This document can be produced in different formats, for example, in larger print or audio-format, and in other languages, as appropriate. We promote equality through seeking to eliminate unlawful and unfair treatment on the ground of any protected characteristic, as appropriate.

1. Introduction

This procedure describes the arrangements for issuing, receiving and accepting quotations and tenders for all supplies and services for Hillcrest. To ensure fair competition, value for money, clear audit trails and the highest levels of financial probity, these procedures reflect current best practice and follow closely the Scottish Government’s “Procurement Journey”. Key objectives in undertaking a procurement process are to:

• Evidence openness and transparency in our business activities; • Manage the risks associated with the purchase of goods, services or works; • Support sustainable procurement; • Encourage competition; and • Provide best value for the organisation.

In addition to this we are supporting the Scottish Government’s aim of supporting local SMEs to access business opportunities by considering local impact as part of the procurement process. We will also look to, where possible, insert community benefits clauses so that the suppliers we use give back to the local community.

COMPANY NAME:

Hillcrest G17

PROCEDURE NUMBER:

Procurement

PROCEDURE TITLE:

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Table of Contents 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1

2. Roles and Responsibilites ............................................................................................................... 3

3. Associated Documents and Legislation........................................................................................... 3

4. Areas to Consider ............................................................................................................................ 5

5. Approved Contractors .................................................................................................................... 6

6. Procurement Checklist .................................................................................................................... 6

7. Route 1 (contract value up to GBP 49,999) .................................................................................... 8

Route 1 is appropriate for procurement that is: ................................................................................ 8

Use of “Quick Quote” .......................................................................................................................... 8

Quotations – preparation, issue, receipt and opening ....................................................................... 9

8. Route 2 (Contract value likely to exceed GBP 50,000) ................................................................. 12

Tenders - Preparation, issue, receipt and opening ........................................................................... 12

Tender Register ................................................................................................................................. 15

Returned Tenders ............................................................................................................................. 16

Opening Tenders ............................................................................................................................... 17

Late Tenders ...................................................................................................................................... 18

Other Entries ..................................................................................................................................... 18

Acceptance of Quotes and Tenders .................................................................................................. 18

Amendments to tender price ............................................................................................................ 19

Only one quote or tender received .................................................................................................. 20

9. Route 3 (Value likely to exceed GBP 181,302) .............................................................................. 21

10. Documents and Feedback ........................................................................................................... 23

11. Communication of Outcome ....................................................................................................... 25

12. Glossary of Terms ........................................................................................................................ 26

Procedure Document Governance and Management ...................................................................... 31

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2. Roles and Responsibilites

Lead Officer

The Lead Officer is the staff member responsible for carrying out the tender process. It is their responsibility to ensure that procedures are followed and all appropriate paperwork is kept. There may also be a consultant involved but a Lead Officer must also be identified internally.

Approved Lead Officers

• Chief Executive

• Deputy Chief Executive

• Any Director/Head of Service

• Any Senior Manager e.g. Contracts Manager etc.

• Operational Managers (HM)

• Contracts Officers, Maintenance Officers, Operations Supervisors and staff at Officer level etc.

• Stock Controller

Business Services Team

Business Services Team will provide guidance and support to the Lead Officer. The Business Services Team will monitor activity to make sure we are complying with legislation and their duties within this. They will be responsible for completing annual reporting requirements to the Hillcrest’s Committee, the Scottish Government including the Annual Procurement Report and Strategy and raising any incidences of non-compliance with the relevant Board.

3. Associated Documents and Legislation

• Template Invitation to Tender/Quote (Appendix 1)

• Scoring Matrix (Appendix 2)

• Quotation & Tender Summary Form (Appendix 3)

• Contract Award Letter (Appendix 4, 4a, 4b)

• Unsuccessful Letter (Appendix 5, 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d)

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• Tender Log Monitoring Sheet (Appendix 6)

• European Single Procurement Document (ESPD) (Appendix 7)

• Tender Register – Master Template (Appendix 8)

When using Public Contracts Scotland (PCS) website there are a full range of user guides available. These can be accessed here.

The following policies, procedures and legislation should be considered and taken into account when carrying out any procurement exercise.

• G01 Standing Orders found here. • G10 Data Protection found here. • G11 Risk Management and Procedure found here. • G19 Fraud found here. • G20 Bribery found here. • G25 Business Continuity Management systems found here. • G26 Freedom of Information found here. • G28 Money Laundering found here. • F01 Financial Regulations found here. • Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 found here. • Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 found here.

Public procurement is governed by a legal framework which includes fundamental principles deriving from the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU); European Procurement Directives (the Directives) as implemented in national legislation; other national legislation; and, Court of Justice of the European Union and national case law. In combination, this legal framework establishes procedures that must be followed by a contracting authority whenever it purchases goods, works or services. The three 2014 European Directives in relation to public procurement have been transposed into national legislation by Regulations:

• Directive 2014/24/EU on public procurement, replacing the 2004 Directive for Public Sector Contracts; transposed by The Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015;

• Directive 2014/25/EU on procurement by entities operating in the water, energy,

transport and postal services sectors, replacing the 2004 Directive for Utilities Contracts; transposed by The Utilities Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016;

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• Directive 2014/23/EU on the award of concession contracts, which does not directly replace any previous Directive; transposed by The Concessions Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016.

The Procurement Journey is a best practice guide to procurement from the Scottish Government. It has useful template and guides as well as information on the process. This can be accessed here.

