Is The Public Sector For You?

Presented by

Phil AdamsPASS Consultant

BiP Solutions Limited

Understanding thePublic Sector Marketplace

Defining the Market

• In 2009-10 total public sector expenditure was £669bn

– Pay made up £164bn

– Grants made up £242bn

– Procurement was £236bn

• Total public sector expenditure in this tax year (2011-2012) is estimated by the Treasury to be £702bn

• There are in excess of 44,000 public sector bodies in the UK across sectors such as Central Government, Local Government, Health, Education, MOD, Police, Fire, Housing Associations, etc

• 250,000+ Contracting Authorities in Europe

Regulatory Mechanisms

• WTO Government Procurement Agreement 1994

• EU Treaty of Amsterdam 1997

• EU Directives 2004/18/EC and 2004/17/EC

• UK or Scottish Public Contracts Regulations 2006

• Remedies Directive 2007 and Public Contracts (Amendment) Regulations 2009

• Public Procurement (Miscellaneous Amendments)Regulations 2011

• The Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011

• Case Law

• The EU Treaty is binding on Member States and their public bodies.

• The Treaty requires them to remove all barriers to the free movement of goods and services in the EU.

• The key Treaty principles are non-discrimination, equality of treatment and transparency.

• Other principles of the Treaty from EU law are mutual recognition and proportionality.

EU Treaty

Scottish Public Sector Procurement

Category A

Category B

Category C1

National Procurement

Where a single interface with the public sector facilitates efficiency and competitiveness of suppliers.

e.g. IT HW, Telecoms, Office Equipment & Supplies

Sector Specific SPCD

APUC; Scotland Excel; NHS National Procurement

Regional Collaboration at local levele.g. Tayside Consortium

Where interface coordinated via a sector Centre of

Expertise. e.g. Wheelie bins, Medical Equipment

Category C

Where interface coordinated via regional hub or

local organisation

SPCD

Local 185 Major procuring organisations; in excess of 900 in total

Key Procurement Issues

Non-OJEU Procurement

Transparency applies to:

– Low value (under the EC Directive thresholds)

– Concession contracts (non-works)

– Contracts for Annex II B Services

– Works Contracts under EC thresholds

• Every contract not covered by OJEU publication requirements

• OJEU allows for non-OJEU contracts to be advertised through the Official Journal.

OJEU Thresholds

2012-2013 2010-2011 £ £

Supplies & Part A Services- Central Govt/NHS 113,057 101,323- Local Govt, bgpl* 173,934 156,442- Defence and Security 347,868 N/A

Part B Services 173,934 156,442

Works 4,348,350 3,927,260

* Bodies governed by public law

2012-2013 2010-2011

£ £Prior Information Notices- Supplies/Services 652,253 607,935- Works 4,348,350 3,927,260

Small Lots Provision- Supplies & Services 69,574 64,846- Works 869,670 810,580

• Open (any undertaking may tender)

• Restricted (any undertaking can apply to be selected to be invited to tender)

• Negotiated with or without a call for competition and Competitive Dialogue (any undertaking can apply to be

selected to participate)

• Accelerated restricted/negotiated (for use only in exceptional circumstances of

urgency not of the contracting authority’s making)

EU Procurement Procedures

Timescales

Procedure Process Min Timescale

Open Tender 52 days (36 with PIN)

Restricted Expression of Interest 37 daysTender 40 days (36 with

PIN)

Restricted Accelerated Expression of Interest 15 daysTender 10 days

Negotiated Expression of Interest 37 days

Negotiated Accelerated Expression of Interest 15 days

Competitive Dialogue Expression of Interest 37 days

Selection Criteria

• Mandatory Exclusions

• Optional Exclusions

• Economic and Financial Standing

• Technical and Professional Ability

• Comparable Contracts

• Quality Assurance

• Environmental Standards

• Policies

• Contract Specific Questions

What Cannot Be Done

• Contracting authorities should not:

– ask for evidence that is not directly linked to the subject of the contract.

