Brooke Weston Trust. Trust Handbook: Policies and Procedures. Procurement Policy. Associated Policies Charging and Remissions

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1 Title Procurement Policy Associated Policies Charging and Remissions REVIEWED: NEXT REVIEW: 1. Policy statement 1.1 This policy (Policy) sets out the rules by which The Brooke Weston Trust (the Trust) spends money, and explains the Trust's approach to the purchase of goods, works and services for its schools (the Academies or Academy ). The Trust is obliged to comply with the Academies Financial Handbook, funding agreements with the Department for Education (DfE), any DfE guidance and the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 (the Regulations). 2. Who does this policy apply to? 2.1 This Policy is mandatory and applies to everybody in the Trust and Academies who is responsible for purchasing whether as an employee or contractor. This Policy applies to any contract which results in a payment being made by the Trust or an Academy. 3. Who is responsible for carrying out this policy? What are the principles behind this policy? 4.1 The basic underlying principle is that more detailed rules apply for higher value contracts. Not all purchasing will require a competitive procurement process. 4.2 All suppliers in a competition should be treated in a way which ensures equality of treatment, nondiscrimination and transparency, for example: all bidders must be given the same information at the same time, and no bidder should be treated more favourably than another; and there must be clear and transparent timescales, requirements, specifications and deadlines to comply with any competition. 5. Procedures 5.1 The details of the individuals authorised to enter into contracts for the Trust are set out at Appendix 1. This list is updated from time to time by the Trust Finance Director For High Value and Upper Threshold Contracts (as set out below), approval must be sought from the Trust Finance Director. Check with the Trust Finance Director whether any other Academies or departments in the Trust need to make the same purchase. If so, such spend should be included within the same contract.

2 Consider how the purchase is going to be sourced. Can the Trust use an existing framework agreement (see section 0 below), or can another Academy provide the requirement without needing a procurement process? As a minimum requirement, you must set out clearly what you want to buy. This means knowing in advance what you want the goods, works or services to do, together with the quantity, maximum cost and delivery / completion requirements. The Trust may divert from this Policy where the contract is required in cases of extreme urgency for reasons not caused by the Trust or Academy. This exemption should only be relied upon with express written consent from the Trust Finance Director. 6. Using existing framework arrangements 6.1 Wherever possible, the Trust should avoid running its own procurement processes, and instead use an existing framework arrangement Examples include those set up by Pro5, Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation and Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation. More information can be found on the DfE website: In each case, it is important that: the Trust is entitled to call off from the arrangement; the specification and the contract terms are suitable for your particular needs. The terms and conditions from frameworks are set in advance and cannot be changed beyond the mechanism set out in the framework; and you follow the framework's guidance, particularly about how orders should be placed. 7. Making the purchase 7.1 Different rules apply depending on the value of the purchase you want to make. 7.2 If your contract is of a value which exceeds the Upper Threshold, the EU Rules will apply and you must follow the procedure set out in section 0 of this Policy. Value of spend [Up to 5,000] [ 5,001 to 75,000] [Over 75,001] Over EU threshold (see Appendix 2) 8. Valuing your contract 8.1 It is important that contracts are properly assessed for value. In particular, you must not deliberately divide one contract into smaller contracts with the effect of avoiding the Regulations The contract value is based on the total value of the spend which is the subject of the procurement. All Academies' needs should be combined into one procurement if they are the same or similar. If you do not know what your exact spend is going to be over the life of the contract, you should take an average annual spend and multiply by the estimated duration of the contract. If a service contract is for four years or more, the value is estimated by multiplying the amount it is expected will be paid each month by Credit cards

