How to Tender Guide

List of main external frameworks used

• Welsh Government’s National Procurement Service (NPS)
• Crown Commercial Services Framework (CCS)
• East Shires Purchasing Organisation (ESPO)
• The Procurement Partnership (TPPL)

All procurement opportunities offered by Welsh Government are also published on Sell2Wales (opens in new tab).

Individual service areas of the Council may also use the Sell2Wales website for quotation exercises and to search potential suppliers for any opportunities they have below £25k.

Sell2Wales is the national procurement website for Welsh public sector organisations where contract opportunities are advertised. Opportunities advertised here will provide details of the requirement and how you can participate in the tender process. Sell2Wales also has a direct link to the UK wide 'find a tender' service where above threshold contracts, as set out in the Procurement Act 2023 (PA23) must be published.

The Council encourages all suppliers to register on the Sell2Wales website. This is free of charge and allows suppliers to create, update and maintain their profile, view opportunities, receive automated tender notifications by email, receive instructions on how to access tender documents and view details of awarded contracts. Registration on Sell2Wales will also enable you to view a number of opportunities advertised by a large number of other public sector organisations in Wales. It is important to register on Sell2Wales against the categories which are relevant to the goods, services or works you supply. This will ensure that you only have notifications about contract opportunities relevant to you and also that you do not miss out on any key notifications.

Tip: It is also worth periodically checking directly on the Sell2Wales website just in case the opportunities advertised have not matched the categories that you have registered against.

The Council undertakes all of its formal tender opportunities electronically and currently uses the Bravo e-tenderwales (opens in new tab) portal to do this.

Procurement Act 2023 (PA23)

What rules, regulations & procurement procedures does the Council follow

The way in which the Council purchases goods, services and works is currently governed by the Procurement Act 2023 and by the Council’s own internal contract procedure rules.

Procurement Act 2023 (PA23)

Public sector procurement is subject to the Procurement Act 2023 (PA23) which dictate the processes to be followed when procuring goods, services and works over a certain value threshold, currently £213,477* for services and supplies (or £138,477* for Hywel Dda University Local Health Board) and £5,336,937* for works contracts. Light touch regime contracts have a threshold of £663,540*. These thresholds are revised every 2 years with the current values coming into effect on 1^st January 2024.

*Inclusive of VAT*

All of these opportunities must be advertised on the 'find a tender' service website via a link from the Sell2Wales (opens in a new tab) website.

For opportunities not exceeding the PA23 thresholds, prospective suppliers should be aware that varying organisations will have their own internal rules and regulations dictating the processes which need to be followed depending upon the estimated value of the procurement. Details for each of the Pembrokeshire Public Sector Organisations are shown on the next page.

Opportunities within other Pembrokeshire public sector organisations are sourced as detailed below:

 

Contracts not requiring advertisement

Hywel Dda University Local Health Board

• The Health Board does not generally advertise any contract opportunities valued below £25,000.
• However, to ensure fair and adequate competition is sought, a minimum of three companies are invited to quote for contract opportunities between £5,000 and £24,999.

 

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park

• The National Park does not generally advertise contract opportunities valued at below £25,000.
• If the requirement is valued at £10,000 or above, then a minimum of three quotations are normally secured.

 

Pembrokeshire college

• For requirements valued at £1,500 or above a minimum of three quotations are normally sought. The college uses the Sell2Wales (opens in a new tab) electronic post box facility for many requests and tender exercises.
• For low value items, particularly those below £1,500, the College’s preferred method of payment is by purchase card.

 

Ateb group

• Ateb group does not advertise contract opportunities valued at less than £25,000.
• If the contract is valued at above £10,000 up to three written quotations are normally required.
• For low value items below £10,000 a minimum of one quotation is required but must be able to demonstrate value for money

 

 

Contracts requiring advertisement

Hywel Dda University Local Health Board

• All contracts exceeding the relevant Procurement Act 2023 thresholds are advertised on Sell2Wales (opens in new tab) and advertised on the 'find a tender' service website.
• Further details on the Health Boards procurement can be requested from the procurement department (see contact details).
• The procurement service delivered by the Health Board is provided by NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership. This organisation provides a contract negotiation and materials management service for products and services which lend themselves to NHS collaboration. By co-ordinating the requirements of all NHS Health Boards in Wales, they are able to negotiate contracts that seek to maximise the buying power to the benefit of all involved.
• The sourcing teams of NWSSP provide a range of contracts from fruit and vegetables to electricity and medical gases, which meet the needs of the Health Boards in Wales

 

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park

• All contracts exceeding £25,000 in value advertised on Sell2Wales (opens in a new tab).

