Procurement

Many of the Council’s services are provided directly to citizens by contracted suppliers, through partnerships or by the Voluntary Sector. Other organisations contribute by supporting services provided by the Council’s own staff. Procurement is therefore core to achieving the Council’s objectives.

The Council operates a highly devolved purchasing model, with purchasing authority resting within the departments. Approximately 220 staff across these departments have involvement in procurement activity to some degree. Corporate contracts, covering council-wide requirements are established by the Corporate Procurement Team who are also responsible for establishing policy and procedures.

In addition to legislation, the Council has formal Contract Standing Orders which set out in detail how purchasing will be carried out. These form part of the Council’s constitution and Council staff and the Borough’s 37 schools must follow these rules.

The Council’s expenditure on bought-in goods and services in 2008-9 was just over £96m per annum, spread across over 5,200 suppliers. This compares with £100m identified for the previous financial year. The £96m includes some expenditure for schools where the Council has purchased on their behalf.

The expenditure for 2008/9 was analysed using “ProClass”, a standard procurement classification developed by the London Centre of Excellence and used on the South East Business Portal (SEBP). The top spending area being “Social Community Supplies and Services” at 31%, comprising Adult Services, Children’s Services plus related equipment and supplies.

Further information for prospective suppliers can be found on the Selling to the Council page.

Procurement Vision

In support of Government strategies and recognising the requirements of the Council’s medium term objectives, the following vision has been developed and is applicable to all Officers involved in the procurement process:

We will:-

Deliver high quality services to the Bracknell Forest community by using professional procurement practices to obtain best value for money whilst considering social benefits.

Whistleblowing Policy and Procedure

The Council has a Whistleblowing policy and gives the staff of suppliers the facility to come forward and voice serious concerns regarding aspects of the Council’s work.