Health and Safety
Executive / Commission
Selling to HSE
We conduct all tendering activities in a fair and open manner and records are made at all stages in the process to ensure the audit trail.
Before a formal tendering process begins, we may ask you to complete a pre-qualification questionnaire and will ask you to send in further details, for example the range of services you provide, your financial, commercial and technical ability, your previous experience, qualifications of staff and your quality management systems and procedures.
References may also be required from your banker and previous customers and, in some cases, a visit to your premises may be requested.
All contracts are let or overseen by the central Procurement Unit. The Procurement Unit acts as a focus for all matters relating to procurement, propriety, the development and implementation of procurement policy, strategy and procedures whilst ensuring value for money for the taxpayer.
We actively encourage applications from small and medium size enterprises (SME’s) and we utilise the services of sole traders where appropriate.
It is Government policy, as far as possible, to give people with disabilities the opportunity to enter the labour market. For this reason, Government sponsors supported employment.
The Online Supported Business Directory has been developed to support changes in the EU Public Sector and Utilities Directives, which now allow procurement officials in central, regional, and local government and wider public authorities more scope to reserve and place public procurement contracts for supported factories and businesses.
The directory is sponsored by Job Centre Plus and spearheaded by DWP, Remploy, GMB, OGC and the British Association of Supported Employment to bridge the gap between Government procurement and people with disabilities.
HSE will invite supported factories and businesses, defined where more than 50% of their employees are people with disabilities, to tender for the provision of products and services wherever this is practical.
We advertise contract opportunities in the Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) when the relevant procurement rules and prevailing financial thresholds apply:
We also advertise lower value purchasing opportunities via Supply2.gov.uk where the purchase value is known or anticipated to be typically less than £100k.
In some situations, it may be necessary to advertise our contract opportunities in the national and/or local press and in trade specific journals.When issuing ITT’s (requirement and specification document) we will be as explicit as possible in specifying our needs eg quality, technical capability and specification, delivery and timescales and, where applicable, we also include technical and commercial questionnaires.
The covering letter accompanying ITT’s contains clauses forbidding collusive tendering or disclosure of information to third parties. The covering letter also sets out the tender receipt date, the period of validity, the number of copies of the tender to be submitted and the tender evaluation criteria. All ITT’s issued include a copy of HSE Terms and Conditions of contract and you will be asked to sign a declaration form in acceptance.
Late or incomplete tenders will not be accepted and it is the responsibility of bidders to ensure that the tender arrives on time.
We have standard sets of terms and conditions covering various categories of goods and services.
We use a formalised evaluation process to identify the supplier(s) who will provide the best overall value for money for the particular purchase, which is not necessarily the lowest price.
Our tender evaluation is strictly controlled and conducted objectively and impartially. Information is extracted onto spreadsheets and the various requirements are scored in tabular form covering criteria, weighting, marks and comments. The criteria types, groups and weightings will vary depending on the circumstances.
During the evaluation process we may ask short-listed bidders to provide samples and/or demonstrate their products or services.
We may also ask short-listed bidders to visit our premises to provide a presentation of the services on offer and to address any questions we may have. In some cases we may visit all short-listed bidders' premises for a tour of the facility.
We may also invite short-listed bidders to participate in an electronic reverse auction (eAuction) event, which will be facilitated on our behalf by a third party service provider.
When we have completed the evaluation of tenders and reached our decision, we will inform the successful and unsuccessful bidders in writing as soon as possible.
It is our policy to always offer a debriefing with unsuccessful bidders and provide feedback on how they might improve their future competitive performance, as well as welcoming any comments on our performance and procedures.
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has issued a prompt payment code, which is widely recognised in the commercial world. We have adopted the principles of that code, which are followed by our purchasing and accounting staff.
We are committed to pay suppliers in accordance with the terms of their contract with us which is usually 30 days from receipt of a valid invoice or from receipt of the goods/services (whichever is the later).
In order to meet our contractual obligation, it is important that your invoice provides the details required for us to match it to the original order or contract. In particular, it is essential that you provide all information requested on the purchase order or as specified in the contract. If any of this information is missing, it may delay payment.
If you sub-contract in connection with an HSE contract, then it must include similar prompt payment terms to the above in respect of payments to the sub contractor.
The degree to which information relating to health and safety requirements will be requested will be specified in ITT’s and will depend on the nature and level of risks which arise from any particular contract.
Bidders must provide any evidence requested in ITT’s to demonstrate that their organisation actively promotes and manages health and safety.
We are fully committed to playing our part in the preservation of natural resources and in preventing environmental pollution. Our policy is to carry out our business so that we take full account of the needs of the environment, and includes action to reduce energy and water consumption, ensure paper is used economically and that recycled paper is used wherever it is practical and economic to do so.
We also aim to reduce the use of ozone depleting substances. Our purchasing policy pays proper regard to environmental issues whilst still securing best value for money. Details of any environmental requirements that suppliers need to be aware of will always be included in our ITT documents.
To support general Government policy, we would expect a potential supplier to have environmental management systems in place on the lines of ISO 14001, which is increasingly being adopted by the more responsible sections of industry.
We ensure diversity and equality when tendering for goods and services and comply with the relevant legislation.
We may receive requests for disclosure of information on tenders and will comply with our obligations as required by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
We will approach suppliers and/or contractors for permission before disclosing any information to enquiring parties.