4. Areas to Consider

Prior Involvement of Candidates or Tenderers Sometimes a potential supplier has provided advice to us, or has been otherwise involved in preparation for a specific procurement, and then wishes to participate as a tenderer in that procurement process. In this situation we cannot automatically prohibit that supplier from participating in the procurement process, but they must take appropriate measures to ensure that competition is not distorted by their participation. We must provide all candidates/tenderers with relevant information exchanged or arising out of the supplier’s prior involvement and they must also fix adequate time limits for return of tenders. Where it is not possible to avoid a distortion of competition arising from the prior involvement of that potential supplier in the preparation of the procurement procedure, then the discretionary exclusions permit us to exclude that potential supplier. Conflicts of Interest A conflict of interest situation can arise where a member of staff or a contractor working for us, who is involved in the procurement procedure or may influence the outcome of the procurement procedure have, directly or indirectly, a financial, economic or other personal interest, which might be perceived to compromise their impartiality and independence in the context of the procurement procedure. We must take “appropriate measures” to prevent, identify and remedy conflicts of interest arising in the conduct of procurement procedures so that any distortion of competition is avoided and to ensure the equal treatment of suppliers.

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We may exclude a supplier from participation in a procurement procedure where the conflict of interest cannot be remedied by other less intrusive measures. Division of Contracts into Lots The Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 support contracts being split into smaller lots by requiring that buyers consider splitting their contracts into lots. The Regulations do not include any obligation to award contracts in the form of separate lots. If we do not split our contracts into lots, we are required to state our reasons. This explanation must be set out either in the procurement documents or in an individual report required for the contract procedure. In addition, where more than one lot may be awarded to the same tenderer, we may award contracts combining several or all lots, provided that this has been specified that we reserve the right to do so and indicate the Hillcrests of lots that may be combined. Division of contracts into lots is consistent with the sustainable procurement duty (in the Act) which requires us to consider how we can facilitate SME’s access to public contracts

5. Approved Contractors

We operate an ‘approved contractor’ process to support our day to day repairs and maintenance service. This is a supplementary service to support Hillcrest’s activities during peak workloads and in areas where more specialist trades are required. These contractors have been through an application process and have met set criteria with agreed costs. The procedure to support this process can be found here.

6. Procurement Checklist

Sustainable Procurement Duty The Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 builds on the work of Public Procurement in Scotland. It establishes laws about sustainable public procurement to maximise the social, environmental and economic benefits through effective and efficient procurement activity. Before carrying out a regulated procurement (Route 2 and 3) we must consider how in conducting the procurement process it can:

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• improve the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of the area; • facilitate the involvement of small and medium enterprises, third sector bodies and

supported businesses in the process; and • promote innovation.

We must consider only matters that are relevant to what is proposed to be procured and, in doing so, consider the extent to which it is proportionate in all the circumstances to take those matters into account. Following agreement to purchase, the following checklist should be completed:

• Identify procurement ‘Lead’ person and any other significant contributors to the process.

• Develop your procurement timeline to identify key milestones in this process. • Confirm availability of all contributors to meet identified timeline – this must include

the availability of appropriate staff at tender opening date. • Consider the duration of the contract – this must not be manipulated to stay below a

threshold. • Consider splitting into lots to encourage Small/Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and local

businesses. Agree whether a community benefits clause is appropriate. • Agree how the contract will be monitored. • Agree the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to be included. • At the start of any procurement process, it is important to consider information

governance. If we are purchasing any service where we need to pass information to a supplier then it is key to look at this at the start and take into account information governance procedures. The Senior Business Services Officer (Information Governance) should be consulted prior to issue of tenders or quotes which have information governance implications.

In all cases before the tender process (including obtaining any quotes) the Lead Officer should contact the Business Services team to advise of the tender/quote to be issued. The Business Services team will log this onto the contracts register and issue the tender reference number to the Lead Officer and advise of any particular considerations with this.

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7. Route 1 (contract value up to GBP 49,999)

Route 1 is appropriate for procurement that is:

• of relatively low value; • low risk; and • of a non-repetitive nature.

The Lead Officer will consider the following points prior to using Route 1 to procure works, goods or services:

• Is the product/service you are buying business critical? • Is there significant risk to the organisation’s reputation or ability to deliver if

something went wrong with what you are buying? • Is the estimated value of the goods/services you are buying more than GBP 49,999

over the lifetime of the contract? (For example GBP 20,000 per year over three years is a GBP 60,000 contract; this should include any possible extensions to the contract).

If the answer to any of these questions is ‘yes’ then the full tender (Route 2) is preferable. The financial thresholds for Route 1 (for procurements of relatively low value, risk and a non-repetitive nature) are as follows:

• Less than GBP 1,999 - no quotation required; • Between GBP 2,000 and GBP 4,999 - one written quotation; • Between GBP 5,000 and GBP 9,999 - two or more written quotations; • Between GBP 10,000 and GBP 49,999 - at least three written quotations.

It is recommended that you try to obtain as many quotes as possible and the above is used as a guide. This will ensure you obtain best value from the market. The SFHA recommends requesting 6 quotes in order to receive the highest possible number back and ensure value for money. Use of “Quick Quote” “Quick Quote” is an online solution via the Public Contracts Scotland (PCS) portal for low value/low risk procurement and should be used to obtain competitive quotes from suppliers registered on the portal. Any exception to using PCS to obtain quotes should be discussed with the Senior Business Services Officer in the first instance.

