The prospects of tendering with a large and complex organisation can be daunting for some companies who are new to the process. This guide to tendering explains what is involved in an easy to understand way. The trust has to openly advertise all contract opportunities where the value of the contract is likely to be above the threshold as follows:
Procurement Thresholds
The thresholds to which the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 apply, change every two years. The latest change is effective from 1 January 2024.
The current Procurement Policy Note (PPN 11/23) covering the details can be found on the gov.uk website.
As a Foundation Trust, we are categorised as a Central Government Body and the following thresholds apply to our procurement activity:
Supplies and Services £139,688
Works £5,372,609
Light Touch Regime £663,540
The thresholds apply to the total value of the contract over its full term (plus extension options) and, in a change to previous practice made on 1 January 2022, these values now include VAT as part of the consideration. All activity above the relevant threshold is advertised as an open tender on the UK Find a Tender service unless the requirement is being procured through an existing PCR compliant framework.
Bribery Act 2010
‘It is an offence under the Bribery Act 2010 both for anyone to receive, be offered or to offer any financial or other advantage to another person in order to induce a person to perform improperly or reward any person for improper performance of a function or activity. This includes breaches in expected performance. A breach of this Act renders employees liable to prosecution and may also lead to loss of their employment. It is also an offence under Section 3 of the Fraud Act 2006 for an employee to fail to disclose information to an employer to make a gain for themselves or another or to cause a loss or expose the Trust to the risk of loss. Additionally, Section 4 of the same Act provides that it is also an offence for an employee who occupies a position in which they are expected to safeguard or not act against the financial interests of the Trust, to abuse that position to cause a loss or expose the Trust to the risk of loss’.
