Competition
Our contracts are normally subject to competition to ensure value for money for the taxpayer.
Low Value (under £5k)
There are exceptions for low value contracts where we aim to keep administrative costs to a minimum. If a contract has an estimated value below £5000 our staff will make enquiries as to price and quality before awarding a contract. The award of contract is confirmed by Purchase Order. Our Standard Terms & Conditions of Contract always apply.
Quotations (£5k but under £25k)
For contracts with an estimated value between £5000 and £25,000 we seek formal quotations. This involves requesting at least 3 written quotations. If you are invited to quote for a contract you can expect to be told about the criteria by which your quotation will be assessed and the relative importance (weighting) of each criterion. This allows you to make judgements about the balance between cost and quality when making your quotation. Quotations are assessed against the criteria. The quotation with the highest score is awarded the contract which is confirmed by letter and the issue of a purchase order. The letter of confirmation will set out how we scored and ranked your quotation. If your Quotation was unsuccessful we will tell you who the contract was awarded to and their relative score and offer you further debriefing if you require it. Our Standard Terms & Conditions of Contract always apply.
Tenders (over £25k)
Once contract values rise above £25,000 we adopt a more formal tendering process.
Invitation to Tender
These contract opportunities will be advertised on the Sell2Wales website. If you are unsuccessful you can ask us to explain why. The tender documents will set out the criteria by which your bid will be assessed and the relative importance (weighting) of each criterion. This allows you to make judgements between cost and quality when compiling your tender. The tender process will be managed through our etendering system. Tenders are assessed (usually a panel of our staff) before we award the contract by sending a formal award of contract letter and issuing a purchase order. Please note that the contract is formed as soon as the award letter is posted. If you are unsuccessful you will be told how we scored and ranked your tender. We will tell you who the contract was awarded to and how they scored and we will offer you further debriefing if you require it. Our Standard Terms & Conditions of Contract always apply.
Contracts over £122,976 from January 2020
For contracts with an estimated value above this threshold we will place a contract notices on the Find a tender service website and Sell2Wales. Tender arrangements are similar to the above but the timetable for the contract is set by the Public Contract Regulations. Significantly more time is allowed for expressions of interest and tendering.