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A user guide for “Quick Quote” can be found at: http://www.millstream.eu/guides/en-gb/Scotland/Quick%20Quote%20-%20Purchaser%20Guide.pdf

Registered suppliers complete the required details and submit their quote using the secure electronic post box. The electronic post box holds tender responses securely until the deadline for responses has passed and the system provides a full electronic audit trail of the process. Timescales will depend upon the complexity of response required but should be sufficient for the supplier to make a considered response. Quick quotes could be obtained within 2 days but will generally take a week and may need up to 4–5 weeks to give sufficient time for suppliers to submit their documents depending upon the complexity. However, we do recommend for quotes that you have a minimum of 7 days to closing where possible. The Lead Officer should use the “Quick Quote” for all quotes, so they will be required to be a designated super user on the PCS web portal and will be required to input the following information:

• A description of the contract details; • Quantity; • Deadline for quotes; • Supply Categories; • Terms and Conditions; • Question and Answer Administrator; • Tender Post-Box Opener.

All tenders, regardless of whether Route 2 or 3, should then be sent to the Senior Business Services Officer, for the final ‘sign off’ and publishing on the website. Quotations – preparation, issue, receipt and opening Where works, goods or services are to be procured, the employee given this responsibility will be the Lead Officer. Goods and services should usually be re-tendered every 3, 4 or 5 years or at the discretion of Directors. Written quotations are to be via the Contracts Scotland web portal, any exception to this should be discussed with the Senior Business Services Officer. A template Invitation to Quote or Tender should be completed in accordance with the following principles:

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• The invitation will include sufficient detailed information, including technical specifications and reference to sustainability and other issues where appropriate to enable those invited to submit accurate, comparable quotes. Appendix 1a is a template invitation to quote/tender that can be used to assist in ensuring that the required information is included.

• The invitation will specify the latest date when quotes should be received and that all quotes will be received through PCS.

• If there are any queries that arise from a supplier you should respond to this and communicate this response to all suppliers regardless if they have made the query or not. This will be through the questions and answers section on PCS.

• If there is a shortage of Suppliers or Contractors available, the appropriate Director will authorise the issuing of less than three invitations and will ensure that this decision is recorded in the appropriate project file for future audit reference. They should also notify the Business Services team who will record this for future reference.

• When selecting suppliers to send the quote to, Lead Officers must be ensure that any supplier selected to provide a quote has the relevant standard documentation, legal requirements and registrations.

• Those invited will be advised that quotes will be assessed, using a Scoring Matrix (Appendix 2), on the basis of compliance with the works description or specification, value for money and other criteria, appropriately weighted, which may not necessarily result in the acceptance of the lowest quotation.

For quick quotes there is the option to have this scored based solely on costs. This would be in circumstances where there is very little comparison against the goods or service on offer, for example if buying a vehicle. If the quote is to be based solely on price, Lead Officers must satisfy themselves that any supplier asked for a quote meets any requirements such as the appropriate levels of insurance prior to requesting a quote.

Within the scoring matrix the elements and weightings can be adjusted to suit the tender and, in some cases, certain elements removed. Advice can be given by the Business Services Team on this. A Quotation & Tender Summary Form, containing the Scoring Matrix outcomes, (Appendix 3), should be completed by the Lead Officer as part of this exercise. This completed form and any other associated paperwork (including the attached matrix, Appendix 2), should be held in the project file and copied to the Business Services team at tenders@hillcrest.org.uk. Registered suppliers complete the required details and submit their quote using the secure electronic post box. The electronic post box holds tender responses securely until the deadline for responses has passed and the system provides a full electronic audit

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trail of the process. Timescales will depend upon the complexity of response required but should be sufficient for the supplier to make a considered response. Quick quotes could be obtained within 2 days but will generally take a week and may need up to 4–5 weeks to give sufficient time for suppliers to submit their documents depending upon the complexity. However, we do recommend for quotes that you have a minimum of 7 days to closing where possible. The Lead Officer should use the “Quick Quote” for all quotes, so they will be required to be a designated super user on the PCS web portal and will be required to input the following information:

• A description of the contract details; • Quantity; • Deadline for quotes; • Supply Categories; • Terms and Conditions; • Question and Answer Administrator; • Tender Post-Box Opener.

All tenders, regardless of whether Route 2 or 3, should then be sent to the Senior Business Services Officer, for the final ‘sign off’ and publishing on the website. Scoring Calculator for Cost A calculator to enable Lead Officers to attached a score to costs submitted this is available here. Non- Competitive Action If only one supplier can undertake the work required you should seek approval for a Non-Competitive Action from the appropriate Director. A file note will be saved in the file as to what has been agreed. You should then follow the remainder of the process. You should not inform the supplier that they are the only suppliers involved for commercial reasons.

Non-Competitive Action is an exceptional procedure and should be strictly limited to certain situations and should be documented for audit purposes. The Senior Business Services Officer should be advised of this.

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Where there is only one specialist supplier or Contractor available, the Lead Officer will seek to negotiate a price which can be justified as ‘value for money’. The appropriate Director will authorise the negotiations and approve the price negotiated, ensuring that the decision to negotiate and the outcome is recorded in the appropriate project file for future audit reference. Where the Director or Manager is not satisfied that value for money has been obtained from quotes, further quotations can be sought.

