Procurement and the council

Our Standing Orders on Contracts are a statutory requirement, agreed and approved by the Council's Executive Committee. Standing Orders apply to the procurement of supplies, services and works and are defined by three value thresholds:

• Below £10,000 - where the value of any procurement is below £10,000, there is no need for a formal tendering procedure. All procurements below £10,000 need to demonstrate best value and comply with the Council's Code of Corporate Governance
• Between £10,000 and £50,000 - where the value of a procurement is below £50,000, there is no need for a formal a tendering procedure but the procurement must demonstrate best value and comply with the Council's Standing Orders on Contracts. At least 5 competitive quotations must be obtained via Public Contracts Scotland Quick Quote (including 4 quotes/bids from SME’s within the area of South Lanarkshire, if such SME’s are available)
• Over £50,000 - a procurement above £50,000 must be conducted via a tendering procedure recognised by the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015

We are bound by the European Procurement Directives to advertise tenders in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) where there is a known or estimated value over the relevant threshold. Tendering exercises must be open to competition and conducted with probity, equity and transparency.

More information, including the different processes and procedures, are on the EU Procurement Directives pages of the European Commission website.