How Avon Fire Authority buys goods and services
Avon Fire Authority is responsible for Avon Fire & Rescue
Service, which spends approximately £8m on a wide range of goods
and services.
The Authority must ensure the money it receives through taxation
is used as carefully as possible and it achieves best value in
providing services to the public.
A large amount of the Authority’s expenditure is spent
under contracts, which are awarded after reasonable
competition.
The Authority undertakes collaborative procurement with the Fire
Authorities in the South West, including Cornwall, Devon &
Somerset, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, other Fire and
Police Authorities nationally and with sub-regional group - the
Partners in Procurement. You can find more details by
clicking here.
The Authority also makes use of contracts awarded by other bodies
on behalf of the public sector, such Buying Solutions and other
purchasing consortia.
The Authority generally encourages competition and welcomes bids
from new and established suppliers. Contracts must be awarded on
the basis of the most economically advantageous offer. The
Authority cannot discriminate in favour of local suppliers, but
will provide all suppliers with encouragement and advice on how to
compete for contracts.
The Authority’s procurement strategy, which is based upon fair,
transparent and open competition, following procedures that are
auditable to make sure the process is reasonable as far
as it is commercially possible to do so.
The Authority aims to increase the levels of electronic
business, which over time will include electronic ordering and
invoicing. This will reduce the costs associated with the
process and the costs of normal trading.
As part of this, the Authority aims to place advertisements
for contacts and to carry out quotation and tender exercises
through the Bluelight e-tendering portal www.bluelight.gov.uk
Contractors should register on Bluelight as a potential supplier
in order to receive information on tender opportunities and to
access documents for Avon Fire Authority and for other fire
authorities and police authorities nationally.
The Authority must follow the European, national and local level
regulations when procuring goods, services and works and must
ensure the principles of transparency and fairness are applied
throughout all procurement processes.
Subject to certain exceptions, the following thresholds apply
from July 2009 to requirements for the external supply of goods,
services or works, where the total value of the contract is
calculated as:
Up to £6,000: No formal requirement but best practice should be
followed
£6,001 to £25,000: A minimum of three quotations
£25,001 to £100,000: A minimum of three ‘sealed bid’
quotations
Over £100,000: Formal tendering and implementing of EU procedure
when applicable
Details of the Authority’s contracts can be found at:
https://www.blpd.gov.uk/foi/foi.aspx
For further information please contact:
Supplies.Section@avonfire.gov.uk
Tel: 0117 926 2061
Useful documents for suppliers
Standard terms and conditions for suppliers and
contractors October 2011 (PDF 90kb, opens in a new
window)
Confidential Reporting Code (PDF 87.4kb, opens
in a new window)
AFA Standing Orders & Financial Regulations
(PDF 322kb, opens in a new window)