New Procurement Act Events
Introduction
Somerset Council spends over £300 million each year on procuring and commissioning a wide range of services, goods and works. It is our responsibility to use this money in the best possible way to achieve council objectives.
Somerset Council have a team of procurement and contract management specialists who work with service areas and commissioners to ensure that the Councils Contract Procedure Rules are followed. Contract Procedure Rules exist to ensure that the procurement process is open, honest and transparent. Council officers will follow these rules and any associated Public Contract Regulations or Procurement Act requirements when undertaking procurement activities. We also have an obligation to publish information to the public on what we spend and who we spend it with. We also want suppliers to be able to see what current and upcoming opportunities we have and how they can work with us to ensure the best value is achieved.
Somerset Council use an e-tendering portal to run tenders in a legally compliant way. In line with many other local authorities in the South West, Somerset Council use the Proactis Supplier Network. We use this portal when running a competitive procedure to select a suitable supplier for many of our higher value tenders. The portal provides an effective way for councils to engage and communicate with suppliers. It provides a single place for buyers and suppliers to access and respond to new business opportunities and contracts.
Rules, regulations and policies
Contract procedure rules
The Local Government Act 1972, section 135 requires Somerset Council to have standing orders for how it enters into contracts. These Contract Procedure Rules (“Rules”) are the standing orders required by the 1972 Act. They form part of the Council’s Constitution and are, in effect, the instructions of the Council, to officers and elected members, for entering into contracts on behalf of the Council.
These Rules govern all purchases of works, goods and services across the whole Council; they cover UK legislative requirements as well as good practice. Should there be any discrepancies between these rules and legislation, legislation is the dominant authority and must be followed.
The purpose of the Contract Rules is to set clear rules for the procurement of goods, works and services for the council. These rules and processes ensure that the council is fair and accountable in its dealings with contractors and suppliers, while ensuring that the council gets value for money and that it is taking good care of public funds.
It is essential that the rules are followed to ensure a competitive process to deliver value for money and avoid practices that are non-compliant and may restrict, distort or prevent competition. They are regularly reviewed to ensure they remain compliant with current legislation and that they are fit for purpose.
Our procedure rules provide a basis for fair competition by providing transparent and auditable procedures to protect Somerset Council’s reputation from any suggestion of dishonesty or corruption.
These rules apply to all officers of the council or any companies or organisations within the Council’s control. They are part of the council’s Constitution and therefore officers have a duty to ensure they have fully understood them.
Officers must also ensure that any persons or organisations acting on behalf of the council fully comply with these rules.
These rules are mandatory and shall govern and regulate the council’s procurement and contract award procedures.
The administration, monitoring and governance of these Rules are the responsibility of the Procurement Team.
Doing business with the council
The Rules state that our approach to supplier selection is dependent on both the value of the contract and the contract type (Good and Services or Works) as follows:
| Contract type | Total contract value (including VAT) | Procurement process |
|---|---|---|
| Contract typeGoods and Services | Total contract value (including VAT)Up to £30000 | Procurement process Recommended three written quotes |
| Contract typeWorks | Total contract value (including VAT)Up to £50000 | Procurement process |
| Contract typeGoods and services | Total contract value (including VAT)Over £30000 up to £100000 | Procurement process Seek four written quotes, one of which is from a supplier that the officer has not awarded a contract to in the last 2 years |
| Contract typeWorks | Total contract value (including VAT)Over £50000 up to £500000 | Procurement process Seek four written quotes, one of which is from a supplier that the officer has not awarded a contract to in the last 2 years |
| Contract typeGoods and services | Total contract value (including VAT)Over £100000 up to the Procurement Act threshold | Procurement process Invitation to tender via the Council’s electronic Tendering System |
| Contract typeWorks | Total contract value (including VAT)Over £500000 up to the Procurement Act threshold | Procurement process Invitation to tender via the Council’s electronic Tendering System |
| Contract typeGoods, services and works | Total contract value (including VAT)At and above the Procurement Act thresholds | Procurement process Competitive Tendering Procedure as per the Act via the Council’s Electronic Tendering System |
If you are a prospective supplier, and you are interested in doing business with the council you will need to register for free on the Proactis Supplier Network. New opportunities will be advertised on the portal for suppliers to view in accordance with the table above.
