Advertisement of Contract Opportunities
The Council purchases goods, services and works to enable it to deliver quality services to the people of Orkney. What we buy ranges from routine items e.g. stationery, IT consumables and office furniture, to complex areas of spend e.g. construction and infrastructure related projects. The Council also commissions services from charities and third sector organisations to provide key services directly to citizens in areas such as social care and health.
We have a duty to ensure we get value for money for everything we buy. Value for money does not mean that we will always buy the cheapest product or service, but means that we will weigh up quality and cost as well as environmental, social and economic considerations, when deciding what we buy and from whom.
How we advertise contract opportunities
Most contract opportunities are advertised on the Public Contracts Scotland (PCS) Portal or in the local newspaper. The PCS Portal is a national portal which is provided by the Scottish Government.
You can register as a supplier on Public Contracts Scotland Portal to get up-to-date information on our tender opportunities. Email notifications will be sent to suppliers who have registered an interest on a tender opportunity.
Advertising of Contracts
Where the estimated “whole life” value of a contract exceeds the threshold values in the Public Contract (Scotland) Regulations 2015, and where applicable, the Utilities Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016; currently £213,477 for Supplies, £213,477 for Services and £5,336,937 for Works, the Council is obliged to advertise in the new Find a Tender Service). All figures indicative of VAT @ 20% inclusive.
Where the Council proposes to award a contract which has an estimated value which is below the relevant threshold, or where the proposed contract is otherwise exempt from the requirement for prior publication of a contract notice, the Council is generally required to ensure a degree of advertising which is sufficient to enable open competition and meet the requirements of equal treatment, non-discrimination and transparency. Council contracts for supplies and services where the estimated value exceeds £50,000 are advertised on the Public Contracts Scotland Portal; for works contracts this figure is £2,000,000. Contracts with an estimated value of less than these thresholds are generally advertised in the local newspaper, or contractors are approached directly via the 'Quick Quote' facility of PCS. All figures exclude VAT.
The Public Contracts Scotland (PCS) Portal is a free contracts advertising website developed by the Scottish Government's Scottish Procurement and Commercial Directorate. We strongly recommend that suppliers register with PCS in order to view the variety of public sector contract opportunities that will be published there. PCS provides a national advertising website for Scottish public sector bodies to post large over Threshold notices, lower value contracts commonly known as sub threshold notices and quotations for low value / risk contracts. Suppliers will be able to find details of contracts with Scottish Local Authorities, NHS Scotland, the Scottish Government, Agencies, Non-departmental Public Bodies (NDPB's), Higher and Further Education and Emergency Services by simply browsing the available contracts. Suppliers can also register to receive free email alerts for opportunities relevant to their business when new contract opportunities are loaded via the portal by a contracting authority.
Potential suppliers can view current tender opportunities on the PCS Portal as well as a list of past contracts which may be a useful source of information about what types of goods and services have been bought in the past by a variety of public sector organizations.
View the Council’s details on the Public Contracts Scotland website, available from the 'Related Sites' section of this page. Please note that this web page can take some time to load.
If you have any questions on the advertising of contract opportunities and on Orkney Islands Council procurement more generally, you can get in touch via the following contact options:
Contact Details
Rosemary Colsell (Procurement Manager).
Address: Orkney Islands Council, Council Offices, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1NY.
Telephone: 01856873535, extension 2640.
Fax: 01856876158.
