The regulations and procedures for buying may require tenders or quotations to be sought from organisations depending on the value of the contract. The table below summarises these rules :
Total Value | Procedure |
At or below £5,000 | At least 1 written quote must be sought. |
£5,001 to £25,000 | At least 3 written quotes must be sought. Tenders can be sought instead but this is optional. |
£25,001 to £100,000 | At least 3 tenders must be sought. |
Over £100,000 to EU thresholds | At least 6 tenders must be sought. |
The European Union (EU) procurement thresholds as at 01/01/08 are:
Works: £3,497,313 Supplies £139,893 Services £139,893
Above these thresholds the tender process complies with the EU Directives on Procurement.
The total value of a contract is calculated on the entire spend over the life of the contract, for example, a service bought in on a four year contract at £40,000 a year has a total value of £160,000.
How Can I Find Out where forthcoming opportunities are advertised?
The Council publishes Forthcoming Contracts on this website
How can I find out what contracts have been awarded?
The Council publishes Awarded Contracts on this website.
All tenders above EU thresholds are advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union. (OJEU).