Quotes obtained in accordance with this procedure will either be accepted by the appropriate grade of employee and subsequently reported to the appropriate Committee for information or submitted to the appropriate Committee for approval, in accordance with the current levels of authority delegated by the Standing Orders and Financial Regulations. Quotations will be opened by two employees, namely:

• the Lead Officer (or in their absence a colleague of similar or higher grade); an employee from a section not directly involved with the service or project.

8. Route 2 (Contract value likely to exceed GBP 50,000)

Tenders - Preparation, issue, receipt and opening Before undertaking any tenders through Route 2 or 3, there are various aspects which should be considered in advance. All tenders valued at GBP 50,000 or above, must be advertised on the Public Contracts Scotland (PCS) web portal and only authorised super users will have the ability to input the information required for the advert. Only electronic procurement methods will be acceptable. All tenders must be issued with an ESPD. This must be completed in all cases for Route 2 or 3 tenders. This is a standard document produced by the Scottish Government and the content cannot be amended but questions which are not relevant must be deleted. In all cases the questions which are not needed must be deleted. Where possible the ESPD electronic module on PCS should be used instead of the paper version. All tenders, regardless whether Route 2 or 3 should then be sent to the Business Services team, for the final ‘sign off’ and publishing on the website. Prior Information Notice (PIN)

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Lead Officers should consider whether to issue a PIN. This can be issued in advance of a contracts notice to alert the market that you intend to issue a contracts notice. This can help suppliers to prepare to submit tenders and can be used to test the availability of the market place with the specification of the goods or service. This can also link directly to the contracts notice so that interested parties are aware once the tender is issued. PINs can be used in most tendering situations where there is sufficient time, however, where they are being used to shorten the minimum procedural time limits they must be sent for publication between 35 days and 12 months before the date on which the contracts notice is sent. Tendering Method There are various options for which procurement option to take, however Hillcrest favours open tendering to allow a more competitive market. This is also more transparent for suppliers. Open tendering will be undertaken whether it is to appoint a single supplier or for addition onto a framework agreement. Pre-tendered Frameworks Hillcrest are also members of various pre-tendered framework providers such as Crown Commercial, Scottish Procurement Alliance and Procurement for Housing. If these options are to be considered this should be in conjunction with the Senior Business Services Officer. Issuing of Documents Tender documents will be uploaded onto the web portal. All returns will be on the PCS postbox on the portal. Also included within the tender documents are:

• European Single Procurement Document (ESPD) (Appendix 7a). Please note that before completing this you should check the Procurement Journey website to ensure you have the most up to date and correct version. Should you use the electronic module this will automatically be up to date.

• Quality Questionnaire. • Tender documents will also contain a form of specification for the tender, for

example a Bill of Quantities or Service Specification. The tender documents should contain a sufficiently detailed description of the project together with details of any conditions and quality criteria to be applied, to enable tenderers to submit accurate, comparable tenders. Information should include:

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• Details of all assessment criteria including percentage weighting for the assessment criteria to be used;

• Include clear instructions regarding how the tender should be completed, in

particular regarding the inclusion of cost details (e.g. excluding VAT, the precise period covered by the costs, etc.);

• Include a specific closing date and time for receipt of tenders; this cannot be a

weekend and must be a weekday. Ideally the time stated should be noon on the closing date. This must be a minimum of 30 days for electronic tenders.

• Include wherever possible sustainability and Community Benefit requirements within

the specification if appropriate. In all cases reference to fair working practices will be included. Where community benefits are not to be included, it should be detailed why.

The information provided to the bidder should be comprehensive and should cover the following areas :

• Focus on outputs required without being prescriptive as to the method the supplier should use to provide it;

• Be sufficiently tight so that the product or service fits the user's needs, but not so explicit that it discourages the supplier from proposing innovative solutions that optimise Value For Money (VFM);

• Consider whether to include special conditions relating to the performance of the contract. This may cover economic, innovation-related, environmental, social or employment-related conditions e.g. community benefit clauses;

• Include criteria for acceptance of the products or services; • Include service levels and a process for measuring ongoing performance; • Avoid over-specification of performance (more than "Fit for Purpose" or than is

actually required) to ensure procurement at the optimum balance of whole life cost and quality;

• Take account of any e-Commerce requirements; • Comply with the Sustainable Procurement Duty; • Detail environmental and climate performance levels, where appropriate; • Take into account suitability of design for all users and specify a conformity

assessment e.g. ensuring a web site meets accessibility standards through specifying appropriate font sizes;

• Take account of relevant legislation e.g. health and safety and equality; • Take account of all licensing requirements that a supplier must have in order to

operate in a particular industry/sector and which are relevant to the performance of the contract;

• Provide for user instructions where appropriate;

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• Conform to assessment procedures; • Outline required quality levels; • Outline performance, use of the product, safety or dimensions, including

requirements relevant to the product as regards the name under which the product is sold. Please note you cannot specify a particular product or brand and must allow for the offer of equivalent products;

• Outline production processes and methods at any stage of the life cycle of the supply or service (for example to meet ethical, social or environmental objectives);

• Encourage fair participation and not be written in a way that distorts market competition or limits scope for entry to the procurement process by potential suppliers;

• Ensure that any requirements for limits, tolerances, deliverables timescales etc. are practical and realistic;

• Consider commercial and ongoing performance management aspects of the contract throughout the supply chain e.g. payment terms including those to sub-contractors;

• Support a structured method of tender evaluation; • Be the basis of the formal contract between the Organisation and the supplier; • Define testing and test methods including any certification that may be required as

proof from regulatory authorities or equivalent proof to meet the standards required;

• Include details and reference on any Key Performance Indicators and how the contract will be monitored.