 

Pembrokeshire college

• All contracts exceeding £30,000 in value will be advertised on Sell2Wales (opens in a new tab) unless procured within the terms of an existing framework or if of a specialist nature. If the value is above the relevant Procurement Act 2023 threshold then it will also be advertised on the 'find a tender' service website.
• The College undertakes its tender exercises electronically using the Welsh Government's approved e-tender Wales portal. In order to be in a position to respond to electronic tender opportunities with Pembrokeshire college, please ensure that your organisation is registered on Sell2Wales (opens in a new tab).
• All of our tender opportunities will include the link to the Bravo e-tender Wales (opens in a new tab) portal. You may also find it beneficial to register directly on this site.
• The College is involved and committed to collaborative procurement within the further education sector through the Crescent Purchasing Consortium (CPC).
• The CPC tenders for goods and services that are core to the majority of colleges.

 

Ateb Group

• All contracts exceeding £25,000, unless procured within the terms of an existing framework, or if of a specialist nature will be advertised on Sell2Wales (opens in a new tab), so please ensure that your organisation is registered on this site.
• If the value is above the relevant Procurement Act 2023 threshold then it will also be advertised on the 'find a tender' service website. Ateb group undertakes all tender exercises over the value of £25,000 electronically using the Welsh Government's approved Bravo e-tender Wales (opens in a new tab) portal. 
• All of our tender opportunities will include the link to the e-tender portal .
• Further information can be found at on the Ateb group website (opens in a new tab).

How to Tender or become a Supplier to Pembrokeshire County Council

Low value contract opportunities- £12k to £30,000 (inclusive of VAT)

Contract opportunities valued between £12k and £30,000 are not normally advertised. However, officers from the relevant Service areas are required to obtain a minimum of three written quotations for this level of requirement and may do this by, emailing known potential suppliers or undertaking market research. If you are interested in undertaking business of this value with the Council please email supplierenquiries@pembrokeshire.gov.uk making it clear what products or services you offer. The Procurement team will endeavour to forward your details to the appropriate Service area so that you may be considered to quote for any future requirements. For contract opportunities below £12k, officers are required to demonstrate value for money has been obtained with this involving a more informal market testing approach.

 

Contract Opportunities between £30,000 and £90,000 (inc VAT)

For requirements between £30k and £90k services areas are required to obtain 3 formal quotes using the Quick Quotes function on the Sell2Wales platform.  You must be registered with Sell2Wales to be invited to quote for these opportunities, as well as the Central Digital Platform (CDP) in order that we can obtain your unique Supplier Identification Number.

 

The Tender Process - £90k and Above

For all opportunities over £90,000 (inc VAT) that are not covered in one of the National Frameworks listed previously, the Authority will normally undertake a formal tender process prior to awarding any contracts. We will do this for one off purchases, service/ supply/ works contracts or when setting up our own Frameworks, Open Frameworks or Dynamic Markets (DM’s). The process for awarding a contract under such arrangements are clearly stated in the initial tender exercise.

All tender opportunities, whether they be setting up our own Framework, DM or awarding a specific contract are undertaken electronically with the Council currently using the Bravo e-tenderwales portal (opens in a new tab).

 

Frameworks and Open Frameworks

If you have been successful in a tender submission and been appointed to a Framework the level of work that you will be awarded may vary depending on the exact circumstances of that Framework. The exact process for the award of work is clearly stated in each individual Framework opportunity at the point of tender. Our Frameworks normally run for a maximum of four years and will have a deadline date for suppliers to apply with no new suppliers being permitted to join after this deadline.  Open Frameworks can run for a maximum of 8 years, but must be re-opened throughout the 8 year term to allow suppliers to be added/removed from the framework.  Open Frameworks must have a minimum of 2 suppliers.

 

Dynamic Markets (DM’s)

A DM works very similarly to a Framework but has a few important differences.

