How we tender for goods and services

The contract value guides our procurement procedures, including how many quotes we need or if a tender process is necessary.

Guidelines for quotes and tenders

The following are our current thresholds:

Table showing procurement thresholds and processes
Value Including VAT	Type	Quotes or tendering
Up to £29,999.99	Goods Works Services Concession	Minimum one quote in writing, (local supplier if possible). Use of an approved Framework.
£30,000.00 and over up to £214,904.00	Goods Services	A minimum of three written quotes (one from a local supplier if possible). 6 recommended as best practice. Use of an approved Framework.
£30,000.00 and over up to £1M	Works Concession	Minimum 4 written quotes. Use of an approved Framework. A full tender process recommended as best practice.
Over £214,904.00	Goods Services	Tender process in compliance with legal requirements undertaken via the Procurement Portal. Use of an approved legally compliant Framework or Dynamic Market.
£1M and over up to £5,372,609.00	Works Concession	Minimum 6 written quotes. A full tender process recommended as best practice. Use of an approved legally compliant Framework or Dynamic Market
Over £5,372.609.00	Works Concession	Tender process in compliance with legal requirements undertaken via the Procurement Portal. Use of an approved legally compliant Framework or Dynamic Market.

Different types of tenders

We use several tender processes depending on the project:

Open tender

In an open tender, any supplier who responds to an ad gets tender documents via the In-Tend Portal. This is typical for standard items or services with a small market.

Restricted tender

For the restricted procedure, interested suppliers first undergo a pre-qualification assessment. We use this for non-standard or large goods and services where having too many bidders wouldn't be practical.

Negotiated tender

Sometimes, for complex projects or when previous tenders weren't successful, we use negotiated tenders.

Competitive dialogue

This method is for complex projects where the requirements aren't clearly definable from the start.

Contact the Contracts and Procurement Team

Address: Town Hall
St Aldate's
Oxford
OX1 1BX

Telephone: 01865 252497