Public procurement law is changing. For guidance see The Procurement Act 2023: A short guide for suppliers as well as the Useful Links section below. If you are a supplier to us please email us with any questions commercial.services@merton.gov.uk
The Provider Selection Regime (PSR) came into force on 1 January 2024. We will now have to apply the PSR when procuring health care service contracts. For guidance, see PSR Statutory guidance.
Procurement rules
We are bound by public procurement laws that regulate how public sector procurement should be carried out. These rules now fall under the Procurement Act 2023 (including all corresponding Regulations), as well as the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement.
These are then supplemented by our contract standing orders which are procedural rules required by law for entering into contracts. Our complete rules for buying goods, services and works are contained in the Contract Standing Orders.
Tender procedures
There are different tender procedures and timeframes for each will depend on how complex the procurement is.
Quick quote
For Contracts under £5,000 (incl. VAT). There is no requirement to advertise the Contract opportunity publicly unless a Responsible Officer decides that advertising would provide better Value for Money. They can be conducted via email. Three written quotations are required, one to be from a local provider or a SME. A single quotation can be obtained if justified by Responsible Officer.
Request for quote (RFQ)
For Contracts, over £25,000 up to £170,000 (excl. VAT) - three written quotations via our e-Tendering Portal must be sought, unless the requirement is ‘urgent’ (as defined by law), or it can be demonstrated there is only one supplier capable of meeting the requirement. One of these three must be from a local provider / SME. Details of awarded contracts over £5,000 (incl. VAT) must be published on our Contract Register. Contracts procured and awarded after 24th February 2025 and that are over £30,000 (incl. VAT) must be published on Find A Tender Service. Contracts procured and awarded before this date under the previous Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015) must be published on Contracts Finder.
Open procedure tender
An advert will be published on the London Tenders Portal which will appear on the new enhanced Find a Tender Service. If you’re a potential supplier please ensure you register on the new Find a Tender Service as soon as possible. Suppliers who request tender documentation in response to advertisements will be invited to submit a tender. There is no restriction on who can submit tenders and all information will be provided at the point of tender and is made available to all suppliers.
As a local authority, we must consider exclusion grounds prior to assessing tenders but there is no longer a requirement to set conditions of participation, or selection criteria as they were previously known. Where conditions of participation are set, and a supplier fails to meet them, we are not obliged to consider the tender any further and the supplier cannot be awarded the contract.
The open tender procedure is normally used where the known marketplace is limited, and we need to seek out extra interest, or where the timetable does not allow for a more restricted tender procedure to be followed.
Competitive flexible procedure tender
The multi-stage procedures under the PCR 2015 have been consolidated into a single competitive tendering procedure, known as the competitive flexible procedure. This procedure provides contracting authorities with the opportunity and flexibility to design and undertake a bespoke multi-stage procurement process. However, in designing and conducting this procedure, regard must be given to the procurement objectives and meet the procedural requirements applicable to the competitive flexible procedure, such as time limits and transparency.
The Competitive Flexible Procedure may be suitable for:
- Standard requirements
- Simple requirements
- Niche requirements
- Complex requirements
- Innovative procurements
- Research and Development
- Design competitions / contests
We may use a selection stage to restrict the bidders to then invite to tender as part of a selection criteria. We may also use supplementary processes in designing this procedure including interviews, presentations, site visits, demos, negotiation, dialogue and many others.
Direct award
We may also directly award contracts to a single supplier to deliver a contract. Best Value still needs to be taken into account. Direct Awards may also be done via a Framework call off.
Direct Awards can be used when the requirements include:
- Prototypes and development
- Single supplier where only one supplier exists due to technical or IP reasons
- Purchase of any additional or repeat goods from existing suppliers
- Pursuant to regulations made by a Minister of the Crown
- Purchase of commodities
- Urgent requirements
There is a new transparency notice under the Procurement Act which we must publish prior to a contracting authority making a direct award.
Framework agreements
Like many local authorities, we use a range of framework agreements that are available to the public sector. Details of ones we’ve used in the past can be found on our Contracts Register.
Under the Procurement Act, Open Frameworks are a new procurement tool which can allow suppliers to be added to Frameworks during the life of the Framework. If we establish one, a notice will be placed on the Central Digital Platform (Find a Tender Service - register and sign up for alerts from London Borough of Merton).
Tender assessment
Tender evaluation criteria are agreed by the relevant authorised officers and published with the tender documentation. Winning tenders must be that which is the ‘Most Advantageous Tender’ to the authority's requirements. Possible criteria may include price, quality of goods or services, social value, total cost of ownership, running costs, technical merit, delivery of milestones, cost effectiveness, savings initiatives, relevant environmental considerations, aesthetic and functional characteristics, safety, warranties, technical assistance and any other relevant matters. The award of a contract must satisfy our legal responsibility to achieve Value for Money. The scoring criteria for tenders will be published with the tender documents.
Quotations and tendering
The method of procurement we use depends on the estimated or actual value of the contract. Currently our thresholds are set to:
- Up to £25,000: we must get at least one quotation but advise to seek three, one of which should be from a local provider and/or SME;
- £25,001 to £169,999 + VAT: we must seek at least three written quotations, one of which should be from a local provider and/or SME and the opportunity should be advertised on Find a Tender Service, unless we use a Framework Provider;
- £170,000 or more + VAT: a competitive tendering exercise must be conducted led by our Commercial Services team.
All Bids must be submitted in writing via our e-Tendering portal, the London Tenders Portal.
Public Procurement Thresholds
Where contracts are equal to or above the public procurement thresholds, the procedures set down in legislation and revised by Government through Procurement Policy Notes (PPNs) must be used, all values must be inclusive of the relevant VAT % that applies to the goods or services being procured:
- Goods and Services - £214,904
- Light Touch Regime, Social and Other Specific Services - £663,540
- Works and Concessions - £5,372,609
Thresholds are generally updated every 2 years and were last updated 1 January 2024
Terms and Conditions
The terms and conditions for each contract opportunity will be uploaded to the London Tenders portal together with the Quick Quote, Request for Quotes, or Invitation to Tender. For simple, low value procurements our standard purchase order terms and conditions will be used: Purchase order terms and conditions