Tenderers may register for inclusion on a DM by self-certifying their credentials. Note - this process may vary for a special regime contract. All suppliers who have been appointed to a DM will normally be invited to participate in further competition exercises in line with any specific requirements save for being procured under a special regime. Further competition submissions will be evaluated with the likely winning supplier being asked to submit all of the supporting evidence to validate their initial self certification submission prior to being formally awarded the contract. Requirements in each DM may differ slightly with each one also clearly specifying how work will be awarded. A DM normally runs for a longer period than a Framework with the details clearly stated in each individual one. A DM will normally have an initial deadline date for suppliers to apply but will then reopen for new suppliers to apply at any time during the term of the DM.

 

Contracts

Tenders that are advertised will normally follow the Open Procedure or Competitive Flexible Procedure.

An Open Procedure means that any company which has expressed an interest in a tender will automatically be able to access the Invitation to Tender Documents and submit a tender.  This information will then be considered together with your tender bid. All tenders will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria stated in each tender and a subsequent contract award made to the winning supplier.

A Competitve Flexible Procedure may include a number of steps such as a Supplier Selections Stage, Presentations, Negotiations/Dialogue etc.  The full procedure detailing all stages and pass requirements will be included in the Invitation To Tender documents published along with the Tender Notice (UK4 notice).  The Competitive Flexible Procedure will normally be used for more complex or strategic requirements that require further scrutiny of a bid before awarding.

 

Qualification - Supplier Acceptability

The Council uses the Welsh Government approved Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) to assess a supplier’s capability at the Qualification stage of the tender process. The PSQ contains a standard range of questions that allows the Council to identify suitably qualified, capable and experienced bidders for the procurement.  The PSQ is completed on the Governments Central Digital Platform (CDP) and an access code is requested for each tender exercise to give the Authority access to this information.  This removes the requirement for suppliers to answer the same questions for each tender exercise, however it is the suppliers responsibility to ensure this information is kept up to date.

These questions are generic but in some cases conditions of participation questions may be added to the qualification envelope of the tender . These must be proportionate to the value and risk of the procurement. Use of the PSQ is intended to ensure a consistent process is applied for both buyer and supplier across the wider public sector. You will use your PSQ response to indicate whether your organisation can meet the requirements of the procurement exercise.

Examples of some of the areas covered in the PSQ on the Central Digital Platform are listed below:

• Basic information about your organisation
• Basic Economic and Financial Standing
• Connected person information (these are persons with the right to exercise, or who actually exercise, significant influence or control over the supplier, or over whom the supplier has the right to exercise, or actually exercises, significant influence or control over, for example: directors, majority shareholders and parent and subsidiary companies)
• Exclusion grounds information (this includes exclusion information about the supplier and its connected persons) Has your Organisation been found guilty of any practices that would cause it to be an excluded/excludable supplier or have been placed onto the debarment list

Examples of some of the areas covered in the PSQ within Conditions of Participation are listed below:

• Further Economic and Financial standing – You will be asked to provide general financial information, your DUNS number or audited accounts and relevant insurance details.  You must have Public Liability Insurance and Employers’ Liability Insurance, if applicable.  Depending upon the nature of the contract you may have to have Product Liability Insurance and / or Professional Indemnity Insurance.
• Capacity and Capability – You will be asked to detail your main business activities and examples of relevant experience.  You may be asked whether you meet standards such as the Welsh Language Measure.
• Management – You will be asked to detail any Quality Management System you operate, Environmental Standards you meet and how you review your performance
• Sustainability – You may be asked questions regarding your organisation’s commitment to environmental matters.
• Health and Safety – Your Health and Safety arrangements, including your Health and Safety Policy if you have more than five employees, with additional questions if your project falls under the CDM regulations.

