Minimum standards and qualification required
The purpose of this Invitation to Quote (ITQ) is to provide potential suppliers with sufficient information to enable them to compile a comprehensive quote that meets our requirements for the delivery of the goods, services or works described within this ITQ.
Unless required specifically to do so, bidders are not required to submit any other information. Please note that any additional information supplied by bidders that was not requested will be disregarded.
If you have any queries about this ITQ you should send your query to the Ffestiniog Town Council in section 2. Any queries should clearly reference the appropriate paragraph or section in the ITQ and, to the extent possible, should be aggregated rather than sent individually.
1. Tender Conditions and Contractual Requirements
This section sets out Ffestiniog Town Council’s contracting requirements and the general conditions relating to this procurement process.
1.1 Terms and Conditions of contract
1.1.1 Ffestiniog Town Council’s standard terms and conditions of contract are included with this ITQ.
1.1.2 This ITQ, the terms and conditions of contract and the supplier’s quote will form the basis of the Contract between the successful supplier and Ffestiniog Town Council.
1.1.3 In the event that suppliers have any concerns or queries about the Contract, they should submit a request for clarification before submitting their quote. Any changes to the Contract that become necessary will be notified to all potential suppliers.
1.1.4 Ffestiniog Town Council is under no obligation to consider any requests for clarification about the Contract received after the deadline for submitting your quote.
1.1.5 Any proposed amendments to terms and conditions received from a potential supplier as part of their quote shall entitle Ffestiniog Town Council to reject that quote and to disqualify that potential supplier from this procurement process.
1.2 Conflict of interest
1.2.1 Ffestiniog Town Council is required to take appropriate measures to effectively prevent, identify and remedy conflicts of interest to ensure that competition is open and fair, and to ensure equal treatment of suppliers. In order to help us manage any conflicts of interest suppliers are required to declare any conflicts or potential conflicts of interest in relation to this procurement process and the means of resolving it.
1.2.2 Failure to declare any actual or potential conflict and/or failure to address such conflict to the reasonable satisfaction of Ffestiniog Town Council may result in a supplier being disqualified from this procurement process.
1.3 Contracting with ex-employees of Ffestiniog Town Council
1.3.1 Suppliers who are ex-employees of Ffestiniog Town Council or who employ ex-employees of Ffestiniog Town Council are required to declare this as an actual or potential conflict of interest.
1.3.2 Where a conflict of interest or potential conflict of interest is declared, Ffestiniog Town Council will assess whether this conflict is likely to result in a distortion of competition and will take appropriate measures to remedy such conflicts.
1.3.3 Suppliers will be given the opportunity to demonstrate that their involvement is not capable of distorting competition. Ffestiniog Town Council will assess the bidder’s representations and consider if a real risk of a conflict or distortion still exists. In the event that the conflict or potential conflict of interest cannot be remedied Ffestiniog Town Council reserves the right at its absolute discretion to exclude the supplier from the procurement process.
1.4 Confidentiality
1.4.1 All information supplied to the bidder by Ffestiniog Town Council, including this ITQ and all other documents relating to this procurement process, either in writing or orally, must be treated in confidence and not disclosed to any third party (except to the bidders professional advisors, consortium members and/or sub-contractors strictly for the purposes only of helping them to participate in this procurement process and/or prepare their quote) unless the information is already in the public domain or is required to be disclosed under any applicable laws.
1.4.2 Bidders shall not disclose, copy or reproduce any of the information supplied to them as part of this procurement process other than for the purposes of preparing and submitting a quote.
1.4.3 There must be no publicity by bidders regarding the procurement process or the future award of any contract unless Ffestiniog Town Council has given express written consent to the relevant communication.
1.4.4 This ITQ and its accompanying documents shall remain the property of Ffestiniog Town Council and must be returned on demand.
1.4.5 Ffestiniog Town Council reserves the right to disclose all documents relating to this procurement process, including without limitation the supplier’s quote, to any employee, third party agent, adviser or other third party involved in the procurement in support of, and/or in collaboration with, Ffestiniog Town Council. By participating in the procurement process, suppliers agree to such disclosure by Ffestiniog Town Council in accordance with such rights reserved by it under this paragraph.
1.5 Freedom of Information
1.5.1 The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR) apply to Ffestiniog Town Council. Suppliers should be aware of Ffestiniog Town Council’s obligations and responsibilities under these Regulations to disclose information held by Ffestiniog Town Council. Information provided by suppliers in connection with this procurement process, or with any contract that may be awarded as a result of this exercise, may therefore have to be disclosed by Ffestiniog Town Council as a result of our obligations, unless Ffestiniog Town Council decides that one of the statutory exemptions under the FOIA or the EOPT applies.
1.5.2 Information may be exempt from disclosure under FOIA where its disclosure would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of any person but Ffestiniog Town Council can give no assurance as to whether information received from suppliers in connection with this bid would be disclosed in response to a request made under FOIA.
1.5.3 In the event that such a request is received by Ffestiniog Town Council, Ffestiniog Town Council shall, in accordance with its obligations under the Code of Practice made under section 45 FOIA, consult with any party whose interests are likely to be affected by disclosure. However, Ffestiniog Town Council shall be responsible for determining at its absolute discretion whether any such information is exempt from disclosure in accordance with the provisions of the FOIA or EIR and whether any such information is to be disclosed in response to an information request.
