Open data
Contract register
Transparency Code Metadata (Procurement)
Dataset Name/Title
Procurement Information – Contract Register
Organisation Code
http://opendatacommunities.org/doc/district-council/pendle
Why we publish this type of data/information
We spend millions of pounds each year on a wide range of goods and services. One of the ways in which we can achieve best value for the citizens of Pendle is to ensure that everything - from pencils to multi-million pound projects - is purchased effectively and efficiently.
We are continually looking for ways to improve our economy, efficiency and effectiveness and a key aspect of this is to improve the way we work, both corporately and in partnership with others to get the best deal in terms of both cost and quality.
We let a large amount of contracts in many different categories using a number of different suppliers and all are monitored throughout the contract period.
Other related information
We let a large amount of contracts in many different categories using a number of different suppliers and all are monitored throughout the contract period.
We define the period for contract management as from when a contract is awarded to when it ends. How we monitor each of these contracts over that time depends on a number of factors which include but are not limited to the following:
- Statutory requirements
- Total contract value
- Contract duration
- Risks
- Complexity
- Contractual relationship e.g. partnering
- Opportunity to improve
Where we believe that formal contract management is required the contract documents will detail our requirements and may include things like:
- The number of contract review meetings over a period
- Provision of management information
- Change control procedures
- Escalation procedures
- Evidence of compliance with service level agreements and/or Key Performance Indicators
- Improvement targets
For contracts that have no formal contract management requirements, e.g. purchase orders, we will manage these appropriately.
The following documents provide useful information about how we procure goods/services and details of key contacts. If you wish to receive a hard copy please e-mail craig.finn@pendle.gov.uk.
- Procurement Policy and Strategy
- Contract Procedure Rules
- Electronic Tendering with the Council (via the Chest)
The Department for Business Skills and Innovation website provides a range of information which will help businesses gain an understanding about public procurement and how to bid for public sector contracts.
The GOV.UK website also provides information for businesses tendering for public sector contracts. In addition, we advertise qualifying opportunities on TED (Tenders Electronic Daily), an online version of the Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union.
What information is included in this data?
This data contains details of
- invitations to tender (ITT) to provide goods and / or services with a value exceeding £5,000
- contracts, commissioned activity, purchase orders, framework agreements and any other legally enforceable agreement with a value that exceeds £5,000.
- grants to voluntary, community or social enterprise (VCSE) organisations.
For these purposes the following definitions are applied:
Invitations to tender: Invitations to tender are used in a competitive tendering process in which qualified suppliers or contractors are invited to submit sealed bids for the supply of specific and clearly defined goods or services during a specified timeframe. These are also called request for tenders.
Invitations to quote / requests for quotation: Document used in soliciting price and delivery quotations that meet minimum specifications for specific goods and/or services. RFQ are usually not advertised publicly, and are used commonly for (1) standard, off-the-shelf items, (2) items built to known specifications, (3) items required in small quantities, or (4) items whose purchase price falls below sealed-bidding threshold.
Contracts: documents evidencing a legally binding agreement between two or more parties. This includes purchase orders that meet or exceed the £5000 threshold.
Standing orders: these prescribe appropriate procurement practice by authorities and align different procurement processes to spend thresholds.
Framework agreements: an overall umbrella contract covers a number of suppliers: contract data for individual contracts under the framework should be captured and reported in a contracts register format.
Contract Register: these typically provide details of the procurement exercise to capture key information about the contract (the goods and services, values, date started, expiry date, procurement category etc). The contract register should also include hyperlinks to the relevant documentation (redacted according to client confidentiality and sensitive information).
VCSE organisation: Voluntary, community and social enterprise sectors. The Code defines voluntary and community sector organisations as "a non-governmental organisation which is value-driven and which principally reinvests its surpluses to further social, environmental or cultural objectives". Social enterprise: A social enterprise is defined as "a businesses that trades for a social and/or environmental purpose."
Small and medium sized enterprise (SME): An SME is an organisation with fewer than 250 employees.
What information is not included in this data?
We are required to publish our existing household waste collection contract where there is one in place. However, as this is a service delivered in-house (i.e. by the Council) this is not applicable.
Also this dataset does not include contract review dates but all Council services are required to include mechanisms for effective contract management as part of their contract monitoring arrangements in accordance with the Council’s approved Procurement Policy.
Licence
This data is provided under the terms of the Open Government Licence.
How often do we publish this data?
Quarterly - we aim to publish this data on our website within a month following the end of the quarter to which the data relates.
For example, we will aim to publish our spend relating to the period April –June by 31 July.
What data systems do we use?
Data is extracted from the Council's Financial Management Information Systems provided by Civica UK and also from the online portal known as the Chest, used by a number of North West Local Authorities for electronic procurement e.g. Invitations to Tender (ITT).
What does each column mean?
The data contains fields for:
A. Organisation name – 'Pendle Borough Council'. Placing this on each row allows the data to be mixed with data from other councils.
B. Effective date – this is the end date of the accounting period for the data. E.g. for the reporting period October - December, the effective date would be 31/12/2014. This enables users of the data to identify for which period the data apply.
C. Contract Reference number/ID – this is either a unique local or OJEU code (dependent on the contract value). Please quote this number if you contact us requesting more information about a particular contract.
D. Title of the Agreement – this is the name of the contract being awarded as per the definition in the original tender.
E. Directorate/service responsible (Dept) – this is the name of the council department responsible for the contract which adds accountability.
F. Description of goods and services – this gives details of the goods and/or services being provided by the contract and identifies the specific nature of the spend.
G. Contract start date – this is the date contract started / went live
H. End date – this is the date the contract is planned to end.
I. Contract value – this is the sum of money to be paid over the length of the contract or the estimated annual spending or budget for the contract.
J. Irrecoverable VAT – this is the value of the VAT that is not recoverable.
K. Supplier Name – this is the full name of the supplier being contracted to supply the goods or services.
L. Supplier ID – this is a council generated reference number for each supplier. This allows suppliers with the same name to be distinguished from each other, and to allow matching of the same supplier even if the name has changed.
M. Supplier registered charity number – this is the registered charity number, where applicable.
N. SME supplier – this is to indicate if the contract has been awarded to a small and medium sized enterprise.
O. VCSE supplier - this is to indicate if the contract has been awarded to a voluntary, community or social enterprise organisation.
P. Tender process type – this is to indicate of the contract resulted from a request for quotation or a published invitation to tender or other.
Future plans for this data
To review and develop areas of compliance where the Council may not currently meet the full requirements owing to either system or operational constraints.
What data have we removed?
There are occasions where data has been replaced with:
- REDACTED PERSONAL DATA where the data would otherwise identify an individual in the context of their private life
- REDACTED COMMERCIAL CONFIDENTIALITY where a confidentiality agreement prohibits the council from naming a supplier
- REDACTED SECURITY where revealing the name of a supplier would aid a malicious attack on our information, systems or processes.
- There may be grounds where payments are excluded rather than redacted but this is considered to be
What formats is the data available in?
CSV (Comma-separated values format) which can be used with most spreadsheet style programmes.
Open Standards Level of this data
How to ask for more information
If you have any queries with the data provided, please contact the officer below.
Contact Details
Gemma-Louise Wells Gemma-Louise.Wells@pendle.gov.uk