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You can email us at info@estuary.co.uk or contact via Facebook. For repairs, contact Axis direct at 0808 169 1969
Procurement - Working With Us
Effective procurement is essential to delivering quality services while providing best value for money.
Procurement Overview Working With Suppliers and Contractors Key Procurement Policies Supplier Code of Conduct
Key Procurement Policies
As a registered provider of Social Housing, our procurement activity is governed by the Public Contracts Regulations and the Procurement Act, which require that we operate in a fair, open and transparent way. Our Procurement Policies fit within this legal framework.
| Contract Value (including VAT) | Minimum Competition Requirements |
| Up to £5,000 | One written quotation, confirmed in writing |
| £5,000 - £15,000 | Two comparable quotations, confirmed in writing |
| £15,000 - £30,000 | Three comparable quotations, confirmed in writing |
| Over £30,000 | Invitation to Tender process either through a framework agreement or advertised on Find a Tender |
| Public Act 2023 Competition Requirements | |
| Goods and Services above £214,904 inc VAT | Invitation to Tender process either through a framework agreement or advertised on Find a Tender |
| Works above £5,372,609 inc VAT | Invitation to Tender process either through a framework agreement or advertised on Find a Tender |
For requirements with an estimated value of up to £30,000, we are required to obtain up to three quotes from contractors/suppliers. These will be sourced from a combination of our existing supplier base, supplemented with new suppliers.
Wherever possible, we will try to ensure we invite local suppliers and/or SMEs to submit a quotation.
To maximise opportunities to achieve value for money, where practicable, requirements over £30,000 are made open to any supplier to apply for.
The documentation will include a detailed specification of the goods or services required; a pricing schedule; and a number of quality questions suppliers have to answer.
You will also see the scoring criteria, which will explain how your bid will be scored by the Estuary.
Additionally, contracts that are over the Public Procurement thresholds are subject to the full requirements of the Procurement Act 2023 and will be advertised on the Contracts Finder website.
Estuary generally uses the Open Procedure process to encourage wider competition.
We undertake an assessment to identify the supplier who will provide the best solution.
• A value-for-money assessment (detailed as Most Advantageous Tender in the Procurement Act is based upon a balanced review of both quality and price
• A price-only assessment is rarely used, usually only for very low-value, low-risk, uncomplicated requirements based on a tight specification
• A financial assessment of bidders is undertaken on all tenders, where appropriate.
Our tender evaluation is conducted objectively and impartially. The evaluation criteria and how important they are will vary depending on circumstances and suppliers will be informed of these in tender documents.
As part of the evaluation we may ask short listed bidders additionally to:
• provide samples
• demonstrate their products or services
• attend a presentation or interview session to discuss their proposals
• provide references
Where these are used, suppliers will be informed up front if these will form part of the evaluation process.
In keeping with fairness and transparency, all suppliers involved in a tendering process will be notified of the winning supplier, the reasons for awarding to them and feedback on their bid if they are unsuccessful.
We use our terms and conditions of contract or nationally recognised terms and conditions such as JCT for works contracts.