Procurement engagement form

You will need to complete a procurement engagement form when you have identified the need to procure and you want to raise a requisition for any purchase above £5,000. 

Before completing

• Ensure that the purchase is essential to service delivery and all other options have been considered. Requests should take account of whether alternatives have first been considered. I.e. can you stop doing things? Can you manage without the expenditure for a period of time? Can you detail the risk and impact to the Council of not proceeding?
• Ensure your reasoning takes account of the financial position i.e. your current budget and any external funding to ensure there is adequate budget before any request is made.
• Ensure the detail on the form is sufficient for the review panel to make a decision. If a decision cannot be made based on the information, this will lead to delays in approval.
• Before proceeding with any procurement, it is essential that a Conflicts of interest form is completed by each individual and all parties involved are collated and recorded on a  conflicts assessment form. These are important requirements of the new PA23 Regulations and must be completed prior to any market engagement or tender notices being published. These forms must also be kept under review throughout the procurement process and throughout the management of the contract.

You can have a more productive discussion with the procurement team if you have considered the many aspects involved in procurement.

Important:

Check that you have the relevant delegated authority to proceed with your requirement.

If this is a significant decision e.g. politically sensitive and/or contract value over £1m you may need to obtain committee approval and/or officer decision record to enable you to go to market. Visit decisions delegated to officers and officer decision records (ODRs) for more Information.

Some considerations and requirements order to be able to procure

• Provide a brief description of what you want to purchase
• provide a draft specification and business justification
• List a current supplier or potential suppliers
• Is this a renewal of an existing contract / provision or a brand new requirement?
• Proposed contract start date
• provide details of any specific sourcing options for example frameworks
• Proposed price and quality weighting
• You'll need to select the pro-class (procurement classification) categories
• If any personal data is captured, you must complete a DPIA refer Complete a Data Protection or Privacy Impact Assessment before progressing with the procurement. Do this as early as possible as it can take time to be approved, see Data Protection Impact Assessment
• If data is involved and (or) an ICT System, you will need to follow the guidance on Lighthouse to Commission an ICT Project or Resource.
• Complete an Equality Impact Assessment; refer to complete an Equality Impact Assessment
• Will third parties require access to CEC systems, data etc.
• Individual consultants, contractors, agency workers – (Acceptable Use Agreement required)
• Partner agencies, eg schools, NHS, police etc who are given access to systems such as Liquid Logic through a portal – (Data Sharing Agreement required)
• Service provider commissioned to process personal data on behalf of CEC – Contract or Data Processing Agreement (must be arranged with Legal Services)

Templates for the first two documents are on CEntranet and should be tailored by services according to specific requirements

Budget 

• Total estimated contract value (over the duration of the contract, including possible extensions)
• Current annual spend on the contract (if a renewal)
• Budget holder's name - for the budget code that will be charged once you raise a purchase order
• Is the capital and / or revenue budget in place for the estimated expenditure?
• What is the total estimated contract value (over the duration of the contract including possible extensions): (consider capital/revenue)
• Is there any part of the estimated revenue spend that is grant / externally funded?
• List details of the estimated efficiency saving
• Understanding of the requirements / specification, accreditations, whether TUPE may apply etc
• Is it a statutory service? Yes/no and list the statute

Reputation and safeguarding

• Is the supplier required to have any accreditations for example ISO, BS, OFSTED etc?
• Are there any health and safety requirements?
• Will supplier employees be required to have a DBS check? (Safeguarding)
• Will insurance be required for example public, employers, professional indemnity, Professional Indemnity?
• Will references be required?
• Will financial checks be required?
• Have you considered the Councils Social Value Policy and how this opportunity may be able to secure additional value in relation to improvement in economic, social and environmental wellbeing
• Will you require additional questions around supplier's capability such as previous experience? (Technical and professional capacity)
• Have you completed an initial equality impact assessment for this procurement?  
• Are there any sustainability issues to be considered for example Green / Eco labels?
• What are your key performance Indicators (KPI’s)? List a minimum of 3. (What does success look like?)

Administrative

• Detail who is going to be the Contract Manager for this contract going forward
• Name of Directorate and Service

You should allow at least 30 minutes to fill in this form.

Procurement engagement form​​