The specification may also refer to factors of the production process, provision or trading, even where these factors do not form part of the material substance of the product, e.g. when technically describing the products or services you want to purchase, you may require that they do not involve toxic chemicals or are produced/provided using energy-efficient machines. All tenders that are advertised on the PCS website should be set up so that any questions go directly to the Lead Officer to respond. All tenders loaded onto PCS should be sent through PCS to the Senior Business Services Officer to ‘sign off’ and publish on the website. This is a final check to ensure there are no implications that can have an effect on the tender or wider strategic issues. Tender Register The Lead Officer will obtain a blank template for the Tender Register (Appendix 9) and then prepare a new page in the Register by entering the following details:

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• title of project and brief description; • tender reference number; • the specific item or service being tendered; • date of issue and the closing date/time for return of tenders.

A copy of the tender register will be scanned and saved in the file on the drive. Returned Tenders The Business Services Team will monitor the tenders@hillcrest.org.uk email box and any tenders received via email will be responded to and asked to submit through PCS. PCS will record any tenders submitted after the deadline. These should not be considered unless there are exceptional circumstances and must be approved by the relevant Director. Any late submissions will be discussed with the tenderer to establish the reasons behind this. If accepting a late tender, you must add the reason why this has been accepted on PCS when opening the post box. Extension to Submissions An extension of time for the submission of tenders must be approved by the appropriate Director. Extensions of time can only be granted in exceptional circumstances e.g. changes to the tender specification. Where it is decided to grant an extension of time the Lead Officer will:

• produce a file note detailing the revised date/time and the reasons for the extension and ensure that this is placed in the project file;

• arrange for all those granted an extension of time to be advised in writing of the revised date/time for receipt of tenders;

• ensure that fairness is maintained and that where extensions are granted, they are granted to all tenderers.

As all tenders are to be submitted through PCS, any IT issues would need to be taken up by the supplier directly with PCS. The post box will log the date and time of the tender submission and any issues would need to be taken up by the supplier with PCS and evidence submitted to us to show that this was incorrect. All extensions agreed should be notified to the Business Services Team.

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Opening Tenders The Lead Officer should, in advance of the tender closing date, organise a tender opening meeting. This should take place at any Hillcrest office for any tender issued directly by Hillcrest in a meeting room which is suitable for tender opening, for example with internet access and access to a PC. PCS does not allow the post box to be opened until after the closing date. Any tenders which are submitted through PCS website will remain in a ‘locked’ post box on the website until the tender opening date. The Lead Officer should ‘unlock’ the post box on the date arranged for the tender opening with the appropriate staff present. On the date set for the opening of the tenders the Lead Officer will:

• complete the Tender Register (Appendix 8) and save into file; • open the PCS tender post box and save any tenders on the drive. Tender documents

should be saved here – H:\Corporate Information\Hillcrest Hillcrest\Procurement\Route 2&3 Regulated - Tenders.

Tenders over the value of GBP 50,000 will be opened in the presence of at least two people namely:

• Lead Officer; • Senior Business Services Officer (for governance) or another member of the Business

Services Team. • An officer senior to the Lead Officer from another department

The employees will enter their names and titles in the Tender Register and will sign and date their entries. The opening process will be as follows:

• In the case of complex tender submissions containing multiple pages and pricing schedules, all relevant pages must be viewed by persons present;

• The Lead Officer will complete the remaining columns in the Tender Register with the relevant details from the tender and subsequently the date of Committee approval of the tender;

• The figures will be checked and all the documents downloaded from the electronic post box and saved into the drive;

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• Once all tenders have been opened, except for late tenders, and the Tender Register completed, the employees and any others present will sign and date the Register to confirm their attendance at the opening of the tenders;

• This should then be scanned and saved in the procurement file. Late Tenders Late tenders will not be opened unless there have been exceptional circumstances. When opening the post box it will show if a tender is late and ask if it is to be accepted; you must add a reason for your decision here. In the Tender Register the names of those submitting a late tender will be listed in the appropriate section and details of any action taken will be written opposite their name. The electronic post box on PCS will note the date and time of any tender submitted. Other Entries If a correction to any entry has to be made, correction fluid or tape of any kind must not be used. Corrections will be made by the Lead Officer present in ink and initialled by the other persons present. Offers made for disposal of assets must also be recorded in the tender register and notified to the Senior Business Services Officer. Acceptance of Quotes and Tenders Appropriate compliance checks will need to be carried out on each submitted tender. This may mean that staff from other departments who are ‘specialists’ in a particular area assess certain parts of the submission. For example financial viability may need to be assessed by a member of the Finance Team. Where this is the case the Lead Officer will arrange this and prepare a report summarising the quotes or tenders together with any other relevant information and will then either:

• decide which quote or tender to accept if the cost is within their delegated authority, recording the decision and reasons in the procurement file together with all relevant quote/tender papers; or

• submit the report with a recommendation to the relevant Committee for a decision

where tender return amounts are in excess of the budgeted costs within an already approved budget.

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For any tender submitted through route 2 or 3, should a supplier fail to submit the requested documents or fail to complete these as stated they will be discounted from the process.

