3rd Party Grants

A minimum of 1 written Quotation must be obtained and retained.

Best value for money must be obtained and reasonable care must be taken to obtain goods, works or services of adequate quality at a competitive price. A documented record to support the decision must be retained for audit purposes.

Applicants are requested to ‘Think Carmarthenshire First’ when seeking quotations for the purchase of Goods/Services. Please therefore, explore the market place to establish if there are any businesses within Carmarthenshire that can provide the goods / service that you are seeking to purchase. Applicants may be required to demonstrate such quotations have been sought.

A minimum of 3 written quotations must be sought from competitive sources*. The quotes must be based on the same specification and evaluated on a like for like basis.

A documented record of the quotes sought, the evaluation process and the decision to award must be recorded for audit purposes.

Applicants are requested to ‘Think Carmarthenshire First’ when seeking quotations for the purchase of Goods/Services. Please therefore, explore the market place to establish if there are any businesses within Carmarthenshire that can provide the goods / service that you are seeking to purchase. Applicants may be required to demonstrate such quotations have been sought.

A minimum of 3 written quotations must be sought from competitive sources*. The quotes must be based on:

• the same specification,
• the same evaluation criteria and evaluated on a     like for like basis. It is best practice to establish an evaluation panel.
• the same closing date.

A documented record of the quotes sought, the evaluation process and the decision to award must be recorded for audit purposes.

** In the event that only one quotation is received, you must contact the Project Manager from Carmarthenshire County Council (CCC) to provide details and justification of the procurement process you have undertaken. The decision to proceed to purchase must be approved by CCC on a case by case basis. In circumstances where it is evident that more than one quotation could be sought, there may be a requirement to advertise via Sell2Wales.

A minimum of 4 tenders must be sought from competitive sources*, with a minimum of 2 tenders to be received**.

All those tendering must be provided with the same information:

• the same specification of requirements,
• an outline of the evaluation criteria against which the contract will be awarded and
• the same closing date for receipt of tenders, after which no submissions will be accepted.

The evaluation process you follow must be consistent with the original evaluation criteria outlined and an evaluation report produced detailing on what basis the successful tender was awarded. It is best practice to establish an evaluation panel to evaluate tenders.

** In the event that only one tender is received, you must contact the Project Manager from Carmarthenshire County Council (CCC) to provide details and justification of the procurement process you have undertaken. The decision to proceed to purchase must be approved by CCC on a case by case basis. In circumstances where it is evident that more than one tender could be sought, there may be a requirement to advertise via Sell2Wales.

A minimum of 4 tenders must be sought from competitive sources*, with a minimum of 3 tenders to be received**.

All those tendering must be provided with the same information:

• the same a specification of requirements,
• an outline of the evaluation criteria against which the contract will be awarded and
• the same closing date for receipt of tenders, after which no submissions will be accepted.

The evaluation process you follow must be consistent with the original evaluation criteria outlined and an evaluation report produced detailing on what basis the successful tender was awarded. It is best practice to establish an evaluation panel to evaluate tenders.

** In the event that only one tender is received, you must contact the Project Manager from Carmarthenshire County Council (CCC) to provide details and justification of the procurement process you have undertaken. The decision to proceed to purchase must be approved by CCC on a case by case basis.  In circumstances where it is evident that more than one tender could be sought, there may be a requirement to advertise via Sell2Wales.

For contracts in excess of £250k in value:

• In selecting contractors for the tender list it is recommended that the appropriate due diligence and financial checks are undertaken on those parties;
• As a minimum, due diligence and financial checks must be undertaken on the preferred contractor following the evaluation and prior to contract award.

If a contract for Goods or Services is likely to exceed £213,477 (inclusive of VAT) the applicant must inform the project manager to determine whether the contract will be subject to Public Contracts Regulations 2015.

If a contract for Works is likely to exceed £5,336,937 (inclusive of VAT) the applicant must inform the project manager to determine whether the contract will be subject to Public Contracts Regulations 2015.

It is possible for you to advertise on the National Procurement website, www.Sell2Wales.co.uk if you are in a situation where you have difficulty in identifying the minimum number of suppliers required and/or would like to vary or attract new suppliers to quote or tender. Advertising via Sell2Wales is considered to be best practice, however you may feel that you are better able to identify potential suppliers who could provide the best overall offer.

This facility is available to you free of charge, please visit the Sell2Wales website  and contact the website helpline on 0800 222 9004 for further information. 

For spend above £5,000 it is essential that the quotes/tenders are sought from appropriate suppliers for the goods, works or services required. In circumstances where it is evident that unsuitable quotes/tenders have been sought, there may be a requirement to advertise via Sell2Wales.

If a project involves any other or additional funding streams, these Third Party Grant Procurement Rules must be followed as a minimum for the total estimated spend of the requirement.

If any changes are required to the specification after seeking quotes/tenders which affects the original scope of the requirement, a new procurement exercise may need to be undertaken to ensure that best value for money has been achieved. This may occur where there are unforeseen additions to the original requirement, where tenders are received in excess of the available budget, where funding levels change etc. The grant applicant must inform the Project officer who will offer advice accordingly.

We recognise that it is possible that applicants / developers or persons connected with them (such as relatives, business partners or friends) may wish to tender for a contract being offered by the applicant / developer. This is acceptable, but applicants will need to ensure that the tendering process is undertaken in an open, transparent and fair manner, as outlined above, which does not give one person or company tendering any advantage over another, which arises from the process. Appropriate measures to prevent identify and remedy any conflicts of interest must be carried out.

If an applicant / developer or any person connected with them directly or indirectly, has a financial, economic, political or other personal interest which might be perceived to compromise their impartiality and independence in the context of the procurement procedure:

• that applicant / developer, or any other person or party with an interest must declare that interest in writing to the Project officer who will offer advice accordingly.
• specifications and evaluation criteria must not be biased or tailored to favour one solution or any one party over another.
• that person or party with an interest should take no part whatsoever in any of the tender evaluation procedures to ensure that the process is fair to all. It is acknowledged that the grant applicant may be required to provide the final approval
• every stage of the procedure must be recorded formally.
• If the contract would normally be subject to a single tender procedure, it is recommended that the sponsor should seek written quotes from at least two other suppliers (ie following the procedure set out above for contracts between £5000 and £25,000).

The purpose of these guidelines is to ensure that there is fairness in the spending of public money and that the integrity of the applicant is not compromised.