 

Technical – Quality

This section includes questions that are specific to the procurement being undertaken and are almost always scored. Detailed information on the scores available will be included within the tender documentation together with any relevant pass thresholds. This is an important opportunity for you as a bidder to ensure that you provide clear and detailed information which addresses all of the points detailed in the questions. The minimum pass threshold may be an overall pass threshold for the quality score or a minimum pass threshold applied to each individual question.  It is important for bidders to note that where there is a minimum pass threshold stated for each question, any failure to meet that threshold for one question will result in the whole of your tender bid being rejected, irrespective of your score for the remaining questions. Please read the instructions and questions for each tender carefully and address all elements requested.  Some questions have limited word counts or page counts should tenderers exceed the limit then the remaining information will not be evaluated and this could impact your tender score. Your total score in this section will form part of the tender evaluation with full details included in the tender documentation. Please do not make any assumptions as to evaluators knowledge of your organisation – evaluators can only score what is submitted on paper or, as part of any other evaluation mechanism included within a competitive flexible procedure.

 

Commercial - Price

The third and final element of the tender process is the price submitted. Please ensure you have clearly understood our requirement and that the price you submit is sustainable for your business. Your total score in this section will form part of the tender evaluation with full details included in the tender documentation. Please take care in this section also as a non-compliant or an unsustainable price may also result in your bid being rejected.

 

Tender Documentation

The Bravo e-tendering portal will typically consist of the following documents but there may be others depending on the type of procurement being undertaken:

• ITT (Instructions to Tenderers)
• Specification of our Requirements
• Pricing Schedule
• General Terms and Conditions and Contract Documents
• Drawings (if applicable) contract terms and conditions 

Tender documents can contain various attachments and appendices and contain a lot of detail.  This is not intended to discourage you from tendering for business but is to ensure that you are equipped with all appropriate information to be able to submit a compliant bid. If you have any queries regarding the documents do not be afraid to ask for help or guidance by submitting a question through the messaging facility in the tender portal. We would encourage all bidders to ask a question rather than assume the incorrect interpretation.

 

Tender Deadline

You will be asked to complete and return your tender submission electronically by a given time and date. All tender submissions are opened by the Council at the same time, very soon after the tender deadline date has elapsed. If you fail to submit your tender by the specified deadline your tender will be excluded from the evaluation process. Please allow sufficient time to complete your bid. Do not leave your bid submission to the last minute.

 

Business Wales Support

Business Wales offers tenderers support in the tender process. Their contact details can be found later in this guide.

 

Tender Evaluation

Tenders are normally evaluated by a panel comprising of officers from the relevant Service area(s) and facilitated by at least one officer from Procurement to ensure a fair and transparent process. Contracts are normally awarded on the basis of the Most Advantageous Tender (MAT) which is assessed on a combination of quality and price, both of which are weighted to best suit the particular requirement. i.e. a tender may have a 60% quality preference and a 40% price preference. This is always specified within the Invitation to Tender documentation along with the quality criteria, which are weighted in order of importance. Any minimum pass thresholds are also clearly stated.

 

Contract Award

Both the successful and unsuccessful tenderers will be notified in writing of the award decision. For above threshold procurements, the Procurement Act 2023 will apply with the initial award notification being subject to a minimum standstill period of 8 working days. If your bid is unsuccessful the notification will include the award criteria, your score and the score of the winning tenderer together with the assessment summaries which include rational for the score given.

Payment

BACS

All the partners have prompt payment targets and are committed to paying all undisputed invoices within 30 days, or 10 days where appropriate.

The Welsh Purchase Card

An alternative form of payment is by Purchase Card with this being included in some tenders as the preferred method of payment or in some cases as a mandatory requirement. Many suppliers also like to be paid in this way irrespective of the contract requirement as it provides the quickest payment method and improves cash flow.

The Welsh Purchase Card is a charge card that is used by most public sector bodies in Wales as their preferred payment method for many low value goods/services.

To join the Purchase Card Programme your business will need to be able to accept Purchase Card transactions and be "VAT Capable" at either Line Item Detail or Summary Vat level. Please contact procurement@pembrokeshire.gov.uk for further support and information.

Wellbeing and Ethical Trading in the Supply Chain

Wellbeing Of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015

We strive to deliver the goals of the Well-being of future generations Wales Act 2015 through a holistic approach to our procurement processes and will include, where relevant, specific provision within our tender documents.

Ethical Employment in Supply Chains

The Code of Practice “ Ethical Employment in Supply Chains” has been established to help ensure workers in public sector supply chains in Wales are employed in a fair and ethical way. The scope of the Code of Practice covers procurement, supplier selection, tendering, contract management and supplier management.

