As a public body, there are regulations at a national and local Level, which the Council has to follow when procuring goods, services and contracts.

The information below gives a brief outline of these rules.

National regulations

All public sector contracts, no matter what their value, are covered by the Public Contract Regulations 2015.

The regulations require the Council to follow detailed procedures for all procurement above a financial threshold. The thresholds are reviewed every two years and are detailed on the GOV.UK website.

The Council must follow some basic principles:

• a specific tender notice must be placed on the Find a Tender and Contracts Finder website to give all suppliers in the UK an equal opportunity to tender
• tenders must be invited in accordance with one of the prescribed procedures
• a notice of contract award must be placed on Find a Tender. Unsuccessful contractors must be de- briefed if requested

Local rules

A copy of our Contract Procedure Rules is available on the Bexley Business and Employment website website.

Freedom of Information Act

This legislation came into force in 2005 and entitles members of the public to access information held by public authorities. The Council must respond to all requests for information. Suppliers must be aware of this duty, which may require us to disclose tender and contract information. If you consider that any information that you provide is commercially sensitive and you would not wish us to disclose it, you must advise us of this when returning your tenders to us.

You will need to identify which information in your bid is commercially sensitive and explain (in broad terms) what harm may result form disclosure if a request is received and the time period applicable to that sensitivity. However you should be aware that, even where you have indicated information is commercially sensitive, we may be required to disclose it under the Act if a request is received.

Local Government Transparency Code 2015

Sets out the minimum data that local authorities should be publishing, the frequency it should be published and how it should be published.