NEPO portal at: North East Procurement Organisation (NEPO) Portal
2. Click on "Get Started" at the top right of the screen
3. Select the "Supplier" option and follow the on screen, step-by-step instructions
4. Once registered, your username and password will be emailed to you. Please ensure that you keep these confidential.

Notifications of opportunities you may be interested in will be sent to you by email from the portal - we may also use your registered contact details to contact you directly.

Please make sure that your contact details are kept up-to-date to avoid the possibility of missing out on potential opportunities. To avoid unnecessary communications such as invitations to tender opportunities that you are not interested in, please ensure that you register for the correct categories.

NEPO launch new eplatform in 2023

Open is the new e-procurement platform built and launched by NEPO and the North East local authorities. This will replace the existing NEPO Portal and will be rolled-out in stages throughout 2023. 

To prepare for the move of North East local authorities to Open, please create your account at <Open procurement portal

We utilise the Bloom NEPRO 3 solution for the provision of specialist professional services, such as industry specific professional services. This is a neutral vendor solution for specialist professional services developed by North East Procurement Organisation (NEPO) Portal and offers the public sector a compliant, speedy route to appointing specialist professional services and covers 19 categories of professional services. 

Suppliers can gain immediate access to the opportunities available by registering for a Bloom Pro-vide 2.0 account.

We recognise our responsibility to help our suppliers by procuring value for money goods, services and works, which maximise social value, minimise environmental impacts and ensure the ethical treatment of people throughout our supply chains.

We are continually strengthening our pursuit of these goals.

The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 asks us as a contracting authority to take into account social, environmental and economic impacts whilst undertaking procurement activity.

This means that we work with our supply partners to identify what additional value they can bring to a contract with us, including:

• Commitments to engage and support social value activities within County Durham.
• Meeting our sustainable procurement policies.
• Support the local economy and wealth building the "County Durham Pound Project". Find our more at County Durham Pound.

Social value in tendering is now "the norm", and in most of our tenders part of the evaluation score will be given over to social value commitments. 

We work closely with the Social Value Portal, utilising the Themes, Outcomes, Measures (TOMs) Framework to record commitments and the outcomes they bring to County Durham.  As part of our work, we have developed a local Durham TOMs framework, identifying measures which specifically impact the direct needs of our communities.

You can find out more about our social value work in our Procurement policy and strategy and our work as part of the County Durham Pound Project or look out for one of our social value engagement sessions or check out the County Durham Pound on YouTube.

The Modern Slavery Act 2015 came into effect in the UK on 29 October 2015. Its aim is preventing and tackling modern slavery, which is identified as the second largest criminal industry in the world, according to the United Nations.

As a public sector organisation, employer, community leader and procurer we are committed to undertaking a preventative approach to modern slavery and human trafficking within our corporate responsibilities and activities. This also includes co-operating with partners to work towards the disruption of such activities.

We have an expectation that any organisation we work with operates appropriate policies and practices in relation to modern slavery.

Here are some common terms or phrases that will help you understand some of our key terms used in procurement:

Commissioning

The strategic process by which needs are identified and assessed, desired outcome(s) are defined, and solutions designed to achieve those outcomes.

Etendering/electronic tendering

An online system that manages the tendering process from the advert through to the issuing of the award.

Framework

An agreement, normally involving more than one supplier, for a range of goods, works, or services.

Find a Tender Service (FTS)

The UKs portal for information on public contract activity.  New notices are advertised when an opportunity arises, these include invitations to tender, prior information notices and contract award notices. This service was formerly known as Contracts Finder.

Invitation to tender (ITT)

A document that is sent to businesses to invite them to tender for the contract. 

Light touch regime (LTR)

Schedule 3 of the Public Contract Regulations 2015, often referred to as the LTR or light touch regime. This schedule applies to health care, social care, education, cultural contracts. LTR services are provided directly to individuals or groups of people who require services from such contracts that cannot be delivered by another country.

NEPO

The North East Procurement Organisation was established in 1976 and undertakes high-value procurement in strategic areas of spend.

NEPRO3

A procurement framework which assists the UK public sector to buy and manage specialist professional services from a choice of regional and national suppliers.

Open system

Is the web portal of NEPO, used by public sector organisations in the North East to compliantly procure goods, works and services.

Open tender

A process where all interested parties are invited to tender. No shortlisting process is used, full contract documents are issued to tenderers at 'invitation to tender' (ITT) stage.