A tender/quotation summary form will be completed and sent to tenders@hillcrest.org.uk in order for the contracts register to be updated. When issuing our terms and conditions the Lead Officer should contact the Business Services Team to discuss use of our standard terms and conditions, this is particularly important for service related contracts. We have a standard template which can be used (Appendix 6). This should not be used without prior discussion with the Senior Business Services Officer. Under no circumstances should we sign the winning bidder’s terms and conditions or contracts. Amendments to tender price Where, following all other checks, the final price of the most acceptable quote or tender is different from the amount entered in the tender register, the Lead Officer will ensure that the new amount is entered in the Register alongside the original offer price, with the new entry initialled and dated, and that any explanatory notes required are added. Lowest tender not accepted

Where the quality criteria are an important element of the contract, these will be fully detailed in the quote or tender documentation and will be fully taken into account when assessing quotations or tenders. These will be detailed in the Scoring Matrix attached and the Quotation & Tender Summary Form. Each supplier should be noted and the reason they have been successful or unsuccessful. This should be detailed enough to give feedback to unsuccessful bidders. If any challenge should occur, then this will allow for clear and justified reasons to be given.

The lowest offer will not be accepted if there are serious concerns about the accuracy or viability of the offer, especially where the price is significantly lower than the others received. In such situations the appropriate Director, having obtained any appropriate internal or external professional advice, will decide which offer, if any, should be accepted (or recommended for acceptance), or whether a re-tendering exercise should be undertaken, possibly to a revised specification. Abnormally low tenders

We shall require bidders to explain the price or costs proposed in the tender where they appear to be abnormally low.

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Although not defined, where all bids except one (or more) are similar on price/cost, and where those bid(s) are well below that quoted by all other bidders, that may indicate the bid is abnormally low. Where a tenderer submits an unusually low priced bid, it could be due to legitimate factors such as a competitive advantage it enjoys based on its greater efficiency, cheaper inputs, or even the ability to take a loss on the contract. It may however be due to illegitimate factors, such as underpayment of staff or subcontractors, or a failure to comply with relevant legislation. This means that we must check all abnormally low bids. A supplier’s explanation of their potentially abnormally low bid may now also relate to subcontracting obligations. We must reject a tender where it has been established that the tender is abnormally low because a supplier has not complied with the environmental, social and labour law listed in Annex X of the 2014 Public Contracts Directive. Only one quote or tender received If only one quote or tender is received then the Lead Officer, in consultation with the appropriate Director as required, will decide whether or not to award the contract or undertake a re-tendering exercise, taking into account the value of the contract and the need to receive the service or complete the work within a specified timescale. Details of the outcome with reasons will be added to the procurement file. Publication of Contract Award Notices and Contract Awards In addition to the existing OJEU publication requirements, the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 requires all public bodies who are conducting a regulated procurement to publicise their intention to seek offers (contract notice) and the award of a contract or framework agreement (award notice) on Public Contracts Scotland (PCS). While we must publish a contract award notice when we establish a framework agreement as well as for the results of call-off contracts deriving from them, they do not have to publicise the fact that we are running call off on PCS. Call offs do not have to be published in OJEU, but above Reform Act threshold call off awards must be published in PCS

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9. Route 3 (Value likely to exceed GBP 181,302)

Procurement carried out through Route 3 of the procurement journey is procurement which is equal to or above the OJEU thresholds set be EU legislation. This is currently set at £181,302. There are strict legal requirements for carrying out procurement through this route. Where it is decided not to award a contract in the form of lots, we must indicate the main reasons for not doing so in the relevant procurement documents and on PCS. Potential reasons for not subdividing contracts into lots may be:

• that it would risk restricting competition; • it would make the execution of the contract excessively technically difficult or

expensive; or • the need to coordinate the different contractors for the lots could seriously risk

undermining the proper execution of the contract.

It must also state in the relevant procurement documents and on PCS, whether tenders may be submitted for one, for several or for all of the lots. In addition, where more than one lot may be awarded to the same tenderer, contracts may be awarded that combine several or all lots provided that this has been specified and the Hillcrests of lots that may be combined have been indicated. The number of lots that any one supplier can win can be limited, provided that the maximum number per tenderer is stated in the relevant procurement documents. It must also be listed in the relevant procurement documents where the application of the award criteria would result in one bidder being awarded more lots than the maximum number. We would look to carry out our procurement through the ‘open procedure’ in all cases. In the Open Procedure any interested bidder may submit a tender. This is applied to both single supplier contracts and Framework Agreements, however in some cases it can be beneficial to choose a procedure where the number of the bidders can be reduced at the selection stage based on their capability and capacity, especially if there are not enough resources (such as time) to conduct a full Open Procedure. Any decisions taken should be clearly documented in the procurement documents, which must be kept for audit purposes (please see retention schedule for further information). The process for creating documents, advertising and publishing tenders, opening and recording is very similar to that detailed under Route 2 (see above).

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For any tender opening at Route 3 consideration should be taken as to whether a committee member should be present in addition to the usual officers. Consideration to the risk to the organisation, and to the value, when deciding if a committee member should be present. Advice should be sought from the Senior Business Services Officer in these cases. Should a Committee member be required then this can be arranged through the Committee Services Officer. Standstill Period The standstill period is a defined period of time between the notice of the contract award decision and the award of the contract. The purpose of the standstill period is to enable unsuccessful tenderers to consider the feedback on their submissions and to allow them an opportunity to seek further information or call for a review of the decision. An organisation must allow a period of at least the relevant standstill period to elapse between the date of dispatch of the standstill notice and the date on which that organisation enters into the contract. This does not apply, however, where:

• the contract or framework agreement is exempt from the requirement for prior publication of a contract notice;

• there are no tenderers concerned; • a notice is not required to be given under regulation 85(1) of the Public Contracts

(Scotland) Regulations 2015 (notices of decisions to award a contract or conclude a framework agreement).

