Providing your services to the council

Our local rules

We, as with all local authorities, set our own local rules called Contract Procedure Rules that sets out how all procurement activity is undertaken and managed. The purpose of these rules is to provide a structure and process for decisions which ensure that the council:

• furthers its corporate objectives
• delivers best value and creates healthy competition
• delivers best value and creates healthy competition
• maximises public benefit whilst delivering sustainability and social value
• acts with integrity and transparency
• treats all suppliers the same
• does not put a supplier at an unfair advantage or disadvantage
• has regard to small and medium enterprises.

The law

As well as our own local rules, we are governed by UK Law as all public sector procurement over certain value is subject to legislation. Currently the main legislation being Public Contract Regulations 2015 and from 28 October 2024, The Procurement Act 2023. The Law sets statutory thresholds, based on value and the type of requirements, on which we must follow legislative rules - activity known as “Covered Procurement”.

Any procurement activity less than the statutory thresholds is governed by our local rules.

What are the statutory thresholds of the law and what are the thresholds of our rules?

Below are the current statutory thresholds (including VAT)

Within our local rules we have set the following thresholds (excluding VAT)

• Threshold 1: Up to £5,000
• Threshold 2: From £5,000 to £25,0000
• Threshold 3: From £25,000 to £150,000
• Threshold 4: From £150,000

How do we procure per threshold?

Statutory thresholds

The procurement methods are in accordance with relevant procurement legislation.

Thresholds of our local rules

Our own rules set out the following methods to procure:

Current tenders and contracts opportunities

You can find information on current tenders and contract opportunities at Waverley on the South East Shared Services e-Sourcing portal.

Contracts Register

You can see all our current contracts in our Contracts Register.

Issues or concerns

If you have any serious concerns or issues about our:

• procurement processes or suppliers, you can email Waverley procurement at Procurement@waverley.gov.uk or alternatively you  find out more about how to report Fraud and corruption
• public procurement practices, you can use the government's independent Public Procurement Review scheme (gov.uk)

How to become a council supplier

Contracts over £5,000

Register on the SE Shared Services e-sourcing portal to see requests for quotes and tenders over £5,000. If you want to tender for a piece of work, you can express an interest and submit your bid online.

e-sourcing portal

Contracts under £5,000

We request quotes from suppliers directly. 

Please email procurement@waverley.gov.uk if you want to be considered as a supplier for work under £5,000. We will pass your email to the relevant team.

Types of work we tender for

The Contracts Register is an online searchable list of Waverley's current contracts valued over £5,000 and shows details such as start and end dates, contract values, and a description of what is being supplied.

Know what to expect when bidding for work with the council

Suppliers delivering goods, services or works for Waverley Borough Council will be expected to do so in accordance with our council policies including, amongst others, the council's Sustainable Procurement Policy and Safeguarding policy. These policies should be read in conjunction with all other documents issued as part of a tender. Suppliers working with the council will need to agree to the councils Terms and Conditions of Purchase.

Purchase Orders (POs) needed before sending an invoice

We operate a No PO, No Pay policy. This means that the processing and payment of invoices will be delayed without an official Purchase Order.

Other helpful information

• Gov.uk's overview on selling to the public sector
• Winning the Contract (PDF) course
• Supply to Surrey - Supply to Surrey is your central point of information for a variety of Surrey contract opportunities
• Contract Finder - Use Contract Finder to find out about current contract opportunities with the government and its agencies.

Assessment of expressions of interest

Any organisation that responds to an advertisement with an expression of interest must be prepared to enter into an assessment process.

We need to select our suppliers carefully to ensure they have the capacity and commitment to fulfil the contract and offer value for money.

Organisations will be assessed as a minimum on:

• Financial stability and resources
• Technical and other relevant references
• Adequacy of insurances
• Qualifications and experience
• Environmental, ethical and employment policies.

If we have selected firms that have been assessed by a recognised organisation or as part of an appropriate framework agreement such as Constructionline, we will not seek to repeat the assessment already undertaken but may supplement it with any additional considerations.

Assessment of tenders/quotations

We will consider all tenders/quotations for contracts which have been received by the deadline and in accordance with all delivery instructions.  They will all be opened at the same time and a record kept.

They will then be assessed according to the process laid down in our Contract Procedure Rules or relevant legislation, as appropriate. Normally we will accept the offer from the contractor who has been able to satisfy our minimum requirements and has offered the lowest price. However, in many cases other issues will also be considered but these will have been formally agreed in advance and will be set out in the tender documentation.