3 Trust credit cards should only be used for low value, one off spend which cannot be procured through an alternative means. Credit cards are not a suitable method to procure repeat items or higher value goods. The maximum spend for any one item on a Trust credit card is 500. Any amounts over 500 can only be made with prior approval from the Trust Finance Director. Full receipts must be submitted in respect of any credit card purchase. 10. Low Value transactions 10.1 For all transactions with a total value of less than 5,000 exclusive of VAT, competitive quotes are not needed but a written quotation must be obtained from the supplier(s) [before a purchase order can be issued. 11. Medium Value transactions 11.1 For medium value transactions, a business case should be produced by the Academies Business Manager and considered by the Trust Finance Director There are two approaches for medium value transactions: Lowest price only - at least three written quotations must be obtained before a purchase order or contract is issued. You must provide a specification of the purchase in advance which must include as a minimum: a statement that the Trust or Academy will buy the lowest priced only item; a description of the requirement; the quantity needed; the timescale for the provision or completion; and the deadline for submission of the quotation Price and quality - at least three written quotations must be obtained before a purchase order or contract is issued. You must provide a specification of the purchase in advance which must include as a minimum: a statement setting out what the Trust or Academy wants to achieve from the purchase; the evaluation criteria which will be used to evaluate the tenders received, including disclosure of the criteria, sub criteria and weightings that will be applied to select the best bidder(s). This is a complex area and you should check with the Purchasing Manager if you are unsure ; a description of the requirement; the quantity needed; and the timescale for provision or completion 12. High Value transactions 12.1 Prior to any High Value transaction, the Academies Business Manager must produce a business case for the approval of the Trust Finance Director 12.2 An advertisement must be placed to seek expressions of interest from all interested bidders. The decision about where to advertise must be taken on a case-by-case basis and should be proportionate and reasonable. Such advertising could include, for example, the Trust's or Academy's website. Relevant trade journals and newspapers should also be considered.

4 Bidders must be allowed suitable time to respond to the advertisement. This should be clearly set out together with any submission requirements. Bidders requesting more information should be sent a tender pack. This should contain the information about the requirement and needs, together with the information required from bidders. This will need to be bespoke in each case but could include, for example: details of pricing; details of method statements; details of product characteristics; the evaluation criteria which will be used to evaluate the tenders received, including disclosure of the criteria, sub criteria and weightings that will be applied to select the best bidder(s). This is a complex area and you should check with the Trust Finance Director if you are unsure; a draft contract. 13. Upper Threshold 13.1 The Regulations must be followed whenever the total value of the contract exceeds the Upper Threshold. This is a complex area and you should agree with the Trust Finance Director whether any legal or financial support is required with the process Certain services contracts (including catering and education) are known as "Part B" services contracts. The common services which are Part B are listed in Appendix 2. Part B contracts should be let using the procedure for High Value transactions with one important distinction. If the subject matter of what is being purchased is likely to be of interest to suppliers based elsewhere in the European Union, then it should be advertised more widely to reflect this. This should be done by placing a voluntary advert in the Official Journal of the European Union (please see section below for further detail). If this option is used, make it clear the advert is voluntary as the contract will otherwise be caught by the full extent of the Regulations. There are other types of contracts, in addition to those for Part B services, that are not caught in full by the Regulations.. A common example is the right to operate leisure facilities (where the profit is being collected directly by the provider). The same procedure as outlined for Part B services should be adopted for concessions. A contract award notice must be sent to the OJEU within 48 calendar days of the award of the contract. The key points to remember are: an advertisement will need to be sent to the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) to notify the EU market of the contract opportunity. Other adverts (for example, on the Trust's or Academy's website) must not appear before the OJEU notice and must be consistent with it; there are legal minimum timescales to allow bidders to request information about a procurement process and to complete each stage. It is important that these timescales are followed. They are set out in Appendix 2; bidders are entitled to understand all of the evaluation criteria, sub criteria and weightings to be used in the procurement process. Once any such criteria are set, they should not be changed;

