Guidance for officers and members
Maidstone's Interested Parties
Maidstone has a number of internal stakeholders in any
procurement activity. They represent different elements of the
process or are controllers of the resources available. They
are:
(i) The Council’s
Members:
Providing a framework of strategic objectives for procurement
decisions.
(ii) The Corporate Management
Team:
Providing strategic overview of procurement activity.
(iii) The Procurement
Department:
Providing guidance and continuity in procurement practice
(iv) The Client:
Providing technical knowledge and resources for procurement.
Roles and Responsibilities
(i) The Council’s Members
Members set the core priorities (corporate objectives) of the
organisation and make decisions that guide the Council to the
fulfilment of those objectives. Members must champion the
cause of better procurement at Maidstone, by the promotion of the
National Procurement Strategy (NPS) and this guide.
In all dealings with officers and in all decision making
activities Members need to be aware of the NPS and this guide and
support the activity of better procurement.
(ii) Management Team
Management Team maintain a strategic overview of procurement at
Maidstone ensuring that:
a) the expected outcomes of inPidual procurement projects will
assist in delivering the Council’s corporate objectives set by
Members;
b) the Procurement Strategy Action Plan is influential in
procurement activity ;
c) that the business case for inPidual procurement projects
exists;
d) that all the options for procurement of service delivery have
been examined;
e) that sufficient resources exist to deliver the required
outcomes of a procurement project. Management Team must support the
use of the NPS and this guide in monitoring all procurement
activity.
(iii) Procurement Department
The Procurement Unit is the Council’s principal source of
procurement expertise and is responsible for:
a) implementing and developing the Council’s procurement
strategy;
b) overseeing all procurement activity at Maidstone Borough
Council;
c) representing the Council at the Kent Buying Consortium;
d) leading all procurement projects for which tenders are
required to be sought under the Constitution;
e) advising clients on procurement methodology;
f) providing advice and guidance on contract packaging and
monitoring;
g) preparing and issuing tender documents etc;
h) managing the tender process in accordance with the EU law,
national law and the Constitution;
i) leading the tender assessment process. The
Procurement Department must also ensure that all procurement
projects embarked upon adhere to the Council’s Procurement Policy
and that all of the following critical success factors are
considered and addressed:-
- Members’ involvement;
- Senior Management involvement;
- Ongoing monitoring;
- Clear objectives;
- Sound Planning (both of the procurement process and contract,
product or service delivery);
- Appropriate use of resources;
- Stakeholder engagement;
- Effective Risk Management;
- Good quality;
- Focus on outcomes and delivery;
- Empowerment of client manager to deliver;
The client for the purposes of this guidance is defined as “the
Officer controlling the budget which will ultimately pay for the
goods and/or services to be procured.” The client is usually the
inPidual or group of inPiduals within the Council who possess the
technical expertise on a product or service to be procured.
The client must therefore take responsibility:
a) for initial involvement of the
Procurement Department;
b) for the definition of exactly what is to be procured;
c) for identification of a method of procurement that is
acceptable to the industry or market from which the product or
service is to be sourced;
d) in association with the Procurement Department, for
ensuring that a business case exists for the project;
e) in association with the Procurement Department, for
drafting the specification;
f) in association with the Procurement Department, for
identifying procurement risks, drawing on any specialist knowledge
they may possess;
g) for agreeing in association with the
Procurement Department the relative weightings of quality and
cost for evaluation of tenders;
h) for independent assessment of the technical aspects of
potential contractor/supplier’s submissions;
i) for acceptance or otherwise of the Procurement Manager's
report recommending (or not) acceptance of a particular tender
submission;
j) for day to day contract management after the award of a
contract;
k) in association with the procurement department, for carrying
out regular contract reviews.
The Client must be aware of the NPS and this guide and their
effect upon procurement at Maidstone, acting in accordance with
such guidance in all procurement activity.