Contracting with NHS Borders
The Procurement Team manage the implementation of Public Sector contracts within NHS Borders. There are two centres of expertise in Scotland which award framework agreements and contracts on behalf of the Public Sector and also specifically NHS Scotland.
Category A: National Contracts for Goods and Services of a similar standard or nature
Procurement Scotland is the organisation tasked with implementing contracts and frameworks for National Category A goods and services on behalf of all Scottish Public bodies. NHS Borders are mandated to use these contracts.
Please click on the link below where you will find a detailed list of contracts awarded by Procurement Scotland and a Forward Plan detailing potential contracting opportunities.
http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Government/Procurement/directory
Category B: Commodities & Services that are unique to a specific Sector yet common within that Sector
National Procurement is the centre of procurement expertise for Health in Scotland, dealing with Category B commodities. The organisation is tasked with procuring and delivering a wide range of products and services which will support NHSS Health Boards in providing the highest levels of patient care and with promoting procurement reform within the sector, all underpinned with effective e-enabled technology solutions to allow Health Boards visibility and control of third party expenditure. NP seeks to deliver the highest levels of customer service while providing procurement savings which can be reinvested to the benefits of patients. NHS Borders are mandated to use these contracts.
Click here for a list of current live National Procurement Contracts.
Please follow the link below for further guidance on Tendering for Public Sector Contracts in the UK.
Category C: Local Contracting
These contracts are tendered and awarded on a local basis by and for NHS Borders.
Below is a list of all current live Contracts awarded by NHS Borders.
(list to follow)
Contracting Thresholds
Contracts between £15,000 and £50,000 goods and services
We seek a minimum of three quotes for contracts between the value of £15,000 and £50,000 for goods and services.
Contracts between £10,000 and £50,000 for Works (Construction)
We seek a minimum of three quotes for contracts between the value of £10,000 and £50,000 for Works (Construction) Contracts.
There is no formal selection process for suppliers for quotations and we use the quick quotes service within Public Sontracts Scotland to advertise these. Not all suppliers will receive a notification via the portal unless we have specifically targeted the suppliers for the quote.
You can register as a supplier on the Public Contracts Scotland website and will be notified of any suitable contracts which you can then apply for.
Contracts over £50,000 for Works (Construction), goods and services
These are advertised on the Public Contracts Scotland website. Interested suppliers must formally apply for these opportunities as they appear and applicants will be considered in terms of their capacity and capability to supply our requirements.
There are instances where we do not advertise contracts or may not seek to obtain competitive quotations/tenders. Such instances may include where timescales do not permit us doing so, where for reasons of continuity of supply or intellectual rights we need to commission a specific organisation or instances where only a known body of suppliers can meet our requirements.
See table below for clarification of thresholds:
| Goods and Services | ||
|---|---|---|
| Commission Value | Tender Route | Advertising Requirement |
| <£15,000 | Single Quotation | Not Required |
| £15,000 - £50,000 | Three Quoations | Public Contracts Scotland (Quick Quote) |
| £50,000 - £111,676 | Formal Tender Process | Public Contracts Scotland |
| £111,676 and above | Formal Tender Process | Public Contracts Scotland and OJEU |
| Works | ||
|---|---|---|
| Commission Value | Tender Route | Advertising Requirement |
| <£10,000 | Single Quotation | Not Required |
| £10,000 - £50,000 | Three Quoations | Public Contracts Scotland (Quick Quote) |
| £50,000 - £4,322,012 | Formal Tender Process | Public Contracts Scotland |
| £4,322,012 and above | Formal Tender Process | Public Contracts Scotland and OJEU |
As stated above NHS Borders advertises contract opportunities above and below the EU thresholds on the Public Contracts Scotland Portal. Public Contracts Scotland is provided by the Scottish Government. It is free to use and we encourage all suppliers to register their details. By registering your details you will benefit from free e-mail notifications of contract opportunities that may interest your company.
For all tender opportunities please go to the Public Contracts Scotland website. You will find details of contracts with Scottish Local Authorities, NHS Scotland, the Scottish Government, Agencies and NDPBs, Higher and Further Education and Emergency Services by browsing the available contracts.
http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk
These contracts could be collaborative, sometimes specialist or unique in nature. These are local contracts that may merit logical collaboration. A recent example is the Sustainable Transport Framework which is a collaborative contract including Scottish Borders Council, NHS Borders and Borders College.
http://www.scotborders.gov.uk/info/259/tenders_and_contracts
NHS Borders Terms & Conditions of Contract
Please refer to the NHS Borders Standard T&Cs. These Conditions may be varied only by the written agreement of NHS Borders. No terms or conditions put forward at any time by the Supplier shall form any part of the Contract unless specifically agreed in writing by the Purchaser.
NHS Borders Standard T&Cs for purchase of Goods
NHS Borders Standard T&Cs for purchase of Services
NHS Borders Standard T&Cs for purchase of Consultancy Services
Contract Management
If you have been awarded a contract we may expect you to participate in regular contract review meetings with Procurement and key stakeholders. The frequency of these will vary with the value and strategic importance of the contract. Further details are likely to be included in the contract.
You may be required to provide management information in advance of the review meetings. This will also be specified in the contract.
Procurement and the Equality Duties under the Equality Act
Currently within NHS Borders we work hard to ensure that:
- Contracted services are fully aware of their duties and responsibilities for Equality and Diversity performance.
All contract Awards have Standard NHS Terms and Conditions embedded. These Terms and Conditions include a clause related to Diversity. The new Standard Pre Qualifying Questionnaire (PQQ) is used for all appropriate local contracting activity. This gives the Board an opportunity to asess a potential supplier's track record on equality and whether they will be able to comply with the general equality duty. The PQQ requests information about:- Equality performance and compliance with the Equality Act 2010.
- Equal employment opportunities and compliance with Employment Law.
- Supporting evidence such as copies of policies and procedures.
- All commissioned services embed equality, diversity and human rights in policies and practice
The majority of NHS Borders procurement is from nationally awarded contracts (90%). These include National Procurement contracts/frameworks and Frameworks Scotland (Construction) and as such National Procurement has the responsibility of Contract Award and monitoring. The relevance of applying Equalityto Award Criteria within local contracting for services will be reviewed as part of the process for creating and maintaining our Contract Register. The Contract Register is publicly available via this Website. - Reserved Contracts
Every Public Body should aim to have at least one contract with a supported Business. NHS Borders has an embedded policy within Procurement guidelines to ensure the inclusion of Supported Businesses within tendering/quotation processes.
Community Benefit requirements
NHS Borders is committed to maximising Community Benefits from its procurement activities. NHS Borders will consider the inclusion of community benefits as part of the procurement process for appropriate value contracts. This will be achieved through the inclusion of specific clauses within procurement contracts known as Community Benefit Clauses.