Business Need and High Level Options

The guidance under this heading covers the following issues:

Central Unit on Procurement (CUP) Guidance

The website sets the current 4 guides in tabular form. These documents were produced some years ago when CUP formed part of Treasury, a number of the guides have been withdrawn and some have been superseded by other guidance such as the Achieving Excellence Guides.

Central Purchasing Bodies

(pdf, 185kb)
Published by OGC. The public procurement Directives include specific provisions on Central Purchasing Bodies – see Article 11 of the Public Sector Directive (2004/18/EC)1 and Article 29 of the Utilities Directive (2004/17/EC)2. These were implemented by Regulation 22 of the Public Contracts Regulations 20063 and Regulation 21 of the Utilities Contracts Regulations 20064, which came into force on the 31 January 2006. This guidance is not intended as a substitute for project specific legal

Collaborative Opportunities Website

This website includes Best Practice guidance, discussion forums, news items, Frequently Asked Questions and links to other useful sites.

OGC and HM Treasury joint guidance on how to use the Competitive Dialogue procedure.

Contract Management Guidelines

(pdf, 622kb)
These guidelines cover the issues involved in managing long-term service contracts following contract award. The main areas covered are managing service delivery (formal governance), managing the relationship, contract administration, seeking performance improvements, and managing changes. This guidance does not cover the process of creating a commercial arrangement.

Debriefing – Supplier Debriefing

(pdf, 200kb)
This guidance assists all of those involved in debriefing by outlining the rationale, setting out a possible approach and providing more detailed suggestions about the debriefing session itself. The guidance is generic and can be adapted by departments.

Dispute Resolution Guidance

(pdf, 643kb)
This guide shows that it is in everyone's interest to work at avoiding disputes in the first place and mirrors the Government's emphasis on improving relationships between the client and supplier through teamwork and partnering.  Specific advice is provided on managing the problem, negotiating a settlement, helping preserve relations and maintaining value for money.

Effective Partnering

This guidance aims to show that partnering is an immensely powerful tool that can contribute to successful project and programme outcomes and deliver significant improvements in value for money.

Efficiency in Government Procurement

(pdf, 365kb)
This study was commissioned in January 1998 by the Ministerial Cabinet Committee on Public Expenditure (PX) to take forward efficiency issues in procurement arising from the Government's Comprehensive Spending Reviews.

E-Government – Measuring the Expected Benefits

(pdf, 861kb)
This guidance is provided to help government departments and other public sector bodies think about these benefits: how they can quantify them; how they will realise them; and how they will identify the associated risks when they are developing their business cases.

Environmental Issues in Purchasing

(pdf, 358kb)
This guide, produced by OGC and DEFRA, is intended to show how it is possible to consider environmental issues in purchasing and how it can be most effectively achieved. In particular, it aims to explain clearly the scope to take environmental issues into account within the framework of the Government’s procurement policy and the EC procurement rules.

e-Procurement (a Guide to eProcurement for the Public Sector)

(pdf, 772kb)
This is a report on research conducted two years ago by OGC into the potential offered by electronic procurement to improve the way that government engages commercially with its suppliers.

EU Procurement Thresholds - from 01 January 2010

The EU Procurement Rules apply to public authorities (including, amongst others, Government departments, local authorities and NHS Authorities and Trusts) and certain utility companies operating in the Energy, Water, Transport and Telecoms sectors. The rules set out detailed procedures for the award of contracts whose value equals or exceeds specific thresholds.

Fair and Ethical Trading

(pdf, 263kb)
Published by OGC. The EU Procurement Directives set out the legal framework for public procurement. They apply when public authorities and utilities seek to acquire supplies, services, or works (e.g. civil engineering or building). They set out procedures which must be followed before awarding a contract when its value exceeds set thresholds, unless it qualifies for a specific exclusion - e.g. on grounds of national security.

Finding and Procuring Innovative Solutions

(pdf, 527kb)
Published by OGC. Public Procurement can be a catalyst for innovation, creativity and design. This guidance provides a selection of evidence based practical approaches in line with European Union (EU) rules and value for money policy. It has been developed for policy makers, procurers and end users within the public sector who want to seek and, where appropriate, procure innovative solutions to help meet their needs more effecively.

Framework Agreements

(pdf, 927kb)
Published by OGC. This document provides guidance on the conclusion of contracts under multiple framework agreements.

The current financial relationship does not always allow for the best possible outcomes to be achieved. This Code aims to influence behaviour in both the voluntary and community sector and Government to achieve this vision. The Code does this through:

• setting a framework for the financial relationship; and

• setting out undertakings for both sides, based on what each can expect from the other.