Modern Day Slavery Act

Procurement has an important role to play in addressing Modern Slavery by ensuring that sourcing strategies enables the reward of suppliers with good employment practices rather than purchasing in a manner that drives the use of modern slavery practices.

Community Benefits

Pembrokeshire County Council is committed to promoting Sustainable Development through our policies, strategies and services, thus achieving best value for money in the widest sense. The aim is to build stronger communities, reduce social exclusion and poverty and encourage the development of the economy.

Furthermore, our duty to comply with the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 requires us to seek to improve the economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being of the County in all that we do. Therefore our commitment to pursuing Community Benefits through our procurement activity will support this aim by incorporating the Welsh Governments Community Benefits Measurement Tool into our tender process wherever possible .

The Community Benefit’s Measurement Tool has been developed to monitor and capture figures such as; Social Inclusion, Economic Inactivity in Targeted recruitment & training, supply chain initiatives, community initiatives, promotion of social enterprises & supported businesses, contribution to education, promoting environmental benefits & retention and training for the existing workforce into contracts.

Examples of such community benefits are:

• Targeted Recruitment & Training e.g. provide training and employment opportunities to economically inactive persons.
• Supply Chain Initiatives e.g. engage with local business, Small Medium Enterprises (SME’s and the Third Sector through “Meet the Buyer” events to increase subcontracting opportunities.
• Education Initiatives e.g. work with local schools and communities to help unemployed young persons gain work experience through apprenticeships or voluntary work.
• Community Initiatives e.g. contribute to existing Community Schemes/Funds.
• Environment Initiatives e.g. reduce waste to landfill.

Please note that Community Benefits can only be evaluated and scored (i.e. make up part of the award criteria) if they are core to the contract. If they are non-core then they will not form part of the evaluation, however they will be contractually binding.

Each specific tender exercise will clearly state whether Community Benefits have been included as a core or non-core requirement and how your response will be evaluated.

Tendering Do’s and Don’ts

Do's

• Check the deadline time and date for return of tenders.  Ensure you put enough time aside to complete the documentation.
• Ensure you answer all the questions in full as set, giving details of the specified requirements and providing evidence as indicated in the guidance.
• Ask for clarification if you are unsure on any part of the specification or have general queries in relation to tender documents, including contract terms and conditions. Clarification and other tender related queries must be submitted via the e-tender wales (Bravo) portal for all electronic tenders.

Don'ts

• Do not return your tender after the closing date or time as late tenders will not be considered unless in exceptional circumstances.
• Don’t “make up” the questions so you can include what you want in your response: we can only evaluate information that we have asked for.
• Don’t be put off by the documents, seek support e.g. from tender advisors, attending  supplier engagement events.
• Don’t submit prices which are so low that if awarded the contract you can’t actually supply the goods/services at that price to the quality specified.
• Do not assume that we know everything about your company and the goods and services that you provide. This is particularly applicable to companies who are currently or have previously contracted with the Authority. Tenders will be evaluated on your written submission and not any previous experience of dealing with us.

Please note that the Council has the right not to accept any tender which we think are abnormally low or unviable.

Further support contacts

Supplier relationship and general enquiries

Encourages SME’s and Third sector organisations to discuss particular development requirements and collaborative working opportunities as well as community benefits advice and guidance. To discuss further, please contact:  

supplierenquiriespembrokeshire.gov.uk@pembrokeshire.gov.uk

Sell2Wales 

A website whereby Welsh Public Sector opportunities are advertised. Registration to this website is free of charge. For further information, please contact:

Sell2Wales Helpline: Tel: 0800 222 9004 (English) 0300 6 03000 (Welsh)

Sell2wales (opens in a new tab)

Business Wales tendering service 

A service run by Welsh Government which supports businesses in their efforts to tender for private sector contracts, or to help them navigate the tendering process for public sector contracts. For further information and assistance, please contact:

Business Wales helpline

Tel: 0300 060 3000 - Lines are open 10am to 4pm Monday to Friday.

