Introduction
West Midlands Fire Service spends around £11 million per annum on the procurement of supplies, works and services providing companies of all sizes with a wide range of business opportunities.
The Service has a statutory duty to ensure that the procurement of supplies, works and services represents the most cost-effective solution and that best value for money has been achieved.
This web page is an introduction for suppliers to procurement at the West Midlands Fire Service. It provides contact details for suppliers and acts as a central point for communicating some of the WMFS’s future requirements. As such suppliers are encouraged to periodically review the website for up and coming contract opportunities.
About Us
The Corporate Procurement Section provides specialist support to Fire Service departments in all tasks relating to a wide variety of contractual arrangements.
To obtain best value, most of our procurement is carried out through corporate contracts which have been subject to competition or joint arrangements with other local authorities and emergency services.
The West Midlands Fire Service procurement procedures are governed by internal standing orders, financial regulations and EU Procurement Directives (where applicable).
Procurement Thresholds
| Value of Purchase | Procurement Process |
| Below £2,000 | Obtain 3 quotations if possible |
| £2,000 - £20,000 | 3 Written quotations |
| £20,000- £100,000 | 3 Formal Quotations |
| In excess of £100,000 | Formal tender to at least 3 suppliers |
| Goods or services in excess of £139,893 | Formal tender (in accordance with EU legislation) |
| Works or construction in excess of £3,611,319 | As above |
Where the estimated value of the contract is expected to exceed the relevant EU threshold (currently £139,893 for Supplies and Services, £3,497,313 for works) it must be advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) and rules promoting non-discriminatory and transparent competition must be followed. EU directives specify the timescales that must be followed.
Advertising our Contracts
Where appropriate contracts will be advertised in a variety of newspapers including minority ethnic press, trade or professional journals.
Where the value exceeds the EU monetary threshold stated above there will be an advertisement on the website for the Supplement to OJEU http://ted.europa.eu our lower value tenders will be advertised on our own website under Future Contract Opportunities and the government website www.supply2.gov.uk which is aimed at Small Medium Enterprises (SME’s)
To express interest in a tender you must respond to the advert when it appears in Current Tender Opportunities or by accessing them via the two web addresses given above.
Tendering Procedures
When you have expressed an interest you may receive an Invitation to Tender (ITT) however in some cases you will be asked to complete a pre qualification questionnaire (PQQ)
These will be assessed on a number of criteria including technical capability, financial standing, health and safety, equal opportunities and environmental issues. If your PQQ is acceptable you will go through to the next stage which usually means you will be sent an invitation to Treat (ITT)
Tender Evaluation Criteria
We have an obligation under EU regulations to state what criterion and relevant weightings will be used to evaluate tenders which exceed £100,000. Although this is not a mandatory requirement for Contracts valued at between £100,000 and the EU Threshold it is considered best practice to follow this same procedure when developing the evaluation criteria.
The basic criteria will usually be either lowest price or highest price when payment is to be made to the authority e.g. disposal of assets. Alternatively it will be based on the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT) where considerations other than price also apply. These considerations may include price, service, quality of goods, running costs, technical merit, previous experience, delivery date, cost effectiveness, environmental considerations, aesthetic and functional characteristics, safety, after sales service, technical assistance and any other relevant factors.
Approved Lists
The majority of contractors for construction related projects, which are not required to be advertised in OJEU, are sourced through Constructionline.
Constructionline is a national register of pre-qualified local and national construction contractors and consultants which undertakes checks on the contractor’s technical competency, their financial status and compliance with health and safety and equalities legislation.
Details of how to register with Constructionline can be found at http://www.constructionline.co.uk
Being accepted on Constructionline does not guarantee the award of any contracts.
Buyer Profiles
West Midlands Fire Service has a Corporate Procurement Section as well as some decentralised procurement activity carried out by a number of different specialist departments across the authority. If you need more help regarding the person you need to speak to e mail procurement@wmfs.net or call the procurement helpline 0121 380 6166 (please note that this phone number is for procurement issues only, for more information on the various methods of contacting us please click here)
There are three teams which are mainly customer based. For further information please view the attachments below.
Equality and Diversity
The West Midlands Fire Service is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to promoting equality of opportunity for all people irrespective of sex, age, race or disability. The Service is keen to ensure that its suppliers abide by the law and are working to best practice in this area. Suppliers will thus be required to provide evidence that they have equal opportunities policies in place and are committed to them.
The West Midlands Fire Service is obliged to ensure that diversity matters are embraced in all its activities and Procurement is no exception. We will seek to ensure that our Contractors and Suppliers satisfy their legal and ethical obligations.
Equally the West Midlands Fire Service needs to ensure that services provided are done so in an equal and transparent manner and that no particular client/group is disadvantaged.
Sustainability
The West Midlands Fire Service is committed to using the resources entrusted to it to ensure best value for money at the least possible cost to the environment. As part of this commitment to the environment, the procurement policy will, wherever practicable, focus on:
When applying for certain contracts, you may be requested to supply evidence of your practices and procedures as they relate to the environment.
Future Opportunities
Please click here for future opportunities
