When not to use a WARN form

A WARN form is unlikely to be approved:

• where there has been a lack of planning to procure a service in good time, for example, leaving it until the last minute
• to actively avoid the application of the Contract Procedure Rules
• to favour a specific supplier where competition is viable

Procuring 'off contract'

You should not use a WARN form to ask for permission to procure outside an existing corporate contract or framework agreement ('off-contract'). If a corporate contract or framework agreement is not appropriate in your circumstances, you should discuss with the Procurement Team.

Exemptions to Contract Procedure Rules (CPRs)

There are several agreed exemptions to the Contract Procedure Rules. You do not need to complete a WARN form in the agreed instances below:

• extreme urgency, where there is an immediate risk to life, property or an individual’s safety and wellbeing, and any inaction by the Council (related to risks to safety and wellbeing) would be a breach of our statutory duty and obligations.
• Significant reputational risk or where such an exemption is required to ensure continuity or to safeguard the Councils interests.
• Where there is genuinely only one approved supplier, such as for works of art, copy right material, or unique technology, where no reasonable alternative or substitute exists and the absence of competition is not the result of an artificial narrowing down of the procurement.
• The selection of a supplier whose usage is a condition of a grant funding approval.
• The selection of a supplier on the instruction of a third party, providing the whole of the funding is met by the third party. 

If you think it is a genuine exemption, you must still contact the Procurement team. They will add it to the WARN log and send it to the Procurement Manager for approval.

Approval of waiver of competition vs record of non adherence

Approval of waiver of competition

Use this option to request permission to waive the rules before awarding a contract. The council can only waive internal rules, for example, below the UK PA23 Procurement Act Thresholds. It cannot grant an exception that will breach national/UK legislation. If you wish to direct an award contract above the relevant public contract threshold, seek advice from procurement as different rules apply.

Record of non adherence

Complete this option if there has been a breach of the Contract Procedure Rules without prior permission and a contract has already been awarded or concluded.

Complete the form

Eforms are currently unavailable at this time.

Complete the relevant hard copy form either the one for contract values below £30k (inc VAT) or the other is for contract values above £30k (inc VAT):

• Waiver Approval and Record of Non Adherence (WARN) Form Less than 30k (inc VAT) (MS Word, 80KB)
• Waiver Approval and Record of Non Adherence (WARN) Form (MS Word, 86KB)

Your form must clearly set out the circumstances and the business casewhat is being asked for, and why it is being asked for. It should include what will be done to make sure another form is not required again in the future.

WARN approval can take up to 2 weeks. If you need a contract drafted or signed, you should allow 2 to 8 weeks lead time.

What happens next

1. Procurement will review the form. If the form is still required, they will send it to Finance, Legal, and if applicable to ICT and HR for comments.
2. The form will go to the relevant Head of Service or Executive Director for their approval.

   Once we have collected comments from relevant teams (such as procurement, finance, legal, ICT, and HR), and the Head of Service has approved it, the WARN form will then be submitted to the expenditure review panel. The board meets every Wednesday to determine whether spending qualifies as essential or not and whether the project should proceed. The author of the form will be notified of the outcome of this meeting the following day via email. For more information about the SRB and its process, visit Spend Review Board on Centranet. The form should then be returned to procurement for final Procurement Manager sign-off.

3. Procurement will sign-off the form. If the form relates to a non adherence or a waiver request above £25,000, it will be sent to the Director of Finance & Customer Services and Director of Governance & Compliance for their signatures.
4. Procurement will contact you to say whether it has been approved or rejected.
5. Your WARN form, if approved, will be subject to a number of actions to be carried out by both procurement and the author of the form and/or contract manager and it is critical that these actions are undertaken prior to progressing with the requirements/contract. Actions may be to engage with the legal team to get a signed contract in place, to obtain insurance documentation or to ask the provider to complete data/ICT security questionnaires. Unless these actions are undertaken, you will be breaching contract procedure rules. A report of outstanding actions will be frequently reported to senior officers.
6. Once the form is finally approved and all actions have been undertaken and are satisfactory then you will be able to arrange for any new suppliers to be created on Unit4, raise requisitions for approval and award contracts (subject to liaison with legal services). You must follow up on the actions agreed and make sure that the contract is managed throughout the life of the contract and re-procured as necessary.

If at any stage the form is not approved, it will be sent back to you to consider whether to:

• re-draft and re-submit form in line with comments provided, or
• follow requirements of competition as detailed in the constitution. 

Flowchart of the WARN process (MS Word, 48KB)