Christine Herriot

Head of Efficiency and Procurement

Corporate Procurement Team

Resources Division

Chief Executive's Directorate

Room 6, Civic Centre, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE99 2BN

Tel: 0191 277 7665 ext. 27665 Fax: 0191 211 4832

Minicom: 0191 277 3687

e-mail: christine.herriot@newcastle.gov.uk

www.newcastle.gov.uk

This matter is being dealt with by Rhonda Eagle on 0191 2114949

21 July 2010

Mr Keith Griffiths

Dear Keith

I am writing in response to your request for information, under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Point 1 - The method of how we procure Construction Consultancy Services.

We procure consultancy services via the electronic tendering web site www.nepoportal.org.uk and details of this can be found on our external web site under `How to do business with the Council'.

Where legislation dictates that contracts must be advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU), we will ensure that this is done promptly and in line with the legislation, please visit Tenders Electronic Daily www.ted.europa.eu web site which is maintained by the European Commission.

All contracts are procured in line with Newcastle City Council's Financial Regulation 8 and Procurement Procedure Rules which can be found on our external website under the Newcastle Charter.

Point 2 - How we procure Construction Contractors?

Newcastle City Council operates a `Standing List of Approved Contractors' who we utilise for all construction works up to the OJEU works threshold of £3,927,260. For works above the OJEU threshold we procure in line with legislation as detailed above.

A list of tenderers is established by using a rotation system that allows the procurement officer to choose 3 contractors for known competitiveness or experience of high performance and satisfaction on previous similar schemes, then an electronic process always selects the fourth on a rotation basis as well as a first reserve should any of the 4 contractors decline the offer to tender. Should more than 4 tenderers be required under our financial regulations, then this increases on a pro-rata basis i.e. an officer selects 6 tenderers and 2 are then selected rotationally by the electronic system along with reserves.

Works below £100,000 in value are offered to our in house construction arm (City Build) in the first instance, if they are unable to carry out the works then they are tendered using a minimum of 3 contractors for a quotation and a minimum of five contractors for tenders.

Point 3a,b,c,d,e - If by your own framework, title, contents, contractors on framework, start and end date, extension periods and the name and contact email of the responsible officer.

Our most recent framework agreement that has been procured was the Planning, Design, Highways and Transportation Consultancy framework. This contract took effect on 21 May 2010 and runs for three years with the possibility of extending for a further year. This contract is broken down into three areas:

Lot 1 - Technical Services

Lot 2 - Transport Database and Analysis

Lot 3 - Planning & Urban Design

Lot 1

The main consultant is Capita Symonds, first reserve is Aecom and second reserve is WSP

Lot 2

The main consultant is Aecom, first reserve is Capita Symonds and second reserve is WSP

Lot 3

The main consultant is Capita Symonds, first reserve is Jacobs and second reserve is WSP

The responsible officer for this framework agreement is:

David Embleton, Head of Highway Network and Traffic Management and David can be contacted either by telephone on 0191-2115911 or by e-mail [email address]

Day to day management of the contract will be carried out by:

Garry Simpson, Principal Engineer and Garry can be contacted either by telephone on 0191-2115638 or by e-mail

g[email address]

If you are unhappy with our response to your request you can ask for an internal review of our decision. Please send details of your request for review to the following address:

Corporate Information Governance Officer
Chief Executive's Office
Civic Centre
Barras Bridge
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE99 2BN
Telephone: 0191 211 6644
E-mail: [Newcastle upon Tyne City Council request email]

If you are still unhappy with how we have handled your request following our internal review you can complain to the Information Commissioner. Contact details are as follows:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 01625 545745
E-mail: [email address]

Yours Sincerely

Christine Herriot

Head of Efficiency and Procurement

This correspondence is available in audio, Braille or large print if required. Please contact the writer to arrange.