5. Responsibilities of Senior Managers, Service Managers and Responsible Officers.

CSO 5.1 and 5.2

1

The Senior Manager has overall responsibility for the purchasing processes undertaken by, or on behalf of his or her Department.  Each Service Manager is responsible for ensuring compliance as set out in CSO 5.2.

2

CSO 5.2.2: Scheme of Delegation (please refer to the Council’s Constitution on the Intranet).

3

CSO 5.2.4: Upon becoming aware of a breach of regulatory provisions (including the contract standing orders) a Service Manager must take immediate action.  A failure to take immediate action may result in a purchasing process continuing in breach of the Regulatory Provisions, explained in CSO 4.  This could have unwelcome practical, financial and legal consequences for the Council.

If an officer or Member becomes aware of a breach, or a suspected breach, of the Council’s contract standing orders then he or she must report the matter immediately to the the Financial Services Manager and Deputy 151 Officer or the Corporate and Regulatory Services Manager to ensure that appropriate steps are taken to address the breach or potential breach.

CSO 5.3

4

The Responsible Officer is appointed by the Service Manager.  The Responsible Officer’s duties are set out in CSO 5.4.

CSO 5.4

5

CSO 5.4.1: The Regulatory Provisions are explained at CSO 4.  In addition to the specific Regulatory Provisions, Senior Managers must ensure that the tender process is conducted in a way which complies with all the requirements of the Contract Standing Orders and in a manner which is open and transparent and ensures equality of treatment and opportunity to all participants.

6

CSO 5.4.2: Due attention must be made to the requirements in respect of declarations of interests, affecting both Members and officers in respect of purchasing.  In the case of Members, the requirements of the Code of Conduct would include:

• Registering  any contracts which they or companies with which they are associated have with the Council for goods, services or works;
• Declaring any personal interest which they may have in any contract which is under consideration, and to withdraw from consideration of any contract in which they have a prejudicial interest;
• Not using their position as a Member improperly to seek to confer an advantage or disadvantage on any person or to compromise or seek to compromise the impartiality of any officer; 
• Only authorising the use of Council resources, to act in accordance with the Council’s requirements;
• Preventing Members from corruptly soliciting or accepting any gift or advantage for doing or forbearing to do anything as a Member.

In the case of officers, such requirements would include:

• To disclose to the Council any interest which they may have in any contract which the Council has entered or proposes to enter into under Section 117 of the Local Government Act 1972;
• To act in the best interests of the Council and not to participate in any matter in which they have a private interest in accordance with their contracts of employment;
• Preventing officers from corruptly soliciting or accepting any gift or advantage for doing or forbearing to do anything as an officer of the Council.

7

CSO 5.4.3: The purchasing process must be planned properly so that timescales are reasonable, all those involved know and understand what procedure and documents are to be used and the levels of resource and timescales are understood.  A failure to analyse and provide for these requirements can result in poor procurement practice and a failure to deliver purchasing to meet the Council’s requirements.

8

CSO 5.4.4: See comment on CSO 1.2.

9 

CSO 5.4.5: The Council’s decision making processes must be factored into the overall planning.

10

CSO 5.4.6: The Council’s contracts register should include all details of the contracts let to ensure that the name of the contractor, the delivery period, the price and a brief description of the supply service or works, including, in all cases, the CPV code (European Common Procurement Vocabulary) for the contract.

The contracts register ensures that the Council has clear records of contracts awarded and that no particular contractor has been unfairly treated or favoured. Some councils are now using on line tendering systems, which include contract register systems and information which is then made publicly available.  This helps to demonstrate transparency in purchasing processes.

11

CSO 5.4.7: Proper records of contracts and award procedures must be maintained.  This does not necessarily require a very detailed explanation, but it does require records to be maintained in writing and to be easily retrievable should they need to be consulted.  The Council’s records/data retention schedule sets out how long each record should be kept.

12

CSO 5.4.8: Value for money is a balance of quality, price and delivery and does not mean that the contract will necessarily be awarded on the basis of the lowest cost to the Council. Senior Managers and Responsible Officers should note the requirement for “active” contract monitoring.  It is only by active and ongoing participation in contract monitoring that the Council can ensure that contracts continue to represent good value and meet the Council’s requirements.  This can help drive through efficiency savings and improvements, and ensure that poor contract performance can be addressed promptly.

13

CSO 5.4.9: Contract provisions should include arrangements for mechanisms to be employed in the event of poor performance (see commentary at CSO 3.3).

14

In addition to contract provisions, it may also be appropriate (depending upon the nature of the purchase), to include requirements such as provision of a parent company guarantee or some form of bond.  The appropriate levels of "security" documents will depend upon the purchase being made and also the financial standing of the contractor. Advice should be sought from the Council’s Risk Management Officer when considering additional forms of security, such as bonds or guarantees.

CSO 5.5

15

Senior Managers, Service Managers and Responsible Officers (as appropriate) need to think carefully about the best way in which purchases are made.  For example, in some circumstances it may make sense to use one of the Purchasing Schemes, identified in CSO 15.  It may also prove better value for money to use e-Procurement or other e-purchasing methods.

16

Carry out sufficient analysis and understanding of the market to enable the Council to best select the potential contractors.  For certain types of contract, for example high value and/or long term, it may be appropriate to undertake market research and pre-purchasing enquiries to establish who may be best placed to deliver the requirements and which route will best meet the Council’s needs. Market sounding or pre purchasing enquiries must not result in the Council favouring a particular supplier in breach of the EU Rules or EC Treaty Principles.

CSO 5.6

17

It may be a disciplinary offence for any officer to fail to comply with the CSOs and the Council’s Purchasing Guide.  All employees have a personal obligation under the CSOs to report breaches of Contract Standing Orders.  Failure to report a breach may also amount to a disciplinary offence.  Equally, any failure by a Member to comply with the CSOs and the Council's Purchasing Guide may amount to a breach of the Code of Conduct for Members.

CSO 5.7

18.

Failure by an officer or a Member to report any suspected breach of the CSOs, or any suspected corruption can itself amount to a disciplinary offence for an officer, or a failure to comply with the Code of Conduct for Members.

Next page: Scheme of Delegation

Previous page: Regulatory context

• Introduction – Purpose of the Contract Standing Orders (CSOs)
• General Principles – Application and Compliance with Contract Standing Orders
• General Principles Applying to All Contracts
• Regulatory context
• Responsibilities of Directors, Service Managers and Responsible Officers
• Scheme of Delegation
• Financial Thresholds and Procedures
• Financial Thresholds and Processes Applying to Approval and Execution of Contracts
• Calculating the contract Value
• Principles Underlying Tendering Processes and Tender Evaluation
• Submission and Opening of tenders
• Evaluation of Quotes and Tenders
• Waivers
• Extensions to Existing Contracts
• Purchasing Schemes
• Review and Changes to these Contract Standing Orders
• Standard Clauses
• Appendix 1 - Risk Matrix
• Attachment 1 - Risk Assessment

Procurement

E-mail: contracts@thanet.gov.uk

Tel: 01843 577111