Contracting with Westminster.pdf - Westminster City Council

Contracting WithWestminster City CouncilA Guide to Selling Goods, Works or Servicesto Westminster City Council

IntroductionThe City of Westminster has developed this guide for businesses thatwish to sell their goods, works or services to the City Council. This guideprovides an overview of our activity and procedures to ensure that ourprocesses are transparent so you understand the steps involved and theexpectations we set for our procurement activity.The City Of WestminsterWestminster is a place like no other, with a pivotal role both in Londonand the UK. At the heart of central London, Westminster plays a definitivepart in London’s status as a global city.This 24/7 city is the nation’s economic powerhouse and the shop windowon London’s cultural, political and tourist experience. It is home to theUK’s largest clusters of creative and cultural, retail and hospitality sectors.The growing and highly transient population, vast diversity, contrasts ofwealth, alongside huge visitor numbers and daily footfall reflect ourcomplex day and night time economies making Westminster, a demandingplace to deliver services and to provide community leadership.

The City CouncilTogether with stakeholders, partners and the local community the CityCouncil has developed the “One City” Programme which sets out our visionto deliver a world class city, built on programmes of Order, Opportunities,Enterprise and Renewal. We aim to build a city of strong communities andexcellent services, based on partnership, innovation and leadership and wehave set an ambitious but achievable financial agenda to deliver. The OneCity vision for Westminster aspires to be an open and tolerant city foundedon united communities, where citizens can reach their full potential. Ourpioneering Local Area Agreement will help us and our partners to tackleneighbourhood disparity, inequality, unite communities and increaseeconomic prosperity.Westminster demands continuous improvement of itself. The organisation’sfocus is clear with customer service and value for money being thehallmarks of our success. Working within tight financial constraints andreducing grant income, we have built on our track record of success.What The City Council BuysIn order to deliver the range of services to the local community andbusiness sector the City Council spends around £700m annually. Thecontracting activity is varied with some long term/high value corporatecontracts and many short term/low value contracts. The commodity profileis also diverse covering the following general areas:AccountancyAdvisory supportCare homesChildren Young People & FamiliesClothingConstruction & MaterialsCouriersEnvironmental ServicesFinanceGarden & MaintenanceHR ServicesLegal ServicesLightingMarket ResearchAdvertisingAgency staffCateringCleaningConferences & EventsConsultancyeducationfacilitiesfurniturehousingInformation Communication TechnologyLeisure Centre & Servicesmedia ServicesPlayground Equipment

PrintingRoad ManagementSecurityStationeryTelecomsTrainingUtilities - energy, gas & waterVoluntary SectorPropertySchools & LearningSocial CareStoragetraffic ManagementtransportationVehiclesWaste Management & DisposalHow We BuyWhen we procure goods, works or services we will take into considerationcost, quality, delivery, reliability, service and sustainability, among other things.As a public sector body the City Council must adhere to the UK publicsector and EU procurement regulations which require a competitive, openand fair process. We have also set out internal rules and regulations in theProcurement and Contracts Code which can be viewed at:www.westminster.gov.uk/business/procurement

Contracts over the EU thresholdIf the contract is over the thresholds specified in the table below the CityCouncil will comply with the EU Directives. The directives set out theprocedures which must be followed relating to the advertisement ofcontracts, choice of award procedures, criteria for the award of contractsand any action which must be taken following the award of a contract.Contract TypeThreshold*Services & Supplies Contracts (Part A and Part B) £139, 893Works Contracts £3,497,313*These thresholds are determined by the EU and may vary from time to time.Where the directives do apply the City Council will use one of the followingprocedures for selecting contractors.Restricted Procedure – A two-stage process whereby applicants whohave expressed an interest are short-listed. Applicants on theshort-list are then invited to tender for the contract.Competitive Dialogue Procedure – This relates to complex contractswhere the City Council engages potential contractors in dialogue in orderto refine and confirm the commercial offer.Open Procedure – The contract is advertised and all businesses thatrespond to the advertisement are invited to tender.Negotiated Procedure – This is only used in exceptional circumstances.Negotiated procedures are used where the City Council consults potentialcontractors of its choice and negotiate with one or more of them thecontract conditions.Accelerated Process – This will only be used for restricted or negotiatedprocedures. Accelerated timescales will be used where normaltimeframes are rendered impractical by extreme urgency. In this situationthe advertisement for tenders is reduced to 15 days.On selection of an appropriate procurement route there are two mandatorynotices that should be published in OJEU. These notices are:Contract Notice – The purpose of this notice is to formally initiate the tenderprocess and alert prospective bidders to the procurement requirements.