Business Wales (opens in a new tab)

Social Business Wales

A specialist team that can help organisations develop consortia and joint bidding. For further information, please contact:

Wales Co-operative centre

Tel: 0300 111 5050

Email: info@walescooperative.org

Wales Co-operative (opens in a new tab)

Pembrokeshire Association of Voluntary Services (PAVS) 

Exists to support and develop Pembrokeshire’s third sector. Working via Third Sector Support Wales, they are committed to increasing the knowledge and skills of the sector to ensure that groups and organisations in Pembrokeshire can make themselves sustainable and meet the needs of their communities. Their development officers can give you support in looking for funding for your organisation. Take a look at the Funding padlet (opens in a new tab) for latest funding updates or for further information, please contact:

Steffan Lemke-Elms

Social Enterprise Catalyst

Email: steffan.lemke-elms@pavs.org.uk

PAVS (opens in a new tab)

Pembrokeshire County Council

Procurement service

County Hall

Haverfordwest

Pembrokeshire

SA61 1TP

For general advice and guidance on completing tender documentation, for information about contracts or tender procedures or for help in understanding contract conditions. Assistance relating to any specific query in any of the above areas of work, please contact the relevant category manager as follows:

 

Highways and Transportation category / Corporate & ICT category

Donna Murphy – Category manager

Tel: 01437 771814

Email: Donna.murphy@pembrokeshire.gov.uk

 

Rosanne Veale – Procurement officer

Tel: 01437 775936

Email: Rosanne.veale@pembrokeshire.gov.uk

 

Construction and Waste category/Building maintenance & Facilities management category

Diane Hughes- Category manager

Tel: 01437 775640

Email: Diane.hughes@pembrokeshire.gov.uk

 

Katie Mullins – Procurement officer

Tel: 01437 775908

Email: Katie.mullins@pembrokeshire.gov.uk

 

Social Care category

Roxanne Kehoe – Category manager

Tel: 01437 775578

Email: Roxanne.kehoe@pembrokeshire.gov.uk

 

Hannah Hammersley – Procurement officer

Tel: 01437 775906

Email: Hannah.hammersley@pembrokeshire.gov.uk

 

Hywel Dda University Local Health Board

Katharine Fletcher

Procurement team

Tel: 01267 227636

Email: Katharine.fletcher@wales.nhs.uk

 

Ateb group

Dan Teale

Procurement manager

Tel: 01437 774764

Email: procurement@atebgroup.co.uk

 

Pembrokeshire college

Procurement and tendering manager

Tel: 01437 753264

Email: procurement@pembrokeshire.ac.uk

 

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park

Catrin Evans

Head of finance

Tel: 01646 624815

Email: catrine@pembrokeshirecoast.org.uk

Introduction

Tendering for public sector contracts is often seen as a daunting and onerous task with little chance of gaining any business. This guide aims to help potential suppliers in understanding how we purchase our goods, works and services. The guide provides a range of tips and advice on how to tender and should assist you in firstly finding out about our opportunities and then being able to bid for them.

How is Procurement Structured

In Financial Year 2022-23, Pembrokeshire County Council spent approximately £208 million (nett of Vat) on the procurement of a diverse range of goods, services and works from external organisations in the private and third sectors. We recognise the economic benefits of supporting local businesses and over 52% of our Procurement spend in this Financial Year was spent with businesses with a local base within Pembrokeshire.

This spend must be managed efficiently and effectively and it is the responsibility of the Procurement team to manage all of the Council’s procurement activities.

The Council uses a Category Management approach to procurement by grouping together related products and services across the entire Council into the nine categories set out as below.

Pembrokeshire CC 2022/23 Category Spend

• Adult Social Care - £83.1m (40%)
• Children’s Social Care - £8.8m (4%)
• Professional Services & Consultancy – £8.6m (4%)
• Building Maintenance - £15.7m (8%)
• Construction & Special Projects - £34m (16%)
• Facilities Management - £15.3m (8%)
• Corporate & ICT - £17m (8%)
• Highways & Parks – £8.2m (4%)
• Transport - £17m (8%)

How to find out about our Procurement Opportunities

Where and how public sector bodies in Pembrokeshire advertise their procurement opportunities is dependent upon the type, value and legal requirements for awarding such contracts.

The Council procures some of its services from National Frameworks but also runs a number of tender opportunities itself. All such opportunities over £25k offered by Pembrokeshire County Council are published on Sell2Wales (Opens in New Tab).