Procurement of Consultancy Services

The request was successful.

Benjamin Barnes

Dear Sir/Madam,

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.

Yours faithfully,

Benjamin Barnes

InformationGovernance, Angus Council

Dear Mr Barnes

 

Thank you for your information request dated 10 July 2019 (received by
Angus Council that same day).

 

If we are unable to provide you with a response within 20 working days, we
will advise you of this in writing.

 

Please refer to the information below which explains your right to
complain if you are unhappy with how the Council is dealing with your
request.

 

If you have any queries, please ask for me on 01307 491992 or email
[1][Angus Council request email]  

 

Yours sincerely

 

Martin Friedrich

 

 

 

___________________________________________

Martin Friedrich | Paralegal-FOI | Legal & Democratic| Angus Council
|Angus House | Orchardbank Business Park | Forfar | DD8 1AN | DX 530678|
Tel: 01307 491992

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (SCOTLAND) ACT 2002

ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION (SCOTLAND) REGULATIONS 2004

INSPIRE (SCOTLAND) REGULATIONS 2009

 

Your Right to Request a Review by the Council

 

If you are dissatisfied with the way in which Angus Council has dealt with
your request for information under any of the above statutory instruments,
you have a right to ask the council to review its actions and/or decisions
regarding your request. If you wish to do this, you should make your
request to the Director - Legal & Democratic, Angus Council, Angus House,
Orchardbank Business Park, Forfar DD8 1AN or e-mail
[2][Angus Council request email] within 40 working days.

 

Your request must:

 

·         be in writing (or recordable format);

·         give your name and address for correspondence;

·         give details of the information which you originally requested
from the council;  and

·         give the reasons why you are dissatisfied with the way in which
your application for information has been dealt with.

 

Your application for review will then be considered by the council’s
review panel.  The review panel will write to you informing you of its
decision not later than 20 working days after receipt of your request for
a review. The review panel will also provide you with a statement of its
reasons for arriving at the decision it has made.

 

Your Right to Appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner

 

If you are dissatisfied with a decision of the council's review panel (or
where the review panel has not provided you with a response), you have the
right to apply to the Scottish Information Commissioner for a decision as
to whether your request for information has been dealt with by the council
in accordance with the above statutory instruments.

 

Your application to the Scottish Information Commissioner must:

 

o be in a recordable format (letter, e-mail, audio tape etc);

o give your name and address for correspondence.
o give details of the request for information which you originally
requested from the council;
o give details of why you were dissatisfied with the council’s response
to your original request;
o give details of why you were dissatisfied with the decision of the
council's review panel.

 

In the case of an EIR or FOI request your application to the Scottish
Information Commissioner must be made within 6 months of receipt of the
decision of the council’s review panel (or within 6 months of the date
that the review panel should have responded).  No such time limit applies
under the 2009 Regulations. 

 

Appeals to the Commissioner can be lodged online through the following
hyperlink:

[3]http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/YourR...
or by contacting:

 

Scottish Information Commissioner, Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road, St
Andrews, Fife, KY16 9BS; Telephone - 01334 464610; Fax - 01334 464611;
Email - [4][email address])

 

 

 

 

show quoted sections

BlackT, Angus Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Barnes

 

Request for Information: Angus Council Ref: 732/19 – Procurement of
Consultancy Services

 

Thank you for your request for information dated 10 July 2019 (received by
the Council that same day) which has been passed to me for attention. 

 

I have attached below the questions along with our responses:

 

+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Request for Information; Angus Council Ref: 732/19: What do they know -|
|Procurement of Consultancy Services |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|Request |Response |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|Please could you provide a breakdown of which mechanisms you procure|
|consultancy services from, specifically: |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|1.         Do you use |Yes whenever possible |
|national procurement | |
|frameworks to procure | |
|consultancy? | |
| | |
|  | |
|-----------------------------+------------------------------------------|
|a.         If so, which |We have not used any national frameworks|
|frameworks do you use, and |over the last 12 months |
|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 |We have not used these over the last 12|
|party neutral |months |
|vendors/procurement solution | |
|providers (eg ESPO, Bloom, | |
|Procurement hub) to procure | |
|consultancy? | |
| | |
|  | |
|-----------------------------+------------------------------------------|
|a.         If so which do you|n/a |
|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 |No |
|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 |None |
|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 |Yes we have procured through “quick quote”|
|consultancy services through |on PCS |
|your own unique, project | |
|specific tender processes? | |
|(for example advertising a | |
|tender for a specific | |
|consultancy piece of work) | |
| | |
|  | |
|-----------------------------+------------------------------------------|
|a.         If so what |100% for 18/19 |
|proportion of your | |
|consultancy spend was |We advertise on|
|procured through this route, |[1]www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk |
|and where do you advertise | |
|such opportunities? | |
| | |
|  | |
|-----------------------------+------------------------------------------|
|5.         Have you procured|No direct award activity was found through|
|consultancy services through|analysis |
|any other mechanisms in the| |
|last 12 months? (for example| |
|direct awards). If so what| |
|proportion of your| |
|consultancy spend was this| |
|for. | |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+