Once you are registered you can search for opportunities and you can set the system up to send alerts related to your areas of interest. To register, please see our guidance below.
For contracts below £100000 for goods and services, and £500000 for works, suppliers are encouraged to register with the council using the Doing Business with the Council form. Your details will then be passed to the relevant officer to consider when requesting quotes in accordance with the table above.
Procurement Act 2023
The Procurement Act 2023 (“the Act”) governs the procurement of goods, works and services by public sector organisations. We have a legal obligation to follow the Act for contracts over certain thresholds set by central government.
The Act governs the way in which public sector organisations carry out their procurement exercises. They include detailed procedures for all procurements above certain monetary thresholds.
The Act came into force at the end of February 2025. Suppliers may access details on how the new regulations will affect them by viewing the knowledge drops provided at The Official Transforming Public Procurement Knowledge Drops – GOV.UK.
The process for these procurements will change but many elements remain the same as previous legislation:
- Councils will decide which of the procedures is appropriate
- Publish a contract notice on the Find a Tender Service website
- Invite tenders according to the procedure being used. There will be minimum timescales for this to ensure that enough time is given to respond to adverts and prepare submissions
- Select a suitable contractor using the criteria published in the contract notice
- Place a contract award notice in The Find a Tender Service
- Publish contract details in line with the new transparency requirements
Where we advertise
Somerset Council advertise tender opportunities on our e-procurement portal Proactis Supplier Network.
We use this portal to advertise and run the tender process which ensures it is a compliant process meeting the needs of the Act.
The Proactis Supplier Network provides an effective way for businesses to engage and communicate with local councils and to provide responses to tender opportunities. Suppliers can register on the portal for free and will have access to opportunities from across the South West including but not limited to Somerset Council opportunities. By registering on this portal suppliers may receive notification when a relevant opportunity is advertised. This enables a wide range of suppliers to gain easy access to new business opportunities and contracts.
The Proactis Supplier Network provides suppliers with details of existing contracts via an online contract register which provides real time data. Contract opportunities are advertised to all businesses and are therefore easier to access. The Proactis Supplier Network plays an important role in supporting businesses which can find it difficult to access public sector opportunities by placing opportunities in one place for the South West Councils. It also helps Somerset Council to make our contracting opportunities accessible to local, small and medium sized businesses and social enterprises. Interested parties are able to see what contracts are active to apply for whilst making the tendering response process simpler and fairer to all businesses by removing the cost of supplying paper responses to bids that they wish to be considered for.
The Proactis Supplier Network also links to the government Central Digital Platform, meaning suppliers have all the information they need in one place.
If you would like more information about the portal, or if you have any questions in relations to this process, email the Commercial and Procurement Team at CommercialandProcurement@somerset.gov.uk.
Social value and corporate responsibility
Our Social Value Policy outlines how we will embed social value in the way we commission our activities to benefit residents, communities, businesses and visitors across the county.
Our tendering, procurement processes and systems
Our procurement processes are fully compliant with Government guidance.
Information is available to businesses in relation to public sector procurement below:
- Public-sector procurement
- Contract opportunities can also be accessed via Contracts Finder service
- Higher value procurements subject to Public Procurement rules may also be found on Find a Tender service
- In conjunction with the Proactis Supplier Network, the websites above will enable suppliers and contractors to access contracts with Somerset Council
- Local transparency code for contracts
Tendering and procurement strategy
Somerset Council’s Constitution governs the way that Somerset Council operates. This includes the Council’s financial regulations and the Rules which are the contracting authority’s rules for the buying, renting and leasing of goods, services and works and apply to all relevant contracts made by the Council unless otherwise specified.
The full constitution can be found on Somerset Council Constitution page.
The aim of these rules is to assist officers in achieving best practice whilst completing a legal procurement process in line with Public Procurement rules. This ensures that the Council fulfils its duty by delivering the best value for its council tax payers and excellent outcomes for its service users.
