Doing Business with the Council
Procurement of works, services and supplies account for a
significant proportion of the Council's expenditure. Ashford
Borough Council spends around £20 million annually for the
day-to-day running of its services. The bulk of the Council's £27
million three-year Capital Programme is also procured
externally.
A list of all council contracts, with their start and end dates
as well as estimate contract values and other contact information
are posted on the
South East Business Portal. Just select Ashford Borough
Council from the drop-down menu. The list is updated regularly
and you can ask for email alerts when contracts within your area of
interest are posted by us or other councils in the region.
All local authorities, including Ashford Borough Council, have
to adhere to European, National and local regulations when
procuring works, services and/or supplies, and also in setting up
Select Lists of contractors. Various officers and sections within
the Council are responsible for purchasing goods and securing
services. This can range from buying toilet rolls to securing large
contracts, such as Domestic Waste collection.
Currently a review of procurement within the Authority is being
undertaken in line with the Government's National Procurement
Strategy. The following advice relates to current policies and
maybe subject to change following completion of this review. This
guide will be updated as appropriate.
Through central Government's electronic government agenda all
local authorities are required to procure goods and services
electronically by December 2005. In addition an independent
reported by Sir Peter Gershon, CBE has highlighted 6.25billion
pounds of savings to be made by local government of which 35% is to
come from best practice procurement methodologies. As a result
Ashford Borough Council is looking at ways to procure
electronically with its suppliers.
e-Procurement is the ability to trade with all suppliers using
email and web technology. It removes paper processes and reduces
costs for both buyer and supplier, making trading simpler and more
cost effective.
The process of change has already started across much of the
public sector and Ashford is currently implementing technologies to
Tender, Order, Purchase, Invoice and Pay for goods and services
electronically.
Government Legislation
Local authorities have a responsibility to ensure Government
legislation and acts are adhered to by residents and local
businesses.
See our other sections for more information on:
This webpage was updated on
8/13/2009