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Supplier assessment is an essential element of procurement as organisations need assurance that potential suppliers are suitable to tender for contract opportunities in terms of their legal, financial and technical capacity. A formalised mechanism to assess this is an important part of any procurement operations and is commonly referred to in the public sector as 'pre-qualification' or PQQ. However, private sector companies offer public purchasers what are often referred to as 'supplier accreditation services'. These effectively involve the purchaser transferring responsibility for the overhead of gathering and assessing supplier information and establishing and maintaining their supplier databases and approved lists to a commercial provider. These service providers typically levy a charge on suppliers wishing to be included on the database (in the hope of a resulting opportunity) rather than purchasers. The Council, as a rule, does not keep an approved list/select list of Contractors/Suppliers as this has been deemed inefficient to both the Council and perspective Suppliers due to the level of resources required to maintain one. For construction and other contracts as appropriate, the Council has approved Constructionline and BiP Select Accredit. A person or company who wishes to apply to become a supplier on either of these lists can do so by contacting:
There are four methods of pre-qualification/accreditation available. Officers can use the Constructionline or BiP Select Accredit list or both. Companies may also download the pre-qualification questionnaire which allows in-house vetting of a company not registered with either of the above. In some circumstances, a procurement-specific approach to pre-qualification may be deemed necessary, in which suppliers are assessed in respect of their suitability to bid for a specific individual requirement - the Council’s standard PQQ should be used and enhanced as necessary to include additional specific requirements i.e. performance bond and where additional insurances maybe deemed necessary (see consultancy services). The minimum number of contractors/suppliers selected to bid for contracts is specified within the Authority’s Contract Standing Orders. If the pre-qualification and accreditation system produces a number of suppliers in excess of the requirement a decision must be made whether to see all suppliers or allow the system to randomly select the required number. The tender list once produced should be printed and filed in the relevant project file. The system retains all information relating to tender lists run and an auditable report is available
When appointing any consultant(s), the underlying principles are the same, whereby Contract Standing Orders must be adhered to and the procurement process should be as rigorous as any other Council contract that you award. However, in addition any consultant used by the Authority will need to show as part of the pre-qualification/accreditation process that they have Professional Indemnity Insurance if they are being engaged for professional work that may result in a financial loss-the level of cover should be adequate to more than cover the value of the contract.
Constructionline is recognised by the DTI as their endorsed register of pre-qualified construction, facilities management contractors and consultants. The service provides the facility through using set criteria to search for contractors/suppliers/consultants. On application a contractor/consultant must submit financial details in the form of accounts, technical references, insurance and tax certification where applicable. Health and Safety and Equal Opportunities information is also part of the application. Enquiries may be made on individual contractors/consultants to check for suitability. Health and Safety and Equal Opportunities are available for download. The BiP Select national pre-qualification service offers a simple and structured approach to pre-qualification via supplier assessment across common criteria, delivering better value for money to both buyers and suppliers, and is open to all. BiP Select gives suppliers recognition through pre-qualification and access to thousands of public sector buyers. Buyers have access to a diverse database of approved suppliers and a single, transparent selection process.
Suppliers can choose to apply for either Select Certify or Select Accredit status. For both Constructionline and BiP Select supplier information is updated on an annual basis and a fee is levied to suppliers for accreditation status. The number of contractors invited to bid for individual contracts is to be specified in accordance with the Authority’s Contract Standing Orders as outlined in the Procurement and Tendering Processes.
E-mail: contracts@thanet.gov.uk
Tel: 01843 577111