5 bidders are entitled to certain information when they are excluded from a process; a minimum cooling off period of 10 calendar days (if the notification is electronic) or 15 calendar days (if by other means) must be left between notifying all bidders of the outcome of the procurement and entering into the contract ("mandatory standstill period".) Certain information about the procurement must be provided with the notification to bidders and you should liaise with the Trust Finance Director to ensure compliance with this important requirement; and a contract award notice must be sent to the OJEU within 48 calendar days of the award of the contract. 14. Rules on opening tenders 14.1 Every quotation for a Medium Value, High Value or Upper Threshold procurement may be: provided in hard copy, on CD ROM or via ; and in the case of hard copies and CD ROMs, must bear no external markings to identify the tenderer The Trust or Academy must keep tenders secure until the time specified for all tenders to be opened. tenders should be stored in a secure site. 15. Tender evaluation 15.1 For all procurements, an assessment of the mix of price factors and non-price factors may be taken into account. The evaluation approach requires the use of evaluation criteria which: are pre-determined and listed in the invitation to tender; are strictly followed at all stages through the process; include price; are relevant and proportionate to the subject matter of the contract; are capable of objective assessment; are weighted in accordance with the relative importance and weighting of the tenders; and avoid discrimination on the basis of the bidder's nationality or other discriminatory measure Where the approach set out in above is used, any contract must be awarded to the bidder which achieves the highest score in the objective assessment. For all procurements, an assessment of the mix of price factors and non-price factors may be taken into account. The evaluation approach requires the use of evaluation criteria which are pre-determined and listed in the invitation to tender; are strictly followed at all stages through the process 16. Contract Award 16.1 For all contracts, the outcome of the procurement must be recorded in writing and the Trust Finance Director must be notified of the outcome of the procurement A contract must only be signed by an authorised individual as set out in Appendix Audit Trail 17.1 For all purchases, a clear audit trail should be kept. The level of detail required will increase with the value of the procurement. For all purchases where the lowest cost is not adopted the reason for this must be documented. The written record should include, for example:

6 who was responsible for making the decision to procure, and details of their decision making process; full minutes of any meetings at which the procurement was discussed; who was responsible for evaluation of tenders, and details of the evaluation, if applicable who was responsible for receiving and checking the goods or services and for authorising and making payment. Note that in all cases the person responsible for the decision to procure must not be the same person who authorises payment; details of the purchase itself, for example, what was purchased, from whom and for what price In each case, the written record should include copies of all original documentation used during the procurement such as tender packs, quotes, contracts and invoices. For all purchases, a clear audit trail should be kept. The level of detail required will increase with the value of the procurement. For all purchases where the lowest cost is not adopted the reason for this must be documented. The written record should include, for example: who was responsible for making the decision to procure, and details of their decision making process; full minutes of any meetings at which the procurement was discussed; who was responsible for evaluation of tenders, and details of the evaluation, if applicable; 18. Dealing with conflicts of interest 18.1 Any interest which may affect the outcome of a procurement process must be declared. This includes all governors as well as authorised staff members as set out in Appendix A record of all such declared conflicts of interest must be sent to the Trust Finance Director who will determine what if any action can be taken to seek to remedy any such conflict of interest. No gifts or hospitality should be accepted by the Trust from any service provider as an inducement to award a contract to that supplier. This may be an offence under the provisions of the Bribery Act This includes free IT equipment. You must inform the Trust Finance Director immediately on becoming aware of any such gifts or hospitality. 19. Further information 19.1 You should always check with the Trust Finance Director if you are unsure This policy shall be reviewed annually by the Trust. Any changes will be communicated to all staff at the Trust and the Academies. 20. Policy review 20.1 This policy will be monitored as part of the Trust s annual internal review and reviewed on a three year cycle or as required by legislature changes.

7 Appendix 1 Up to 5,000 Budget Holder, Principal & Trust Finance Director 5,000 to 75,000 Budget Holder, Principal, Trust Finance Director & CEO 75,001 to 250,000 As above plus Finance Committee Over 250,000 Authority to accept other than lowest quotation or tender As above plus Board of Directors Trust Finance Director EU thresholds, procedures and timescales and services Tender thresholds in force from 1st January 2014: Supplies Services Works 172, ,514 4,322,012 Thresholds are net of VAT (These are updated every two years.) Tender procedures and periods Procedures Minimum response required Tendering period Open NA 52 days Restricted 37 days 40 days Competitive dialogue 37 days Not specified Negotiated 37 days Not specified Part B Services Catering services Legal services Personnel placement and supply services Investigation and security services Education and vocational education services Health and social services Recreational, cultural and sporting services