The procurement process should always be legal, transparent and should not expose the Council to undue risks. All procurement activities should be conducted in a manner that fosters and promotes fair, ethical and legal business practices. This involves consideration of the following issues:
Every officer working for the Council must act with integrity and good judgement to recognise that acceptance of personal gifts from those individuals / companies doing business or seeking to do business with the Council, may give rise to legitimate concerns about favouritism, depending on the prevailing circumstances.
Controls to be applied to individual aspects of the actual procurement process are contained within the Contract Procedure Rules. To ensure that they are as effective as possible and represent best practice, Contract Procedure Rules will be subject to an annual review, to incorporate change conditions and also findings from Best Value Service Reviews.
To ensure as far as possible that guidance to Officers on documentation is as clear as possible, standard procurement documents are available for use where appropriate. These include contract terms and conditions, tendering documents and specifications. The appropriateness should be confirmed with the relevant technical officers, especially those in Legal Services.
