What The Council Buys

Somerset County Council purchases in the region of £200 million in goods and services every year. The Council operates a devolved purchasing set up where individual departments have responsibility for purchasing their own goods or services.

The Corporate Procurement Unit was established in 2002 to perform strategic level purchases across all departments. At present the Corporate Procurement Unit not only provides a resource to all departments with regards to large or complex tenders but also maintains the Council's corporate agreements which include stationery, mobile phones and photocopiers.

The main items which the Council purchases are listed below, they are in no specific order of priority.

Contract Cleaning inc: Windows
Cleaning Services, equipment, machinery, and materials, including paper towels and medical supplies
Recycling of mobile phones and toner cartridges
Stationery and Office consumables
Printing
Office Furniture and Equipment
Training/Conference Venues
Computer consumables
Mobile and Static phones
Maintenance support for fire fighting equipment
Hotel Accommodation
Catering Services in education
Refuse collection services (schools and council offices only)
Books, audio visual materials and publications (other than those used by the library service)
Advertising
Document Imaging Systems (Photocopiers)
Building Construction inc: repairs and maintenance
Waste Disposal and associated contracts
Public Transport
Transport for Social Services and Education clients
Care Services (Adults and Children)
Specialist ICT Hardware
Specialist training
Specialist individual furniture, equipment and services
Hire of accommodation
Consultants
Energy and Water
Books, audio visual materials and periodicals used in the library system
Grounds maintenance
ICT Hardware and Software
Repair and maintenance of equipment
Food commodity procurements
Purchased leased or contract hire vehicles
Vehicle fuels
Heating Oil and Bottled Gas
Servicing of Plant
Agency Staff
Requirements for Daily Living

This is by no means an exhaustive list but merely an indication of what the Council on a whole buys.

You may also wish to look at the How to Sell to the Council section for further guidance on dealing with the Council.

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