Doing business with us

Brentwood Borough Council spends thousands of pounds each year on a wide range of products, services and works programmes.

As a public organisation, the Council has procurement procedures that follow European Union and UK government procurement rules, which encourage free and fair competition and transparency. The Council will base procurement of its requirements on the principles of best value to ensure it achieves efficiency, effectiveness and value for money.

Council standing orders and financial regulations

Further details of the Council's rules for making purchases can be seen in its Standing Orders for Contracts, Part 4.6 of its Constitution.

For further details of the Council's rules, and our full terms and conditions please see the Tender Process page.

Payment terms

The Council's standard payment terms are 30 days from receipt of invoice. This in accordance with the Government's Prompt Payment Code. Under this code, all suppliers and contractors working for the Council are expected to pay their suppliers and sub-contractors promptly. For details please go to the Prompt payment code website.

Procurement code of conduct

All public sector employees must abide by a Procurement Code of Conduct. Employees must declare their interests in existing or potential suppliers, and say if the connection is a private, social, domestic or professional one. This also applies to Members of the Council who are governed by their own strict code of conduct. Brentwood Borough Council's Code of Ethics is contained within its Standing Orders for Contracts, Part 4.6 of its Constitution.

Social value

As with all public sector procurement, value for money is at the core of Brentwood Borough Council's procurement decisions. Over the last few years there has been a national shift in how value for money should be calculated, In 2012 the Public Service (Social Value) Act was passed into law. This means that in all its procurements, the Council must consider how it can help improve the social, environmental and economic well-being if its local area. Brentwood Borough Council has formulated its own Social Value Policy in response to this legislation. View our Social Value Policy pdf.

Modern slavery

All suppliers who sell goods, works or services to the Council must abide by the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (further information available in this section) and take appropriate action to reduce the risk of slavery, servitude, forced or compulsory labour in their supply chains.

Suppliers who need advice or information about modern slavery, or who wish to report any suspected instances, can call the Government’s Modern Slavery Helpline on 08000 121 700, or go to the Modern Slavery website

New suppliers

If your company has been awarded work with the Council it may be necessary to complete an online new supplier form in order for us to send Purchase Orders and/or pay invoices.

A link to this online form will be sent to you from your contact at the Council where necessary, and will ask you to confirm details regarding your company, such as registered office, VAT registration number etc.

For all other enquiries please email: procurement@brentwood.gov.uk

For more information about procurement throughout Essex, visit Procurement for Essex website.

How we pay you

The Council makes all payments easily and conveniently via BACS, the banking automated clearing service.

Providing bank account details will enable the Council to remit payment in respect of invoices directly into a supplier's chosen account.

The benefits to suppliers and the Council of being paid via BACS are clear:

Payments are securely and conveniently paid directly into the supplier's bank account without the risks of cheques being delayed or going astray in the post.
Cleared funds are available in the supplier's bank account two working days after payment is made.
Suppliers receive a Remittance Advice by e-mail on the day the invoice is paid, giving notice of when the payment will reach their bank account.
Accounting procedures on both sides are simplified and administrative costs are reduced.

Invoicing the Council

Invoices to the Council should be emailed as a PDF file to creditors@brentwood.gov.uk. PDF files should not be password protected.

Where the council has raised a Purchase Order for goods and/ or services, the Purchase Order number must appear on the invoice. This ensures the invoice is authorised and paid in line with the payment terms of the invoice. Invoices that do not quote the Purchase Order number where an order has been raised may be returned to the supplier.

For details of payments to suppliers, please go to the Payments to Suppliers web page.

Modern Slavery Act

The Modern Slavery Act 2015 Statement

Brentwood Borough Council’s vision is to make the Borough an even better place to live, work and visit, by focusing of five key areas:

Growing the economy
Protecting our environment
Developing Communities
Improving our housing
Delivering an efficient and effective council

While working on and for the needs of the Borough, the Council is also aware of its wider social responsibility and is committed to having a positive impact on the working conditions of all those involved in supplying its goods and services.

The Council expects all its suppliers, contractors and partners to share this commitment.