– ask about candidates’ general policies, where this goes beyond what is necessary to assess the candidates’ capacity to perform the particular contract.

Contracting authorities may require economic operators to provide additional information to clarify that information already provided.

Any information that is requested can be assumed, by the courts, to have been taken into account, even if only the relevant aspects of that information were considered.

Assessment of Tenders

Award Criteria

Lowest Price

or

Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT)

MEAT Criteria

• Quality, price, technical merit, aesthetic and functional characteristics, environmental characteristics, running costs, cost-effectiveness, after sales service, technical assistance, delivery date/delivery period/period of completion.

Weightings

• All tenderers to be reasonably informed of the criteria and arrangements which will be applied to identify the most economically advantageous tender.

• Contracting authorities may derogate from indicating the relative weighting of the award criteria in duly justified cases for which they must be able to give reasons where the weighting cannot be established in advance, in particular on account of the complexity of the contract

• In such cases, they must indicate the descending order of importance of the criteria

Tender Evaluation

The appraisal of tenders will cover a variety of aspects including:

• Priorities of the requirement (e.g. quality of service more important than innovation, etc)

• Technical assessment

• Commercial assessment

• Critical success factors

• High-level criteria for both quantifiable and non-quantifiable items

Debriefing

• It is government policy that unsuccessful tenderers for all public contracts should be informed of the position without delay.

• Contracting authorities are also recommended to release related general information to unsuccessful tenderers on request.

• Suppliers may be informed if they failed on price grounds. However, they are not entitled to have details of other tenders (including prices) disclosed to them as a matter of routine.

Standstill Notice

• 10 day timescale for notification by electronic means (email or fax), 15 for other means (non electronic)

• Authority must provide “award decision notice” to bidders at start of standstill

• A “summary of reasons” must be provided

Contents of Notice

• Criteria for award

• Reasons for the decision (including the characteristics and relative advantages of the successful tender)

• Scores of recipient and winner

• Name of winner

• Precise statement of end of standstill/date before which contract will not be entered into

NOTE, if the notice is sent to a candidate, rather than a tenderer, the candidate is to be told why he was unsuccessful, but not

the relative advantages of the winning tenderer

Improving Your Chances Of Success

BASIC TIP #1

• Know that public sector is a regulated market

• Stay alert• Read OJEU• Visit websites

• Know the CPV codes relevant to you and use them

• Express your interest• In time• In the way required

BASIC TIPS #2

When you receive PQQ or ITT documents:

– First thing to do: Read the instructions

– Second thing: Read them again

– Third: Get someone else to read them

– Finally: Before returning tenders, read instructions one more time and make sure you have complied with them

BASIC TIPS #3

• Ask about the markings and weightings

– If weighting is not revealed, ask about order of priority

• Ask about budget

• Ask about disqualifying criteria

– Especially turnover

• Be sure to provide all submissions and answer all questions

• Quantify your questionnaire answers as far as possible

BASIC TIPS #4

• Verify acceptability of variations

• Do not do the most important work close to the deadline

• Remember to identify ‘Added Value’ issues

• Do not be late in delivering

• Send the number of hard copies asked for

• Give early thought to Terms and Conditions of contract

BASIC TIPS #5

If offered a tender meeting:

– Take only key personnel – not sales team or window dressing

– Arrive on time – but expect to run late and stick strictly to the given timetable

– If using presentation tools – know how to operate them

– Ensure your presentation team know the tender and each other

– Don’t interrupt own team members

– Don’t make rash promises

BASIC TIPS #6

After contract award

• Always ask for a debrief, whether you win or lose

• Ask about range of scores and where your bid came within that range

• Similarly, ask for the range of prices

• Note when procurement will be due for re-tender

• If you have difficulty getting information, consider using FoISA

Final Pointers

• Don’t believe the PQQ/ITT is correct – ASK questions if in any doubt

• Identify any problems early and discuss

• Always show how and why your tender provides good VfM

• Be positive and professional

Q&A

Thank You