Does the council use framework agreements?
For certain goods and services the council may carry out framework agreements with a number of suppliers. Under these the council can 'call off' those goods and services at pre-agreed rates, at a suitable time.
Framework agreements set out the broad terms and conditions on which the call off contracts are based upon. They can have a single supplier or multiple suppliers and for a maximum of up to 4 years, as per the Public Contract Regulations 2015.
The selection of suppliers within these agreements will depend on all of the rules governing advertising, invitations to tender, qualification and evaluation. Selection of the supplier for a specific contract from a framework agreement may be subject to a further competition. This means conducting an exercise among those suppliers appointed to the framework agreement.
The council also uses frameworks from other buying consortiums including the National Procurement Service, Crown Commercial Service and ESPO. This helps us to buy goods and services to gain best value.
Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS)
This is similar to a framework agreement but allows new suppliers to join throughout the DPS if the supplier meets the selections criteria. There is a different process to follow and the council will be clear within tender documents if we are using one of these agreements. We will also give full guidance to suppliers.