Procurement

We spend more than £100 million every year on goods, works and services.

View current tender opportunities

How procurement works

We follow strict procedures to ensure we obtain best value for money.

To purchase goods and services, we obtain quotations and tenders according to the value of the contract as follows:

• Up to £1,500 - use framework contract if one exists. If no framework contract exists, purchase from an appropriate source which ensures best value.
• £1,500 to £50,000 - use framework contract if one exists. If no framework contract exists get three written quotes in consultation with the Procurement team.
• £50,000 to £213,477 (the UKPCR Goods and Services limit) - get five written quotations or tenders (or the maximum number available from the market if the market is specialised or small), and obtain approval from the Head of Procurement.

Read our Procurement Regulations (Standing Orders).

View our terms and conditions (pdf, 519 KB).

In line with UKPCR rules, we follow set procedures for contracts over the following thresholds:  

• Supplies and services: £213,477
• Works: £5,336,937

Procurement Act 2023

New regulations, known as the Procurement Act 2023, will change how public procurement is carried out.

Find out what the act will mean for suppliers.

Data Quality Policy and Standards

Having worked with the London Office of Technology and Innovation, we have adopted the following Policy and Standards which requires, wherever permitted by the General Data Protection Regulations, all other relevant data protection legislation, and where we have control and rightful permission to use the data. Our contractors are also required to ensure compliance with these standards.

For more information view:

• Data Quality Policy
• Data Standards

Social Value

The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 places a legal obligation on public bodies to consider Social Value in the commissioning and procurement of service contracts. To support this approach, we have developed the Social Value Toolkit (pdf, 378 KB) to align ourselves to the National Themes Outcomes and Measures (TOMs) framework.

We are open to developing Richmond specific Social Value themes, outcomes and measures, and any suggestions should, in the first instance, be sent to Mark.Glaister@richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk.

Examples

You can see some examples of Social Value that has been delivered in the following case studies:

• Barnes Common Social Value Case Study
• Community Independent Living Services (CILS) Case Study

Low carbon procurement

We have a Low Carbon Procurement Policy and toolkit to explain when and where considerations for addressing and reducing carbon emissions should be considered during the procurement process.

• Low Carbon Procurement Policy
• Low Carbon Procurement Toolkit (Part 1)
• Low Carbon Procurement Toolkit (Part 2)

Disability Confident Employer

The councils of Richmond and Wandsworth are Disability Confident Employers. Disability Confident organisations play a leading role in changing attitudes for the better. They change behaviour and culture in their own organisations, networks and communities, reaping the benefits of inclusive recruitment practices. This means making a commitment to recruit and retain disabled people and reflecting this in all job adverts. It demonstrates to all potential candidates that we are an inclusive employer, and we seek to address any barriers that may prevent or deter disabled people from applying for posts. We ensure other opportunities that might lead to employment such as apprenticeships are also available to disabled people.

We ensure all employees have sufficient disability equality awareness, taking into account their role within the organisation. Disability equality training explores the concept of people being disabled by society's barriers and attitude. Managers and supervisors will need to understand how to support their disabled staff to realise their full potential.

As a disability confident employer, we aim to provide an environment that is inclusive and accessible for all staff, clients, and customers. We also aim to provide a culture where employees feel safe to share their disability or long-term health conditions, feeling confident they will be supported by creating a positive message and challenging any negative images or prejudicial statements.

We aim to encourage our suppliers and partner firms to reflect the values we display by considering a commitment to becoming disability confident employers themselves by signing up to the scheme.

Real Living Wage

We are a real Living Wage employer.

This means we mandate the payment of real Living Wage rates within appropriate contracts, and our terms and conditions of contract provide a mechanism to inflate contract prices annually based on associated increases in the real Living Wage rate. 

E-procurement

We use an e-procurement system, Atamis eSourcing, to advertise tender opportunities and market engagement events, as well as trading electronically with suppliers. In simple terms, e-procurement means buying and paying for goods and services electronically - mainly using the internet. This is becoming increasingly popular with public and private sector organisations.

In order to trade electronically with us, organisations must register for free with Atamis eSourcing.

If you have any problems, contact the Atamis helpdesk on support@atamis.co.uk or 029 2279 0052. Calls are charged at the local rate plus your phone company’s access cost.

Contracts register

As part of the Transparency Code, we now publish our contract list.

Further information

We publish a range of information about us that may be of use if you are interested in doing business with us, including details of payments made to suppliers.

The following external sites may also be useful:

• Crown Commercial Services
• Find a tender (GOV.UK)

View our glossary of commonly used procurement terminology (pdf, 48 KB)

Contact us

If you have any questions about our procurement process, contact the Procurement team.