Procurement
Procurement
Procurement is the acquisition of goods, services and works and covers the full life cycle from identification of the business need through to disposal of the asset or service. Surrey Police and Sussex Police have merged their procurement functions to establish the Joint Procurement Service (JPS), which works to support both Police Forces and the Police and Crime Commissioners for Surrey and Sussex (PCCs), to build resilience and depth, and enable the Service to strive to be a more consultative and proactive Service.
Established to ensure that through increased collaboration and a more strategic approach to Procurement, significant cashable savings are delivered from our third party expenditure. The department is involved in a variety of projects on national, regional, collaborative and Force levels and works under the principle of best value and also aims to deliver policy advice and operational support. The JPS undertakes all strategic sourcing for Surrey police and Sussex Police where the collaborative value of a contract is greater than £50,000 and is responsible for approximately £150 million spend per annum.
As public sector organisations, there are regulations at both national and local level that Surrey Police, Sussex Police and the PCCs are required to follow when procuring goods, services and works. These rules aim to promote fair, open and transparent competition in the market place.
| The Role of the Joint Procurement Service (JPS) |
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The JPS provides a key part in the acquisition of goods, works and services where the aggregated value is over £50,000 by:
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The Processes
Process 1
Goods, works and services up to £500 - The purchaser is required to obtain a quotation for order.
Process 2
Goods, works and services between £500 to £4,999 - Where there is a contract or appropriate framework agreement in place, the Purchaser shall obtain a quotation under the agreement. If there is no contract in place the Purchaser shall obtain a minimum of one current written quotation or alternatively the price(s) shown in a current supplier’s catalogue(s) may be used.
Process 3
Goods, works and services between £5,000 - £49,999 - Purchaser to obtain a minimum of three current written quotations against a common specification.
Process 4
Goods, works and services of £50,000 and over - A procurement activity must be completed by the JPS. This can include using Frameworks or contracts that have been put in place by other organisations within public sector. A formal tender may be completed where a contract notice or advertisement will invite companies to submit tenders and will state what is required from potential bidders. It will also detail the evaluation criteria and weightings to be used. If your organisation would like to be considered for a particular contract you must follow the application instructions detailed in the advertisement.
Tender Evaluation and Contract Award
Submitted tenders will be evaluated against the pre-determined criteria which are always set out in the tender documentation issued as part of the procurement exercise. The Evaluation of each tender submitted will focus on how it meets the quality/technical and price requirements. The balance between quality and price will depend upon the requirement (i.e. goods, works or services) and will be detailed in the published tender documents. This will ensure the contract is awarded to the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT).
Supplier/Contractor Vetting
The nature of the contract, whether works, goods or services, will determine whether vetting (and to which level) of your employees will be required i.e. unescorted access to Surrey Police or Sussex Police premises or access to sensitive material/systems. Vetting will be done in accordance with our Non Police Personnel vetting procedures. Details of any necessary vetting will be included in the published tender documents.
How to find out about opportunities to work with us
Procurement exercises are advertised and conducted via an e-tendering portal called ‘Bluelight’. You can view upcoming tender opportunities and register on the portal for free.
Tender opportunities are also published on the government’s contracts finder website.
Procurement Regulations
The Public Contract Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015) set out the rules on purchasing goods, services and works by public sector organisations. They include an obligation on the public sector to adhere to the core principles of public procurement, which include transparency, integrity and accountability.
The over-riding requirement being that all public procurement must be based on value for money, defined as “the most advantageous combination of cost, quality and sustainability to meet customer requirements”[1].
As of 1st January 2021, the Find a Tender service replaced Tenders Electronic Daily (TED) in the UK public procurement process. UK buyers who previously published OJEU notices on TED will now do that on Find a Tender. You can use Find a Tender https://www.gov.uk/find-tender to search for opportunities or awarded contracts. Notices published before this change are still on TED.
Requirements to publish on other services are unchanged, and you can find information on contracts over £10,000 (or £25,000 outside central government) on: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search
With effect from 1st January 2020 the following thresholds apply:-
- Supplies & Services Contracts £189,330
- Works Contracts £4,733,252
- Light Touch Regime for Services £663,540
Full details on thresholds is available on www.gov.uk
Contact Information
The JPS are based at both Surrey Police and Sussex Police Headquarters:
Surrey Police
Surrey Police Headquarters
PO Box 101
Guildford
Sussex Police
Sussex Police Headquarters
Malling House
Church Lane
Lewes
East Sussex
BN72DZ