Procurement

The process of acquiring goods, works and services from third parties.

Purchasing

The transactional process of ordering, receiving, and paying for goods and services. 

Quick quote

A price-only quotation exercise designed to give local suppliers a greater opportunity to participate.

Request for quotation (RFQ)

Used to invite suppliers into a bidding process to bid on specific products or services. This process is usually used for lower value opportunities

Restricted tender

Any organisation may express an interest, however, only organisations shortlisted by the contracting authority may tender. It is a two-stage process, initial screening takes place at the selection stage (see selection questionnaire). This is used for more complex tenders.

Selection questionnaire (SQ)

Focuses on information about the company and may include aspects such as financial information. Suppliers who are successful at this selection stage, may then be invited to tender (see restricted tender).

Social value

The wider financial and non-financial impacts of programmes, organisations and interventions that would include, but not limited to, the wellbeing of individuals and communities, social capital and the environment.

Where you can find a list of awarded contracts and who the providers are

We publish a list of all contracts with a value that exceeds £5,000 on our Contracts Register. This lists all contracts, commissioned activity, purchase orders, framework agreements and other legally enforceable agreements, including waste collection contracts. It is updated quarterly.

Publication forms part of our commitment to being open and transparent with our residents. 

What impact has Brexit had on the tendering process

There are rules and regulations at European, national and local levels which we have to follow when procuring goods, works and services. When we left the EU there were no plans to change procurement rules, however, the thresholds have been updated (in January 2022) and we expect further guidance from Government in due course.

New UK procurement rules and regulations

New rules and regulations from the UK Government are due to be published in early 2024.  Any changes to these rules and regulations will be reflected within this guidance after publication.

How to find out about current tendering opportunities

You can find a list of our current and planned opportunities at Forward council tenders and contracts (procurement pipeline). To be able to access our tendering opportunities, suppliers need to be registered with the NEPO Open procurement portal. Once registered, you will be able to login to view any advertised contracts and register your interest.

Making sure you are 'bid ready'

Check the "Top tips for submitting your bid" area of this page. 

For further support, Business Durham and the NEPO Business Club provide workshops, training and support to suppliers bidding for work in the public sector - visit the Business Durham website or book a session with the NEPO Business Club.

Who to contact if you have any queries on our procurement or tendering

We are always willing to help and support any supplier with tendering or procurement queries contact us. 

We issue information setting out the background to a project, our objectives and an outline of the proposed tender process. It will also outline the timetable with clear roles and responsibilities. We use a variety of processes, including but not limited to:

• open procedure - any interested company can tender for the contract
• a restricted procedure will involve a company meeting selection criteria in order to be invited to tender
• a request for quotation will involve a minimum of 3 suppliers being invited to quote for the opportunity
• call-off from a framework / further competition - only the suppliers who have been appointed to the framework will be invited to tender

Tender documents

The tender pack may consist of some or all of the following:

Instructions

Providing guidance for completion of the tender document.

Form of tender

Your company's agreement to our terms and conditions.

Specification

Sets out what needs to be achieved to fulfil the contract including policies, procedures or guidance to be followed.

Schedule of rates/pricing document

The document where all prices are entered.

Terms and conditions of contract

Defines how we will award contracts and the rules you must comply with.

Submission details

States the time and date by which the tender must be returned (late tenders are not normally allowed to progress).

Tender evaluation and contract award

Returned tenders will be evaluated on how your bid will deliver the proposed contract on the basis of quality (information), cost (price) and if required, social value initiatives/commitments.

Tenderers will be notified in writing of the outcome of their submission.

For tenders above the thresholds detailed in our procurement rules, there is a minimum of 10 days between communicating the decision to all tenderers and awarding the contract.

Read all of the documents carefully, understand the specification, read the bidder instructions information as this will explain how you should complete the 'response' document.

Write your response only in the box (or boxes) provided. Do not include any part of your submission in other appendices or attachments unless specifically requested.

Unless explicitly asked for, do not include any photos, graphics, logos, charts, graphs in your response.

Answer the question. Don't provide information that hasn't been asked for. Be clear, concise and honest. Use plain English and get your point across succinctly.

Stick to specifics.  Use facts, figures and measurable evidence where you have it, to support your response. If setting targets, make them clear. Don't be general or aspirational.

If you don't understand something, then ask us a question on the NEPO message system on the page specific to the tender you are bidding for.