Procurement

Council services are paid for by public money, so rules are in place to ensure a high level of transparency in all stages of the procurement process. These include:

• World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) and Government Procurement Agreement (the GPA) requirements.
• Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.
• Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014.
• Procurement (Scotland) Regulations 2016.
• Concession Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016.
• Utilities Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016.
• Public Contracts (Scotland) Amendments Regulations 2016.
• Contract and Procurement Rules of the Council.
• Policy decisions of the Council.
• Procurement related pages can be accessed from the 'More pages in this section' menu.

We are guided by our Contract Standing Orders, which promote good procurement practice, public accountability and deter corruption. To view the Council's Contract Standing Orders, see the 'Related Links' section of this page.

Our Contract Standing Orders follow the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015, and related Scottish Procurement Policy Notes (SPPNs) which require all service and supply contracts over the value of £ 214,904, indicative value £179,087 excluding VAT at 20% and all works contracts over £ 5,372,609, indicative value £4,477,174 excluding VAT@ 20% to be advertised in the new 'Find a Tender' service. The latest version of our Contract Standing Orders are available from the 'Related Sites' section of this page. Contracts for goods and services above £50,000 and for works above £2,000,000 excluding VAT are advertised on the Public Contracts Scotland Portal

The type, value and complexity of the contract will usually determine our approach to the market. The procedure the Council uses to purchase goods, services and works will depend on several factors which will include:

• The value of the goods, services and works concerned.
• The frequency with which they are required.
• World Trade Organisation and Government Procurement Agreement requirements and the United Kingdom and Scottish laws.
• All successful suppliers/contractors must conform to the Councils specification and quality standards and will be subject to our standard contract conditions - see Related Links section on this page.

The value of the contract has a significant effect on the procurement process as follows:

• Purchases of goods, services and works with a value of less than £10,000. The Council requires individual council officers to obtain value for money and to be able to substantiate this process by keeping appropriate records.
• Contracts between £10,000 and £50,000. These are not normally advertised but require at least 3 formal written quotations. Increasing we aim to invite competitive quotations via the Public Contracts Scotland Quick Quote facility or the Public Contracts Scotland advertising portal.
• Tendering to supply goods, services and works between £50,000 and the thresholds set out in the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 For these contracts the Council requires these to be advertised on the Public Contracts Scotland portal and via an open tender procedure.
• Tendering to supply goods and services over £ 214,904, and for works over £5,372,609. To comply with the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015, these contracts must be advertised in the new 'Find a Tender' service access via the advertising portal on Public Contracts Scotland and subject to a formal tendering process.

Any business which can meet the Council's requirements is permitted to either submit a request to participate in the first stage of the tendering process or to submit a tender, depending on the procedure selected by the Council. This culminates in the award of a contract, which details the terms under which the contract has been awarded. Note: The previous EU Threshold values remain in place for two years at a time and the next review will be implemented by January 2026 as these are linked now to the World Trade Organisation and Government Procurement Agreement signatories.

For further information about the Council's procurement processes please contact the Service Manager Procurement on 01856 873535.

Construction - Council's Dynamic Purchasing System

Orkney Islands Council is committed to reducing the burden of tendering for low value works contracts by removing the need for the completion of repetitive SPDs and maintains an approved list.

All approved contractors may apply directly to Orkney Islands Council's for inclusion on tender lists where the value of the proposed works is less than £2,000,000. Contractors who are not approved will not be invited to tender, but can apply for inclusion onto the list at any time.