Contract Award Notice – This advises that the contract has been awarded.Where the procurement requirements are known in advance the CityCouncil may choose to publish a Prior Indicative Notice in advance of theContract Notice. This will notify prospective bidders of the upcomingcontracts and enable them to shape their goods or services to the CityCouncil’s expectations.A mandatory standstill period (known as the Alcatel Standstill Period) of tencalendar days between the Contract Award Notice being published andentry into a contract applies to all Part A services. This period allows allunsuccessful bidders an opportunity to contest the process if they feel it isjustified.Services or Supplies will be defined as either Part A or Part B. For a list ofwhich is applicable look at the following website: http://simap.europa.eu/How You Can Engage With The City CouncilWhere to Find Out About Upcoming ContractsTo find out about upcoming contracts and express an interest view thefollowing websites.Westminster City Council website: http://www.westminster.gov.uk/Business/procurement/Supply to Government website: http://www.supply2.gov.uk/Opportunities for contracts over the EU thresholds are advertised at:http://www.ojec.com/Become an Approved ProviderThe City Council operates an Approved Provider List which is a register ofpotential providers who meet the minimum standards necessary to becomea Westminster supplier. When Council Departments require works to becarried out under EU thresholds they may then use the Approved ProviderList to obtain the names of suitable firms that they can approach to tenderwithout going out to advert.

To join, send an introductory letter, with information about your business,including a brochure if you have one, to:The Approved List ManagerWestminster City Council64 Victoria StreetLondon SW1E 6QP0207 641 2440We will then assess if there will be a future business need for your goods ,works or services, and if this is confirmed by a nominated project officer,you will be sent an application pack. Alternatively, if there are noupcoming relevant opportunities for your services we will let you know.In order to join the Approved Provider List the City Council will then assessthe information returned with your application pack by applying thefollowing criteria:• Company Annual Accounts• Insurance Details• Health & Safety policy• Equal Opportunities policy• Environmental policy• References.

PROCURING A SUSTAINABLE WESTMINSTERThe City Council is conscious of the impact its procurement activity has onthe environment and the local community. As such we have developed asustainable procurement policy based on the following three themes:• Minimising the environmental impact• Integrating equality and diversity requirements• Ensuring a diverse range of suppliers.We will work with our suppliers and contractors to set up purchasingarrangements that consider sustainable alternatives.What can you do to help achieve these goals?Ensure that you have relevant policies for environmental performance andequality and diversity in place, and that these are implemented into yourbusiness activity. Consider what accreditations you should have in place,such as ISO, or whether you should implement an EnvironmentalManagement System.Train your staff on your policies and legislative requirements and ensure thatyour supply chain is aware of the expectations that you have set.Monitor and review the impact of your operation on the environment,including but not limited to the following factors: carbon emissions ofbuilding and vehicles, air, water and land pollution, energy efficiency, use ofrecycled products, waste reduction and reuse. Consider whatinnovations or products you can use to reduce your impact and highlightthese in any tender documentation.Think about whether there are any opportunities in training and employmentthat can be developed for Westminster residents.Engage with our local business community through organisations such asthe Westminster Small and Minority Business Council at www.wsmbc.org.uk.ORGANISATIONS OUTSIDE OF UK LAWIf your organisation is not subject to UK employment law, we will look toensure that you have experience in complying with equivalent legislationthat is designed to eliminate discrimination and to promote opportunity.

Westminster Small and MinorityBusiness CouncilWestminster Small and Minority Business Council (WSMBC),was launched to support small and minority businesses inWestminster to grow. This is an economic intervention which aims to bringprosperity throughout Westminster including the less affluent parts of theborough. The rationale is that increased prosperity benefits the localcommunity providing employment opportunities, overall well being andquality of life for all.The WSMBC model is based on a partnership approach. The idea is tocreate links with local small businesses throughout Westminster andmatch these enterprises with Corporate Major Members who can offerbusiness and mentoring opportunities. This partnership is to createbusiness growth and in turn contribute to local development.So far the council has almost 40 Corporate Majors, all of whom arecommitted to supporting the growth of small businesses. Our smallbusiness members cover a range of sectors.To be eligible to join as a small business in Westminster, you need to be:• Seriously interested in growth• Have a turnover of less than £1million• Have less than 10 employeesWe define a minority business as one which is at lest 51 percent minority owned.WSMBC facilitates mentoring opportunities, holds events and a range ofseminars and provides you with an opportunity to network with keydecision makers in our Corporate Major members.For Corporate Majors we provide an opportunity to access local suppliersand to meet corporate social responsibility objectives. Local procurement isof practical assistance, providing clear environmental benefits and thereduction in transport and other logistic costs.As the WSMBC evolves we aim to continue to attract newmembers, increase the partnerships between small and large businessesand continue our dynamic links with the business community in Westminster.For further information please visit www.wsmbc.org.ukor call 0207 580 2255. Gloria Fagbemiro - Executive Director WSMBC

For further information please visitwww.westminster.gov.ukIn partnership with the Supply Cross River initiative.