Invitation to tender

Invitations to tender are used in a competitive tendering process in which suppliers or contractors are able to participate in a procurement process for the supply of specific and clearly defined goods or services during a specified timeframe.

Data has been excluded or redacted from the publication in line with guidance issued by the Local Government Association.

There are occasions when data items have been removed (redacted) for the following reasons:

• REDACTED PERSONAL DATA where the data would identify an individual in the context of their private life.
• REDACTED COMMERCIAL CONFIDENTIALITY where the release of information could prejudice the conduct of business or was provided in confidence.
• REDACTED OTHER where revealing information would compromise security, health & safety or crime prevention.

The Council manage 4 distinct processes –
1. Tendering,
2. Awarding a Contract
3. Ordering Goods and Services via a Purchase Order as required
4. Paying an Invoice or awarding a Grant.

This means that the same or similar information may be duplicated over datasets published by the Council. An example of this process would be a contract being advertised via an Invitation to Tender, awarded to a stationery supplier, a purchase order will then be raised to order 200 pens, the goods will be delivered and then an invoice submitted to the Council for payment. This information will be contained in the Invitation to Tender declaration, the Contract Register, Purchase Order Information and the Spend Data.

It is likely that the values contained in the Invitation to Tender, Contract Register, Purchase Order data and Spend Data will not reconcile. This is because the timeframe whereby each item of data is captured will be different and actual spend varies over time. For example, the Invitation to Tender will be the estimated maximum value for the full contract term at the point the contract is advertised, the Contract Register will be the estimated maximum contract value over the full term, Purchase Orders may reflect requirements over a much shorter time or a single “call off” and the spend declaration reflects when we pay for the goods and services.

Definitions:
• Contracts: documents evidencing a legally binding agreement between two or more parties. Purchase Orders may be raised against these Contracts.

• Framework agreements: are legally compliant routes to pre selecting suppliers who are able to supply goods and services. Contracts are awarded to bidders when the work is allocated. Such contracts will be listed on the contract register if they are over £5,000 and are classified as “frameworks”.

• Invitations to tender: are open advertisements to the market which represent opportunities for interested parties to express an interest in participating in a competitive procurement process for the supply of goods, services or works.

If you have queries with any of the payments listed in the data, please email [e-mail] specifying the name of the file you are referring to, the transaction reference or invoice or contract number, the amount and what additional information you require.

投标邀请函在竞争性招标过程中被广泛使用，允许供应商或承包商在特定时间段内参与对明确且界定清晰的货物或服务的采购流程。

根据地方政府协会发布的指导方针，部分数据已被删除或屏蔽。

在某些情况下，出于以下原因，数据项可能已被移除（屏蔽）：
• 屏蔽个人隐私数据，若数据能够识别个人在私人生活中的身份。
• 屏蔽商业机密，信息泄露可能损害商业行为或涉及保密提供。
• 屏蔽其他，信息泄露可能危及安全、健康与安全或犯罪预防。

议会管理四个独立流程：
1. 招标
2. 合同授予
3. 根据需要通过采购订单订购货物和服务
4. 支付发票或授予补助。

这意味着，相同或类似的信息可能在议会发布的各个数据集中重复出现。例如，通过投标邀请函发布的合同广告，授予文具供应商后，将发起采购订单订购200支笔，货物交付后，将提交发票给议会以支付款项。此类信息将包含在投标邀请函声明、合同登记册、采购订单信息和支出数据中。

预计投标邀请函、合同登记册、采购订单数据和支出数据中的值可能无法核对。这是因为捕捉每项数据的时间框架将不同，实际支出随时间变化。例如，投标邀请函将在合同广告时估计的整个合同期限内的最大价值，合同登记册将估计整个期限内的最大合同价值，采购订单可能反映较短时间内或单一“调用”的需求，而支出声明反映了支付货物和服务的具体时间。

定义：
• 合同：证明两方或更多方之间具有法律约束力的协议的文件。可能针对这些合同发起采购订单。
• 框架协议：是合法的预选供应商的途径，以便他们能够提供货物和服务。当工作分配时，将授予投标人合同。此类合同如果超过5000英镑且被归类为“框架”，则将列在合同登记册上。
• 投标邀请函：是对市场的公开广告，代表感兴趣方表达参与竞争性采购过程（供应货物、服务或工程）机会的途径。

如对数据中列出的任何付款有疑问，请发送电子邮件至[e-mail]，注明您所引用的文件名称、交易参考或发票或合同编号、金额以及您所需的其他附加信息。