Selling to the Council

About Bracknell Forest

Bracknell Forest lies 28 miles west of London, in the heart of the Thames Valley and within the county of Berkshire. Good access links, a well educated labour force and quality of the environment are key attractors to the companies located here.

The Borough’s population is 112,200 (2006 estimate) which is relatively young with an average age of 35.4 years and only 11.5% is of pensionable age. Our population is relatively healthy with an average life expectancy of 80.15 years. Educational attainment of children and young people has improved significantly between 2001 and 2007.

Procurement in Bracknell Forest

Many of the Council’s services are provided directly to citizens by contracted suppliers, through partnerships or by the Voluntary Sector. Other organisations contribute by supporting services provided by the Council’s own staff. Procurement is therefore core to achieving the Council’s objectives. The Council published its first Procurement Strategy in 2003.

The Council operates a highly devolved purchasing model, with purchasing authority resting within the departments. Approximately 220 staff across these departments have involvement in procurement activity to some degree. Corporate contracts, covering council-wide requirements are established by the Corporate Procurement Team who are also responsible for establishing policy and procedures.

The Council’s expenditure on bought-in goods and services in 2007-8 was just over £100m per annum, spread across over 5,000 suppliers. This compares with £94m identified for the previous financial year. The £100m includes some expenditure for schools where the Council has purchased on their behalf.

The expenditure for 2007/8 was analysed using “ProClass”, a standard procurement classification developed by the London Centre of Excellence and used on the South East Business Portal (SEBP). The top spending area being the category for Social Community Supplies and Services at 31%, comprising Adult Services, Children’s Services plus related equipment and supplies.

Public Contracts Regulations & EC Procurement Directives

The majority of contracts for goods and services expected (over their whole duration) to cost more than about £140k, must be advertised by the publication of a 'Contract Notice' in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) and must follow rules promoting non-discrimination and transparent competition. Strict timescales are stipulated to ensure reasonable time for interested parties to respond to adverts and prepare tender submissions. Companies expressing interest are normally sent a pre-qualification questionnaire, the responses to which are used to determine the tender shortlist. Tender documents will outline the criteria to be used to evaluate bids but will generally be based on an assessment of the most economically advantageous offer taking account of not only price but whole life cost and related quality/service issues.

For works contracts the threshold for advertising in the OJEU is approximately £3.5m.

Contract Standing Orders

In addition to legislation, the Council has formal Contract Regulations (or Standing Orders) which set out in detail how purchasing will be carried out. These form part of the Council’s constitution and Council staff and the Borough’s 37 schools must follow these rules.

Competing bids must be sought and they must be fairly evaluated, Works, goods or services above £100,000 are subject to formal tendering processes; below £100,000, less formal quotations are generally sought and accepted via placing an official order, based on the council’s standard terms and conditions – see below.

Contracts & Opportunities

Major contracts and opportunities within Bracknell Forest Council are now advertised on the South East Business Portal

Suppliers using the portal for the first time will need to read the Supplier Guidance Notes, which can be accessed from the portal.

Selection of suppliers

Evaluation of potential suppliers will vary according to the value and nature of the potential business. For the supply of low value standard goods and services, competitive pricing and delivery will be the major factors, however for higher value, complex requirements, a formal commercial, technical and quality assessment will be required, possibly involving visits to the company's premises and/or reference sites.

Companies selected to become Bracknell Forest suppliers will join the ranks of a highly qualified and competitive supplier base. We expect our suppliers to be:

financially sound; we use an external credit reference agency but, for larger contracts may seek copies of accounts and annual reports. We expect suppliers to have been trading long enough to have published accounts and developed a client base.
technically competent - we may seek references from previous customers·
of sufficient capacity to handle the work
understanding of Bracknell Forest requirements and wider social responsibilities
easy to do business with - we expect attentive service and efficient invoicing processes.

Best value for money

Bracknell Forest Council has a duty to obtain best value for money in its procurement and, to this end, its policy is to seek competition wherever possible. Factors such as safety, quality, reliability, maintenance, lifetime costs experience and continuity of supply are taken into account as well as the purchase price.

We seek to keep our procurement costs to a minimum by using the simplest and most economic contracting methods suited to our needs ranging from corporate purchasing cards for straightforward, low value work through to full tender/contract documentation for more complex, high value cases and for those which potentially exceed Public Contracts Regulations thresholds.

We welcome innovative ideas and proposals from our suppliers, especially those exploiting technology to simplify processes and drive out cost, to ensure that we continue to obtain best value for money.

Sustainability

The Council is a major purchaser of goods and services in the Thames Valley area, and almost every product the Council buys has potential implications for sustainability. As a responsible purchaser it is important that the potential consequences of purchasing decisions are recognised, and that every effort is made to reduce the negative impacts.

The Council has adopted the Government’s “Quick Wins” minimum standards as Council policy and “best practice” standards as an aspirational goal, where feasible.

For more information on Quick Wins, see the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (defra) website

Ethical Procurement

The Council has also adopted the Base Code produced by Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI). The Base Code contains nine clauses which reflect the most relevant international standards with respect to labour practices (ILO Conventions).

The Base Code provides a basic philosophy or platform from which the Council identifies and develops good practice with its suppliers.

The provisions of this code constitute minimum and not maximum standards, and this code should not be used to prevent companies from exceeding these standards. Companies applying this code are expected to comply with national and other applicable law and, where the provisions of law and this Base Code address the same subject, to apply that provision which affords the greater protection.

Equalities

Ensuring that there are equal opportunities for everyone who lives, works or uses services in the Borough is a key priority for Bracknell Forest Borough Council. This is highlighted within the Council’s ‘All of Us’ Strategy for Promoting Community Cohesion in Bracknell Forest 2007-2010, where the vision is;

“To make Bracknell Forest a place where all people can thrive: living, learning and working in a clean, safe and healthy environment”

The Council views equality as vital to promoting a strong and integrated community and this view extends to those individuals that we deal with externally as well as internally.

Procurement is an area where the Council has a statutory duty for the promotion of equality and diversity. We therefore need to ensure, that the organisations we contract with uphold our values and commitment to equal opportunity, diversity and access to services.

Terms and conditions

It is important that companies seeking to do business with Bracknell Forest Council understand the terms and conditions on which our contracts are based.

Our Standard Terms Conditions are consistent with those in use by other major public sector purchasers and reflect the requirement for our suppliers to accept an appropriate share of commercial risk and to fully appreciate their obligations. Review our standard terms and conditions.

Communications

Bracknell Forest Council welcomes the opportunity to meet its current and potential suppliers and such visits help to improve communications. Suppliers are encouraged to maintain close liaison with customer departments within the Council concerning technical and service aspects of contracts.

Freedom of Information

For general advice on the Council's Freedom of Information policy:

Freedom of Information policy.

Fot details of how this applies to the tendering process:

Freedom of Information Policy applies to the tendering process.

Ethical Standards

Bracknell Forest Council employees are required to maintain the highest standards of integrity and impartiality in dealing with all suppliers and are subject to a strict Code of Conduct governing such dealings. Bracknell Forest Council suppliers are similarly expected to employ the highest ethical standards whilst they are engaged on Bracknell Forest Council business.

Find out more about the Council’s whistle-blowing policy.

Future Developments

We are keen to continually develop our procurement function so as to keep costs to a minimum by utilising modern, best-practice purchasing techniques wherever possible. To this end, Bracknell Forest Council has introduced, and is continuing to expand, its purchase-to-pay financial system. We will consider any opportunities to further increase our internal purchasing efficiency by pursuing other commercial initiatives (e.g. Partnership Agreements and e-invoicing). The support of suppliers in achieving this continued development is essential.