Where the standstill notice is sent to all tenderers by electronic means, the standstill period is a period of 10 days ending at midnight at the end of the 10th day after that on which the last notice is sent. Where the notice is sent to any tenderers only by other means, e.g. by post, the standstill period is a period of 15 days ending at midnight at the end of the 15th day after that on which the last notice is sent.

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10. Documents and Feedback Full records of the quotation or tendering process, with clear audit trails covering the awarding of the contract, assessment criteria, any price variations during the contract and the final account must be retained.

These will be stored here: H:\Corporate Information\Hillcrest Hillcrest\Procurement\Route 2&3 Regulated - Tenders. Each folder will be named with the reference number and tender title. All associated documents should be saved within this file and no where else either electronically or in paper form. Under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004, tenderers are able to request to see details of the tender evaluation process, and therefore working papers must be maintained with this in mind. Staff should be mindful that these can be requested and should ensure that the reasons given are clear, concise and reasonable. Staff should also be aware that any notes written regarding companies or submissions can be requested. It is recognised best practice to provide feedback to tenderers and under EU legislation a mandatory requirement. Feedback must always be provided when requested by tenderers, and where possible their questions answered. Feedback must be constructive and positive in its message, so as to offer encouragement and provide learning. Feedback can initially be via email, but if a meeting is requested then this must be as soon as possible after the evaluation. Retention of Copies of Concluded Contracts We are required to keep copies of all concluded contracts with a value equal to or greater than £785,530 for supply and service contracts and £7,855,300 for works, for at least the duration of the contracts. Please refer to retention schedules for other retention periods. Reporting and Documentation Requirements For every contract or framework agreement established under the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015, public bodies must draw up a written report which must include at least the following:

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a) the name and address of the public body, the subject-matter and value of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system;

b) where applicable, the results of the qualitative selection and/or reduction of

numbers, namely:

i) the names of those suppliers invited to participate in the procurement process and the reasons for the selection;

ii) the names of those participants who were subsequently excluded from bidding

or who bid but were not successful and the reasons for their rejection;

c) the reasons for the rejection of tenders found to be abnormally low;

d) the name of the successful tenderer and the reasons why its tender was selected;

e) where known by the contracting authority, the share (if any) of the contract or framework agreement which the successful tenderer intends to subcontract to third parties; and, the names of the main contractor’s subcontractors (if any);

f) for competitive procedures with negotiation and competitive dialogues, the

circumstances which justify the use of those procedures;

g) for negotiated procedures without prior publication, the circumstances which justify the use of this procedure;

h) where applicable, the reasons why the contracting authority has decided not to

award a contract or framework agreement or to establish a dynamic purchasing system;

i) where applicable, the reasons why means of communication other than electronic

means have been used for submission of tenders; and

j) where applicable, conflicts of interests detected and subsequent measures taken. There is a practical exemption where no reports are required for contracts based on framework agreements, where the frameworks are either concluded with a single economic operator or where all of the terms are fixed in a multi-supplier framework agreement. If we have already provided all the information required here, when completing a contract award notice, there is no additional need to draw up a written report.

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We must document the progress of all procurement procedures (whether electronic or not), and must retain sufficient documentation to justify decisions taken in all stages of the procedure, this includes:

• Documentation on communications with suppliers; • Internal deliberations; • Preparation of the procurement documents, dialogue or negotiation (if any); • Selection and award of the contract.

This documentation must be kept for at least three years from the date of award of the contract. We may be required by the European Commission to send it a copy of any such report. Scottish Ministers must, every 3 years, provide the European Commission with a report addressing compliance with the EU procurement legislation, frequent sources of wrong application or legal uncertainty, the level of SME involvement and on the prevention, detection and reporting of fraud, corruption, conflicts of interest and other serious irregularities. Under the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015, public bodies must provide Ministers with such information as Ministers ask for to meet their obligations to the Commission.

11. Communication of Outcome

The result of the final evaluation must be communicated to all tenderers. Under EU legislation there is a mandatory standstill period of 10 days between notifying tenderers of the result and formally accepting the winning tender. Contracts advertised on the Public Contracts Scotland web portal will require a Contract Award Notice to be completed. There are a range of templates created for each route to notify the successful and unsuccessful bidders. There are specific templates for those bidders who have not been selected for interview when required and for those who were unsuccessful when they were. These templates are based on the standard documents produced on the Procurement Journey. These are Appendices 4, 4a, 4b, 5, 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d.

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12. Glossary of Terms

New terms in the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 Sub-central contracting authorities ‘Sub-central contracting authorities’ means all contracting authorities which are not central government authorities (including health boards) listed in Schedule 1 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015. Ancillary purchasing activities ‘Ancillary purchasing activities’ means activities consisting in the provision of support to purchasing activities, in particular in the following forms:

a) technical infrastructure enabling contracting authorities to award public contracts or to conclude framework agreements for works, supplies or services;

b) advice on the conduct or design of public procurement procedures; c) preparation and management of procurement procedures for or on behalf of the

contracting authority concerned. Procurement service provider ‘Procurement service provider’ means a public or private body which offers ancillary purchasing activities on the market. Life cycle ‘Life cycle’ means all consecutive and/or interlinked stages. This includes research and development to be carried out, production, trading and its conditions, transport, use and maintenance. This extends throughout the existence of the product/works or the provision of the service, from raw material acquisition or generation of resources to disposal, clearance and end of service or utilisation. Innovation ‘Innovation’ means the implementation of a new or significantly improved product, service or process. This includes, but is not limited to, production, building or construction processes, a new marketing method, a new organisational method in business practices,

