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Are there rules/guidance/best practice on near £200k contract being given without open procurement to a company which has only turned over £2-14k annually for three years and no track record at all in the area of the contract?
I would then it's would need to go through proper procurement.
publiccontractscotland.gov
If it's not then I'd think it's a touch dodgy. Of course the criteria you use to award contract should also be transparent (as in everyone can see it as opposed to invisible).
Procurement by, or procurement of? You can buy a Northern Irish one, if you have enough readies.
I'm sure there are rules, but also if it's like my place, opportunities for waivers etc., as long as clearly defined conditions are met. £200K isn't that big in government procurement so I suspect there are ways and means - but it should still be transparent.
There are usually standing orders that ensure that proper procedures were adhered to in the spending of public money...
Not always adhered to (and not due to be being cute, more need to get something done...).
At present a lot will be going out direct award due to the pandemic. I know of several contracts going this way (due to the need to get shit done for a unforeseen short lead in time... I’m being coy to protect the innocent tin this case, not me).
It’s the game the government has played over multiple contracts for ppe, tracer app, etc...
ETA: as far as I’m aware it should all go out through PCS (that’s what I keep getting told, keeps you right, avoids comeback and gets counted in the statistics too...).
Talking about local authority purchasing specifically though...
OJEU compliance is *mandatory* but, as metalheart says, direct award is permissible in exceptional circumstances.
Based on moab's post it sounds like a service - as opposed to goods.
I would be concerned about the obvious risk in awarding a contract of c£200k to a company with a miniscule t/o and no track record.
A request to the awarding body to explain their decision - how has the financial risk been evaluated (commercial/procurement best practice is that a contract award should not account for more than 25% of bidder's t/o), what relevant experience does the company have, what contingency has the awarding body made in the event of delivery failure, how does the award satisfy the requirement for best practice, what personal/family/commercial relationships exist between the two parties, which other companies were considered and why were they rejected, does the contract award have legal approval.
Thanks all. I'm going to email in and innocently ask the civil servants involved direct for how I had missed the procurement as I'm on the list/monitor public contracts Scotland all the time... We will see what they say.
OJEU compliance is *mandatory*
Isn’t the threshold for OJEU higher than £200k? Otherwise I’d have had to use it more than the once I’ve personally done it...
Also, forgot: frameworks. A lot of high value stuff (construction) recently (last 5 years I mean) has gone out through various frameworks...
matt & metalheart - see link for details of current OJEU thresholds.
Even if the contract had been awarded under a framework there must, by law, have been a formal process including evaluation etc in response to a 'call for competition'. Awarding bodies are legally required to keep records including evaluation and award criteria.
Matt specifically, I suggest you are explicitly clear about which category this contract falls into before raising any query.
https://thorntonandlowe.com/ojeu-thresholds-2020/