Dear Sir,

Freedom of Information/Environmental Information Regulations request

Thank you for your request to Babergh District Council dated 10 July 2019. Your request will be answered within 20 working days.

If you have any queries about this request do not hesitate to contact us. Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

Yours sincerely,

Data Protection
Tel: 0300 1234000 Email: [email address]
www.babergh.gov.uk www.midsuffolk.gov.uk
Babergh & Mid Suffolk District Councils - Working Together
Endeavour House, 8 Russell Road, Ipswich, Suffolk IP1 2BX

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Dear Mr Barnes,
 
We refer to your recent request for information.
 
Request:
 
Please could you provide a breakdown of which mechanisms you procure
consultancy services from, specifically:
 
1.      Do you use national procurement frameworks to procure consultancy?
a.      If so, which frameworks do you use, and what proportion of your
consultancy spend over the last 12 months has been on each of the
frameworks you are part of.
 
2.      Do you use third party neutral vendors/procurement solution
providers (eg ESPO, Bloom, Procurement hub) to procure consultancy?
a.      If so which do you use, and what proportion of your consultancy
spend over the last 12 months has been on each of the vendors you use.
 
3.      Do you use internal frameworks to procure consultancy? (IE
frameworks that are not national, that you administer yourselves or share
with a small number of other local authorities)
a.      If so what proportion of your consultancy spend over the last 12
months has been on each of the frameworks you have and when will they
expire/re-open for applications.
 
4.      Have you procured consultancy services through your own unique,
project specific tender processes? (for example advertising a tender for a
specific consultancy piece of work)
a.      If so what proportion of your consultancy spend was procured
through this route, and where do you advertise such opportunities?
 
5.      Have you procured consultancy services through any other
mechanisms in the last 12 months? (for example direct awards). If so what
proportion of your consultancy spend was this for.
 
Response:
 
1.      Do you use national procurement frameworks to procure
consultancy?  We are not part of any frameworks nor operate our own for
other organisations to use.
a.      If so, which frameworks do you use, and what proportion of your
consultancy spend over the last 12 months has been on each of the
frameworks you are part of. N/A
 
2.      Do you use third party neutral vendors/procurement solution
providers (eg ESPO, Bloom, Procurement hub) to procure consultancy? The
procurement strategy we use depends on the requirements and where suitable
we may use frameworks; previously we have used ESPO, Crown Commercial, and
NHS frameworks. 
a.      If so which do you use, and what proportion of your consultancy
spend over the last 12 months has been on each of the vendors you use. We
do not record information on the % or value of our expenditure which used
frameworks of different types, so this information is not available.
 
3.      Do you use internal frameworks to procure consultancy? (IE
frameworks that are not national, that you administer yourselves or share
with a small number of other local authorities) We are not part of any
frameworks nor operate our own for other organisations to use.
a.      If so what proportion of your consultancy spend over the last 12
months has been on each of the frameworks you have and when will they
expire/re-open for applications. N/A
 
4.      Have you procured consultancy services through your own unique,
project specific tender processes? (for example advertising a tender for a
specific consultancy piece of work) Babergh District Council procures
consultancy services as these are required. Other than the coding to the
subjective in our GL accounts  we do not specifically record details of
consultancy expenditure as this is often professional and technical
services.
a.      If so what proportion of your consultancy spend was procured
through this route, and where do you advertise such opportunities?  See
above.
 
5.      Have you procured consultancy services through any other
mechanisms in the last 12 months? (for example direct awards). If so what
proportion of your consultancy spend was this for.  See above.
 
The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. You are free to use it for your
own purposes, including any non-commercial research you are doing and for
the purposes of news reporting.  Please contact us if you wish to re-use
the information for commercial purposes so that the appropriate licence
can be issued (in some instances a fee will be payable).  Additionally,
you must ensure that you gain permission before reproducing any third
party (non Babergh/Mid Suffolk District Council copyright) information.
 
If you are unhappy with this response you may request an internal review
of this matter via the Council’s corporate complaints procedure.  If you
are not content with the outcome of the review you have a right of appeal
to the Information Commissioner at the following address: Information
Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9
5AF. Tel: 01625 545 745 Email: [1][email address].
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Data Protection
Tel: 0300 1234000
Email: [2][email address]
[3]www.babergh.gov.uk  [4]www.midsuffolk.gov.uk
Babergh & Mid Suffolk District Councils - Working Together
Endeavour House, 8 Russell Road, Ipswich IP1 2BX
 
 
 
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