How we award contracts

Procurement in the public sector from 1 January 2021

The United Kingdom (UK) has left the European Union (EU) and the transition period ended on 31 December 2020. At the end of the transition period, current public procurement principles and legislation (such as procurement procedures and financial thresholds) were not affected, however, we had to change where we advertise new procurement opportunities.

New opportunities will be advertised on the UK e-notification service - Find a Tender

Opportunities will continue to be advertised on Contracts Finder and Proactis 

The Procurement that we do also follows our Contract Procedure Rules which are part of our Constitution (Chapter 3, Part 7). 

The procurement process we follow depends on the estimated total contract value of what we are looking to buy. The information below gives an overview of these values and the type of procurement process:

• Below £10,000: we carry out a single quotation process for award to a supplier
• Between £10,000 and £49,999: we shall request at least three quotations from suppliers
• £50,000 and above: this is our tender threshold, where tender opportunities are advertised and a formal tender process is followed using Contracts Finder and Proactis

Welland Procurement

As well as carrying out procurement activity in-house, we also work with Welland Procurement, who support and advise us on procurement processes for requirements that are £50,000 and above in total value.

The Welland Procurement website provides information on public sector procurement, procurement documents, top tips for tendering and useful links to other sources. We understand the bidding process for public sector work can seem complex.

Please contact wellandprocurement@melton.gov.uk who can provide the following resources to help you through the process.

Documents available to request from Welland Procurement:

• Instructions to register for Pro-Contract
• Change where you receive notifications from
• Changing your company name
• How to change your team and user setup
• How to search for opportunities
• How to submit a response

The information you will need to provide 

The information you will be asked to provide will vary depending on the nature and value of the contract. However, you may be asked to provide some or all of the following information:

• Information relating to your organisation
• References
• Technical information relating to the nature of the contract
• Financial information
• Insurance details

You will also be asked to respond to specific questions designed to find out how you will deliver the contract, along with a price for your proposed contract delivery.

Please ensure that you provide all the information requested or explain why you have not been able to do so.

Please also ensure that you respond in the required format – this will help the evaluators' assess your quote or tender properly and will also help to ensure that you don’t miss anything out.

Tendering is a formal competitive process where bidders compete for contracts. This process is followed to ensure competition, transparency, fairness and accountability.

We are subject to UK and EU legislation on public procurement, as well as our own internal regulations (the Contract Procedure Rules (CPRs)). This means that almost everything we buy must be subject to a competitive process. This can take the form of either a quotation or tender exercise.

Contracts are awarded as a result of a fair, open, transparent, non-discriminatory and compliant procurement process and we are committed to adhering to these principles.

To give yourself the best opportunity of being awarded a contract by us through a competitive process, you need to:

• read all the quotation/tender documents thoroughly and ask questions (if you have any) before any stated deadline
• respond in the required format, including answering all questions and providing all of the required information by the required time and date (the tender deadline)

You will be advised within the documents as to how quotes and tenders will be evaluated – usually on both price and quality criteria. The bidder with the highest score following that evaluation will be awarded the Contract. At this point, the successful bidder will be asked to sign a written Contract with us.

If you have been unsuccessful, you will be notified in writing and given feedback on your quote or tender.

Contract Procedure Rules are part of our Constitution.

You can find full information and view our Contract Procedure Rules in Chapter 3, Part 7 of our Constitution.