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workplace organisation or external relations inter alia with the purpose of helping to solve societal challenges or to support the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. Label ‘Label’ means any document, certificate or attestation confirming that the works, products, services, processes or procedures in question meet certain requirements. Label requirements ‘Label requirements’ means the requirements to be met by the works, products, services, processes or procedures in question in order to obtain the label concerned. New terms in the Concessions Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016 Works concession ‘Works concession’ means a contract for pecuniary interest concluded in writing by means of which one or more contracting authorities or contracting entities entrust the execution of works to one or more economic operators. The consideration consists either solely in the right to exploit the works that are the subject of the contract or in that right together with payment. Services concession ‘Services concession’ means a contract for pecuniary interest concluded in writing where one or more contracting authorities or contracting entities entrust the provision and management of services other than the execution of works to one or more economic operators. The consideration consists either solely in the right to exploit the works that are the subject of the contract or in that right together with payment. Concessionaire ‘Concessionaire’ means an economic operator which has been awarded a concession. Execution of works ‘Execution of works’ means the execution, or both the design and execution, of works in Schedule 1, of the Concessions Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016, or of a work

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corresponding to the requirements specified by the contracting authority or contracting entity exercising a decisive influence on the type or design of the work. Exclusive right ‘Exclusive right’ means a right granted by a competent authority of a Member State by means of any law, regulation or published administrative provision which is compatible with the Treaties. The effect is to limit the exercise of an activity to a single economic operator and which substantially affects the ability of other economic operators to carry out such an activity. Special right ‘Special right’ means a right granted by a competent authority of a Member State by means of any law, regulation or published administrative provision which is compatible with the Treaties. The effect is to limit the exercise of an activity to two or more economic operators and which substantially affects the ability of other economic operators to carry out such an activity. Concession document ‘Concession document’ means any document produced or referred to by the contracting authority or contracting entity to describe or determine elements of the concession or the procedure. This includes the concession notice, the technical and functional requirements, proposed conditions of concession, formats for the presentation of documents by candidates and tenderers, information on generally applicable obligations and any additional documents. Terms found in the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 Award notice ‘Award notice’ has the meaning given in section 23(6) of the Reform Act, is the information published in accordance with subsection (2) of Section 23 which is “A contracting authority must publicise the award of a contract under a regulated procurement on the Public Contracts Scotland website.” Community benefit requirement ‘Community benefit requirement’ has the meaning given in section 24 of the Reform Act:

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“For the purposes of this Act, a community benefit requirement is a contractual requirement imposed by a contracting authority -

a) relating to - i) training and recruitment, or ii) the availability of sub-contracting opportunities, or

b) which is otherwise intended to improve the economic, social or environmental wellbeing of the authority’s area in a way additional to the main purpose of the contract in which the requirement is included.”

Contract notice ‘Contract notice’ has the meaning given in section 23(6) of the Reform Act, means the information published in accordance with subsection (1) of section 23 which is “A contracting authority must publicise its intention to seek offers as part of a regulated procurement on the Public Contracts Scotland website.” Contracting authority ‘Contracting authority’ has the meaning given in section 1, “For the purposes of this Act, a ‘contracting authority’ is -

a) a body, office-holder or other person listed in the schedule, or b) any other person who is a contracting authority for the purposes of the Public

Contracts Regulations and whose functions - i) are exercisable in or as regards Scotland, and ii) do not relate to reserved matters within the meaning of the Scotland Act 1998

(c.46).” Economic operator ‘Economic operator’ means any person who offers the execution of works, the supply of products or the provision of services on the market. Financial year ‘Financial year’ means the period of 12 months in respect of which the accounts of the contracting authority in question are prepared. Public contract

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‘Public contract’ means contracts for pecuniary interest concluded in writing between one or more economic operators and one or more contracting authorities and having as their objective the execution of works, the supply of products or the provision of services. Public works contract ‘Public works contract’ means public contracts having as their objective one of the following:

a) the execution, or both the design and execution, of works related to one of the activities within the meaning of Annex II;

b) the execution, or both the design and execution, of works. Regulated procurement ‘Regulated procurement’ is:

a) any procedure carried out by a contracting authority in relation to the award of a proposed regulated contract (where the procurement equals or exceeds £50,000 for supplies and services or £2,000,000 for works) including, in particular - i) the seeking of offers in relation to the contract, and ii) the selection of economic operators,

b) the award of a regulated contract by a contracting authority. Authority’s area ‘Authority’s area’ is the area by reference to which the contracting authority primarily exercises its functions, disregarding any areas outside Scotland. Wellbeing of the authority’s area ‘Wellbeing of the authority’s area’ includes, in particular, reducing inequality in the area.

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Procedure Document Governance and Management

Author/ Lead: Danielle Ross – Senior Business Services Officer

Version number: 3

Current version referred for approval to: 01/09/2019

Current version approved on: 01/09/2019

Date of next review: 01/09/2020

Date of Equality Impact Assessment: 06/02/2019

Date of Privacy Impact Assessment: Click here to enter a date. N/A ☒

Date of Environmental Impact Assessment: Click here to enter a date. N/A ☒