When the value of a contract exceeds a set amount, we are obliged to meet and follow various legislation and regulations when procuring goods and services. Use this page to understand what these regulations mean and when they apply.
The Procurement Act 2023
What the rules mean
For contracts over a certain value, we must comply with The Procurement Act 2023. The underlying objectives of the procurement legislation are delivering value for money, maximising public benefit, sharing information, and acting (and being seen to act) with integrity
By adhering to this legislation, it ensures that high value, high risk procurement achieves the following:
- We ensure that contract opportunities are advertised centrally and fairly
- Our intentions are transparent
- We pay particular attention to equality and social value on larger, impactful contracts
- We ensure that the contract is open to national competition
When the legislation applies
When tendering and awarding contracts for goods, works or services, if the contract exceeds a stated financial threshold, the requirements of the procurement legislation must be met.
When a contract value exceeds a set amount, we are required to advertise the contracts nationally on the Central Digital Portal. This set amount varies depending on the type of contract in question.
We will advertise contracts of different types when they exceed the following values:
| Type of contract | Value (if inclusive of VAT) |
|---|---|
| Works and concession | £5,372,609 |
| Supplies and/or services for Local Government | £214,904 |
| Social and care services | £663,540 |
Some services are exempt from the full advertising regime. These services must still comply with the rules of transparency, non-discrimination and must allow sufficient time for completion.
Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012
The Social Value Act requires authorities to consider how a contract can contribute to the social and environmental wellbeing of a relevant area.
In practice, this means that when we go to tender, we consider how that service or product could make Bath and North East Somerset better. For example, a particular service might be able to offer apprenticeships during the term of the contract.
We consider the Social Value of all of our contracts, regardless of their value.
However when a contract is valued above the financial threshold, we must evaluate its Social Value. This means that it must be included as one of the criteria that we score organisations on when we are evaluating supplier applications.