 

Procurement Information - Notes

 

Note  - Angus Council’s primary method of advertise contracting
opportunities is by use of the Public Contracts Scotland portal (PCS) to
in line with the Scottish Government Procurement Journey. Any other
advertising media are supplementary to PCS and considered on a
case-by-case basis specific to the requirement for which tenders are being
sought, e.g. specialist trade journals or local media if PCS alone may be
inadequate.  The link for PCS is:-

[2]https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov....

 

In compiling responses to information requests we invariably use
information which is routinely published on the Council’s website or
through its Publication Scheme which can be accessed at the following
link:
[3]http://www.angus,gov.uk/info/20300/freed...
If you require further information please first check that the information
you want is not routinely published as any such information is exempt from
release in terms of Section 25 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland)
Act 2002 or Regulation 6(1)(b) of the Environmental Information (Scotland)
Regulations 2004.

 

I hope that this information is of some help to you.  Please note that the
information contained in this reply is believed to be accurate as at
todays date (unless otherwise indicated) but no warranty is given. 
Further, Angus Council does not accept liability for any loss, injury or
damage which arises from the use of the information contained in this
reply either by you or by any other party.  Please refer to the
information set out in the Appendix which explains your right to complain
if you are unhappy with how the Council has dealt with your request.

 

Please refer to the information set out in the Appendix which explains
your right to complain if you are unhappy with how the Council has dealt
with your request.

 

If you have any queries, please ask for Lynne Robertson on (01307) 492431
or e-mail [4][email address].

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

 

Steven Mill

Service Lead (Finance)

 

APPENDIX

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (SCOTLAND) ACT 2002

ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION (SCOTLAND) REGULATIONS 2004

INSPIRE (SCOTLAND) REGULATIONS 2009

 

Your Right to Complain to the Council

 

If you are dissatisfied with the way in which Angus Council has dealt with
your request for information under any of the above statutory instruments,
you have a right to ask the council to review its actions and/or decisions
regarding your request. If you wish to do this, you should make your
request to the Service Leader - Legal & Democratic, Place, Angus Council,
Angus House, Orchardbank Business Park, Forfar DD8 1AN or e-mail
[5][Angus Council request email] within 40 working days.

 

Your request must:

·         be in writing (or recordable format);

·         give your name and address for correspondence;

·         give details of the information which you originally requested
from the council;  and

·         give the reasons why you are dissatisfied with the way in which
your application for information has been dealt with.

 

Your application for review will then be considered by the council’s
review panel.  The review panel will write to you informing you of its
decision not later than 20 working days after receipt of your request for
a review. The review panel will also provide you with a statement of its
reasons for arriving at the decision it has made.

 

Your Right to Complain to the Scottish Information Commissioner:

If you are dissatisfied with a decision of the council's review panel (or
where the review panel has not provided you with a response), you have the
right to apply to the Scottish Information Commissioner for a decision as
to whether your request for information has been dealt with by the council
in accordance with the above statutory instruments.

 

Your application to the Scottish Information Commissioner must:

o be in a recordable format (letter, e-mail, audio tape etc);

o give your name and address for correspondence.
o give details of the request for information which you originally
requested from the council;
o give details of why you were dissatisfied with the council’s response
to your original request;
o give details of why you were dissatisfied with the decision of the
council's review panel.

 

In the case of an EIR or FOI request your application to the Scottish
Information Commissioner must be made within 6 months of receipt of the
decision of the council’s review panel (or within 6 months of the date
that the review panel should have responded).  No such time limit applies
under the 2009 Regulations.

 

The Scottish Information Commissioner can be contacted at:-

 

Scottish Information Commissioner, Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road, St
Andrews, Fife, KY16 9BS; Telephone - 01334 464610; Fax - 01334 464611;
Email - [6][email address])

 

 

 

Tracey Black/Administration Assistant/Finance Department/Angus
House/Orchardbank Business Park, Forfar DD8 1AF/Tel 01307 491798

 

 

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References

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2. https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov....
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