How we procure goods and services

Suffolk Coastal procures goods and services through three buyer groups:

These groups access both individual suppliers and contracts already negotiated by organisations within the public sector family, for example:

Our contract procedures

All contracts must comply with European and UK law, EU procurement thresholds (new window), and our own Contracts Procedure Rules (new window PDF 74KB), which are part of the Council's Constitution. These govern our contracting activities, procedures for obtaining quotations, issuing tenders, and awarding contracts.

Subject to the value of the goods and services being acquired, there are differing requirements to obtain quotations and issue tenders.

**Thresholds for when the Council must obtain written quotations and issue tenders:**
Value of goods and services excluding VAT	Quotations or tenders required
Less than £10,000.	No quotations required.
Between £10,000 and £25,000	Minimum of one quotation
Over £25,000 up to £50,000.	Minimum of three quotations
Over £50,000 up to £100,000.	Formal tender (no less than four tenders).
Over £100,000 and up to £144,370.	Selective tender (no less than four tenders).
Over £139,893 (supplies and services).	Tendering process and advert placed in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Over £3,497,313 (works).	Tendering process and advert placed in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This list is not exhaustive, but generally the Council advertises on the following websites and publications for tenders over £100,000:

Read the advertisement carefully and submit a request, preferably in writing, by the dates stipulated.
Depending on the contract, we may send potential suppliers a pre-qualification questionnaire. When you complete the questionnaire, make sure that you provide all the information requested and answer all questions accurately. The questions will be used to evaluate your suitability for the contract.
Return the tender by the closing date and time specified. Late tenders will not be considered.
Respond to any requests for further information by the specified date.
The tender documents the Council sends out to suppliers contain details of our requirements. You should read these documents and make sure that you fully understand the requirements. If you do not understand any part of the specification you should contact the Council officer named in the tender documentation and request further information.