-
FOI request (FOIR-130064509)
Procurement of Consultancy Services
Requested Wed 10 July 2019
Responded Wed 02 October 2019Please could you provide a breakdown of which mechanisms you procure consultancy services from, specifically:
1. Do you use national procurement frameworks to procure consultancy?
a. If so, which frameworks do you use, and what proportion of your consultancy spend over the last 12 months has been on each of the frameworks you are part of.
2. Do you use third party neutral vendors/procurement solution providers (eg ESPO, Bloom, Procurement hub) to procure consultancy?
a. If so which do you use, and what proportion of your consultancy spend over the last 12 months has been on each of the vendors you use.
3. Do you use internal frameworks to procure consultancy? (IE frameworks that are not national, that you administer yourselves or share with a small number of other local authorities)
a. If so what proportion of your consultancy spend over the last 12 months has been on each of the frameworks you have and when will they expire/re-open for applications.
4. Have you procured consultancy services through your own unique, project specific tender processes? (for example advertising a tender for a specific consultancy piece of work)
a. If so what proportion of your consultancy spend was procured through this route, and where do you advertise such opportunities?
5. Have you procured consultancy services through any other mechanisms in the last 12 months? (for example direct awards). If so what proportion of your consultancy spend was this for.
Response
Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding.
Hastings Borough Council is a relatively small urban district council. Consultancy can cover a range of services, from for example, a medical assessment (for £25) to a report on all our open spaces for informing the Local Plan prior to consultation (for £25,000) - and even beyond.
1. We are aware of the national procurement frameworks but have not needed to use any in the last 12 months.
a. Please see response above.
2. We are aware of Eastern Shires Purchasing organisation (ESPO) and Bloom etc. but have not paid anything to them.
a. We have a 'call-off' contract in place ready to use Bloom if the need arises. Bloom are unique in that they are dedicated to consultancy services.
3. Answer: No.
a. Not applicable.
4. Yes. Hastings Borough Council led a particular procurement project for a piece of consultancy on behalf of ourselves and 9 other councils.
a. Hastings contribution was £2,000. Owing to the specialist nature of the project, we sought recommendations for consultants (totalling 13) who had performed in this field and then followed a 'restricted' procedure.
5. Answer: Yes, typically obtaining 3 quotes where practicable but these are low value and because of the such wide definition of 'consultancy' we do not have this information.
Hastings Borough Council is a member of the East Sussex Procurement Hub who are a dedicated team of professionals based at Wealden District Council who generally lead on all our procurement contracts over £25,000
-
Freedom of Information
Contact
Contact us if you have a question about freedom of information.
Content
The content on this page is the responsibility of our Council's Information Officer.