Corporate Procurement Frequently Asked Questions

1) What are the financial thresholds for European tenders? 
Union (OJEU) in line with the European Procurement Directives.

2) What contracts are exempt from the European Directives? 
Although most of our high value contracts must comply with the European Procurement Directives, there are some exemptions. Typically these are contracts for social care and some specialist services such as legal advice. Clarification is available from Strategic and Commercial Procurement.

3) Why must such high value contracts be advertised? 
Contracts over the EU financial thresholds must be open to competition from potential suppliers based in any of the member states. The Directives support the principle of free trade amongst EU states.

4) Where should tenders be advertised? 
Tenders should be advertised on The Chest website and, where relevant, in the local and possibly specialist press.

5) If a contract is relatively high value, but is spread over a number of years with a small annual value. Does it still need to be advertised? 
Yes, we must not package tenders in such a way as to avoid the EU Directives, or our own Contract Procedure Rules (PDF 83kb).

6) If there is only one possible supplier of the goods/services required does it still to go out to tender?
See section 3.7 in the Contract Procedure Rules.


7) If a supplier is currently used on a contract and the quality of the service and price are satisfactory can the same supplier be used on a new contract without having to go to tender? 
Yes, in exceptional services, this may be possible but only where it can be demonstrated that such a course delivers best value. See section 3.5 in the Contract Procedure Rules.


8) What is e-procurement? 
As procurement is defined as the process by which an organisation obtains, monitors, controls and completes the necessary acquisition and service delivery to allow it to meet its objectives, e-procurement is the use of an electronic system to carry this out.

9) Can preference be given to suppliers based in Cumbria? 
Procurement should secure the best good/service/works at the best wholelife cost and at the optimum time. There are specific regulations regarding evaluation and, in most cases, giving preferential treatment to local suppliers is not allowed. However, it is possible to evaluate the benefits to the community as part of a tendering process. Our approach is defined in the Corporate Procurement Strategy: “In recognising its role as a major purchaser the Council will actively encourage local suppliers to seek to trade with the Council whilst complying with the principle of fair and open trade within the EU Procurement Directives. In specifying and evaluating tenders recognition will be made of benefits to the community.”