To this end the Council is taking the following steps to ensure compliance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015:

The Council’s Invitation to Tender document has recently been reviewed to require all bidders demonstrate how they tackle any modern slavery or human rights abuses in their business;
All bidders with a turnover of £36 million or more must submit a copy of their Modern Slavery Statement with their bid;
The Council is taking legal advice on inclusion on an anti-slavery clause in its standard terms and conditions;
New supplier forms include a declaration by all new suppliers stating they are not involved in modern slavery or exploitation of workers in any way;
New suppliers with a turnover of £36 million or more are required to give details of where their Modern Slavery Statement can be found on their website;
All tender exercises are conducted by the Council’s procurement officer and in accordance with the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply Code of Ethics;
All employment agencies who supply temporary workers to the Council are required to submit their own Modern Slavery Statement before being engaged.

The above measures are in place to ensure, as far as possible, that Brentwood Borough Council trades only with those suppliers that comply with the Act and those who can demonstrate they are taking steps towards compliance.

This statement is made under section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 for the financial year ending 31^st March 2021.

This statement is approved by Brentwood Borough Council Senor Leadership Team, and will be subject to review on an annual basis.

This statement was signed by the Council’s Director of Corporate Resources on 30^th September 2020.

Tender and quotation opportunities

Current quotations (estimated value between £10,000 and £50,000)

Currently there are no quotation opportunities being advertised.

If you would like further details of quotation opportunities, please complete the online form below:

Submit contact details (Please note this link is for any opportunities above only)

Current competitive tenders (estimated value over £50,000)

Currently there are no tender opportunities being advertised.

In order to access the documents for contracts, please follow the Delta eSourcing link below, and use the access codes given. If you are not already registered on this website, you will need to do this. Registration is free. For further help please call the Delta E-Sourcing Helpdesk on 0800 923 9236.

View current tenders: Delta eSourcing or Contracts Finder

View current council contracts: Council contract register

The Council does not hold Approved Supplier Lists. If you are interested in working for the Council you are advised to watch this page. Please also see the Tender Process webpage.

Any business looking for work in the wider public sector would do well to register on Contracts Finder. Registration is free and this site will give access to opportunities from UK wide public sector bodies.

Guidance for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises looking for work in the public sector can be found on the Government's webpage: Doing business with government: a guide for SMEs.

Tender process

All public sector contracts over the current European Union threshold of £189,330.00 are covered by EU procurement regulations. These regulations are designed to prevent discrimination against companies from any member state and ensure free and fair competition.

In accordance with this legislation, Brentwood Borough Council has rules about how it spends public money and full details can be found in the Constitution -Standing Orders for Contracts. They state that over a certain value, contracts must be competitively tendered. (Please see the Tender and Quotation Opportunities page for details of current competitive tenders).

By tendering contracts the Council can ensure that it:

gets value for money;
is open and fair in its purchasing activities;
complies with procurement law (currently Public Contracts Regulations 2015)

The procedure followed by the Council is determined by the value of a contract:

£0 to £10,000 – one written or verbal quotation to be contained by authorised officer
£10,000 to £50,000 – minimum of three written quotations
£50,00 to current EU procurement thresholds (£189,330 for Goods and Services; £4,733,252 for construction works) – contracts are subject to a formal competitive tendering process
over EU thresholds --- competitive exercise run to be fully compliant with the Official Journal of the European Union regulations

Competitive tendering

Whether public sector bodies tender or quote for work, the EU procurement directives still apply.

Council contracts out to tender with a value of over £50K are published on the Delta eSourcing website where suppliers can register for free and submit their tenders.

Contracts with a value of more than £189,330.00 for goods and services and £4.7m for construction works must also appear in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU).

The tender process ensures that potential contractors provide sufficient detail to enable the Council to determine whether they:

are financially stable
have appropriate technical ability to undertake the sort of contract they wish to be considered for
are able to check their health and safety, environmental, equality and diversity and other records.

All potential contractors need to comply with the Council's standard terms and conditions:

Submission, receipt and opening of tenders/quotations

Candidates invited to bid are given at least two weeks to submit their tenders to Brentwood Borough Council. The Council accepts electronic bids only, and uses the Delta eSourcing website for all its tender opportunities.

Tender evaluation

The Council will evaluate and award the contract in accordance with the award criteria published in the Invitation to Tender/Quote. All candidates will be notified in writing as to the outcome of the tender exercise.

Further information on the tender process can be viewed in the Council’s Constitution

Doing business with us

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