Procurement

About Bracknell Forest

Bracknell Forest lies 28 miles west of London, in the heart of the Thames Valley and within the county of Berkshire. Good access links, a well educated labour force and quality of the environment are key attractors to the companies located here.

The Borough’s population is 114,700 (2008 estimate) which is relatively young with an average age of 35.4 years and only 14% is of pensionable age. Our population is relatively healthy with an average life expectancy of 79.6 years for men and 83.4 years for women. Educational attainment of children and young people has improved significantly between 2001 and 2009.

Bracknell Forest covers 109 sq km of central Berkshire and includes the town of Bracknell together with Crowthorne and Sandhurst and a number of smaller villages and settlements. The area has easy access to the motorway network (M3, M4, M40 and M25), Heathrow and direct train links to London.

Procurement in Bracknell Forest

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

The Council operates a highly devolved organisational model for procurement, with much authority resting within the individual departments rather than centrally. Approximately 190 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 the rules under which procurement will be carried out. These form part of the Council’s constitution and all Council staff and the Borough’s 37 schools must follow these.

The Council’s expenditure on bought-in goods and services in 2009-10 was just under £115m spread across over 5,400 suppliers. This compares with £96m identified for the previous financial year, the majority of the increase relating to major capital schemes, notably the new Garth Hill College.

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

Our Procurement strategies, vision and action plan can be found on the Procurement Strategy page.

Whistleblowing Policy and Procedure

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