Government Procurement Code of Good Practice for Customers and Suppliers (The)

(pdf, 114kb)
This code sets out the core values and behaviour for all members of central civil government’s supply chain: both government organisations and their suppliers.  It encourages all participants to work together openly and co-operatively.  It also represents a commitment that they are serious about wanting to be better customers and better suppliers, within relationships that can bring mutual reward.

Green Public Private Partnership (PPP)

(pdf, 278kb)
This guidance explains why you need to take green issues seriously and how best to reflect legitimate environmental considerations in the objectives of a scheme. It also points you to sources of advice and practical help.

Introduction to the EU Rules

(pdf, 282kb)
Published by OGC. The EU Procurement Directives set out the legal framework for public procurement. They apply when public authorities and utilities seek to acquire supplies, services, or works (e.g. civil engineering or building). They set out procedures which must be followed before awarding a contract when its value exceeds set thresholds, unless it qualifies for a specific exclusion - e.g. on grounds of national security.

Liability in Government Contracts

This note provides guidance to Contracting Authorities on the issues which need to be considered in deciding whether, and to what extent, contractor liability should be limited or excluded in Government contracts. It makes clear that limiting or excluding liability is a matter to be considered in each case on its merits.

Mandatory exclusion of Economic Operators

(pdf, 198kb)
Published by OGC. The new public sector and utilities procurement directives as implemented by the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 and Utilities Contracts Regulations 2006 include a new mandatory requirement for contracting authorities to exclude economic operators from public contracts where they have been convicted of certain offences.

Non Disrcimination in Technical Specifications

(pdf, 1.2mb)
Published by OGC. The aim of this guidance is to help contracting authorities draw up contract documents that comply with the EU rules on Non-Discrimination. Contracting Authorities failing to comply with the rules are at serious risk of incurring domestic legal proceedings and/or EU infraction proceedings.

Private Finance Initiative / Public Private Partnership (PFI/PPP)

Treasury has a website which includes guidance on PFI, as they now lead on PFI/PPP guidance.

The topics covered in this module are based largely on the contents of the rest of the Toolkit, but some additional areas are also addressed. This briefing primarily provides external sources to supplement the individual briefings in the rest of the Toolkit. The topics are:

Procurement Lifecycle

OGC’s website, Successful Delivery Toolkit, Procurement Lifecycle includes a comprehensive hexagonally designed map of the component tasks within the procurement process.  This sets out the process for acquisition within EC procurement rules; sets the foundation for subsequent contract management of delivery of services/works and relationships with suppliers.

Quality Costs

(pdf, 380kb)
This guidance is provided in CUP Note No. 29.  It identifies the costs incurred in managing quality in a Purchasing and Supply Unit and the potential savings which accrue if the work carried out by the unit is ‘right first time’.  It is directed at purchasing activities but the principles can be extended to other areas such a storage or delivery to the end user of the product or service that has been purchased.

Quality Assurance

(pdf, 107kb)
This guidance is provided in CUP Note No. 46.  It provides advice on how quality assurance methods and techniques can be used to achieve the best possible result whether being read by a customer or a supplier.

Smaller Supplier... Better Value

(pdf, 1.86mb)
This booklet outlines the advantages of dealing with small firms, as well as exploring some of the barriers they can experience when competing for public sector contracts. It also identifies some things that can be done to enable those SMEs offering value for money to secure contracts.

Published by OGC. The guidance focuses on the different stages of the procurement process, and the way social issues can legitimately be incorporated into the purchasing cycle.

Supported Factories and Businesses

(pdf, 856kb)
Published by OGC. Article 19 of the new public sector procurement Directive states: “Reserved Contracts Member states may reserve the right to participate in public contract award procedures to sheltered workshops or provide for such contracts to be performed in the context of sheltered employment programmes where most of the employees concerned are handicapped persons who, by reason of the nature or the seriousness of their disabilities, cannot carry on occupations under normal conditions.

This Good Practice Guide supports the Small Business (SME) Friendly Concordat (Statement of Principles), which has been prepared for Local Authorities in support of the National Procurement Strategy for Local Government.

The Guide provides examples of good practice and explains how Local Authorities can frame and deliver their procurement strategies in accordance with the principles of the Concordat. The Concordat is a statement of principles that Local Authorities can deliver in ways that suit their local circumstances.

Home Office guidance which the primary focus is to improve the participation of the VCS in public service contracts, it is also highly relevant to procurement relationships with small and medium size enterprises (SMEs), and black and minority ethnic enterprises (BMEs).

(pdf, 2.2mb)
Published by OGC. This guidance provides key questions you should ask through the procurement process

Value for Money (VFM) Measurement

This guidance describes the methodologies for quantifying value for money (VFM) gains from procurement activity in central civil government in England.

Value for Money (VFM) in Procurement – The Role of Auditors

(pdf, 1.03mb)
This guidance covers the following issues: