FAQ

The range of goods and services required across all Council services is diverse. Examples include: Works – Construction of schools/buildings Goods – Vehicles, Office Equipment, Furniture, Cleaning Materials, Books, Educational Materials, Food, IT Hardware & Software Services – Repair & Maintenance Services, Waste Collection, Consultancy Please note the list above is not exhaustive.

Please visit the resources section of our website where you can find information on how to do business with the Councils

The Council advertise their contract opportunities via www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk utilising one of the processes detailed below:

• Open: EU-level procurement – any organisation can express an interest and request tender documents.
• Restricted: EU level procurement – a two-stage process where any organisation can express their interest. They then go through a pre-qualification assessment using the ESPD. Once these assessments are complete, only the most suitable applicants are invited to tender.
• Single Stage – Below EU threshold equivalent of Open tender.
• Dual Stage – below EU threshold equivalent of Restricted tender.
• Quick Quote: quote documentation is issued to a restricted list of suppliers.
• For more complex/strategic requirements the Council may use other processes such as the innovation partnership or competitive dialogue.

The Council’s Commercial and Procurement Shared Service can be contacted by e-mail on our Contact Us page.

Unfortunately, no late submissions will be accepted, all tenderers are afforded the same time and no exceptions will be made.

Each tender opportunity is advertised by the publication of a contract notice on www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk, and the contract notice will contain details of the evaluation criteria to be applied in respect of the opportunity. Nominated officers of the Council would evaluate tender submissions in line with published criteria.

Bidders convicted by final judgement of money laundering, fraud, corruption, bribery or participation in a criminal organisation must be excluded by the Council from any procurement process.

Details of how to respond will be contained within the contract notice for each procurement process.

E-tendering refers to the electronic advertising of requirements for goods or services, registering suppliers, issuing and receiving tender documents and evaluating responses over the internet, using tools such as the Public Contracts Scotland website or the Public Contracts Scotland Tender website.

E-procurement combines internet technology with procurement best practices to streamline the purchasing processes, increase efficiency in the ordering process and reduce costs.

• increased visibility and access to markets without additional marketing efforts
• faster and more efficient tendering
• increased order accuracy through the electronic ordering
• a consistent purchase order format.

As a local authority, there are EU/Scottish regulations that the Council must follow when procuring. There is also the requirement to ensure that the Council seeks the best value on all contracts.