1.6 Costs
1.6.1 Suppliers are responsible for obtaining all information necessary for the preparation of their quotes and for all costs and expenses incurred in preparation of their quotes.
1.6.2 By submitting a quote suppliers accept that they will not be entitled to claim from Ffestiniog Town Council any costs, expenses or liabilities that they may incur in quoting for this requirement irrespective of whether or not their quote is successful.
1.7 Payment and Invoicing
1.7.1 All invoices must contain a description of the goods/service supplied and be sent for payment to the Ffestiniog Town Council, Canolfan Gymdeithasol Bro Ffestiniog, Blaenau Ffestiniog LL41 3UF – dirprwyglerc@cyngortrefffestiniog.cymru
1.8 Quote Validity
1.8.1 Suppliers’ quotes must remain open for acceptance by Ffestiniog Town Council for a period of no less than 28 days from the date of submission, unless stated otherwise in the specification.
1.9 Governing Law
1.9.1 The laws of England and Wales (as applied in Wales) and the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales shall apply to this ITQ and, subject to applicable law, any dispute, including any non-contractual dispute arising therefrom.
1.10 Disqualification
1.10.1 Ffestiniog Town Council shall be entitled to reject a suppliers quote and to disqualify the supplier from this procurement process if they breach these Conditions, if there are any errors, omissions or material adverse changes relating to any information supplied by the bidder at any stage in this procurement process, if any other circumstances set out in this ITQ, and/or in any supporting documents, entitling Ffestiniog Town Council to reject a tender response apply, and/or if the bidder or their appointed advisers attempt:
i. to inappropriately influence this Procurement Process;
ii. to fix or set the price for goods or services;
iii. to enter into an arrangement with any other party that such party shall refrain from submitting a quote;
iv. to enter into any arrangement with any other party (other than another party that forms part of the bidder’s consortium bid or is the bidder’s proposed sub-contractor) as to the prices submitted;
v. to collude in any other way;
vi. to engage in direct or indirect bribery or canvassing by the bidder or their appointed advisers in relation to this Procurement Process; or
vii. to obtain information from any of the employees, agents or advisors of Ffestiniog Town Council concerning this Procurement Process (other than as set out in these Conditions) or from another potential bidder or another quote.
1.10.2 By participating in this procurement process the bidder accepts that Ffestiniog Town Council shall have no liability to a disqualified potential bidder in these circumstances.
1.11 Right to cancel or vary the process
1.11.1 By issuing this ITQ, entering into clarification communications with potential bidders or by having any other form of communication with potential bidders, Ffestiniog Town Council is not bound in any way to enter into any contractual or other arrangements with any bidder or potential bidder.
1.11.2 Ffestiniog Town Council reserves the right to terminate, suspend, amend or vary this procurement process by notice to all potential bidders in writing.
1.11.3 Ffestiniog Town Council will have no liability for any losses, costs or expenses caused to bidders as a result of such termination, suspension, amendment or variation.
1.12 General Requirements
1.12.1 Prices quoted must be stated in Sterling (GBP) and be exclusive of VAT.
2. Adherence to Regulatory and Ffestiniog Town Council Policy requirements
This section sets out the Regulatory and policy requirements that Ffestiniog Town Council expects its suppliers to comply with and take into consideration when bidding for work with Ffestiniog Town Council.
2.1 Sustainability
2.1.1 Sustainable procurement takes into account the economic, environmental and social impacts of purchasing. It allows Ffestiniog Town Council to meet its need for goods and services in a way that achieves value for money and generates benefits not only to the organisation but to society and the economy, whilst also considering the environmental impact.
2.2 Environmental policy
2.2.1 Ffestiniog Town Council’s Environmental Policy sets out the organisation’s commitment to minimise Ffestiniog Town Council’s environmental impact by, amongst other things:
• Reducing the amount of energy, water and resource Ffestiniog Town Council uses
• Minimising the amount of waste that Ffestiniog Town Council generates
• Minimising Ffestiniog Town Council’s use of harmful materials and preventing pollution
• Procuring goods and services from sustainable sources and encouraging Ffestiniog Town Council’s suppliers/contractors to improve their own environmental performance
• Minimising greenhouse gas emissions from all Ffestiniog Town Council operations and activities
2.2.2 All suppliers are encouraged to be aware of Ffestiniog Town Council’s Environmental Policy and demonstrate best environmental practices when supplying goods to or providing services on behalf of Ffestiniog Town Council.
2.3 Ethical employment practices
2.3.1 Ffestiniog Town Council supports the Welsh Government’s commitment that workers in public sector supply chains are employed ethically and in compliance with both the letter and spirit of UK, EU, and international laws.
2.3.2 Ffestiniog Town Council will seek to ensure that unlawful and unethical employment practices are eradicated from its supply chains and that all workers at every stage of the supply chain are treated fairly. We expect our suppliers to ensure that ethical working practices are employed in relation to their own workforce, sub-contractors and supply chains.
2.4 Equality and diversity
2.4.1 Ffestiniog Town Council will always consider equality, diversity and inclusion when conducting procurement activities. Ffestiniog Town Council requires all its suppliers to meet their duties under the Equality Act 2010 and may ask for evidence that they are aware of and operate in accordance with those requirements.
2.5 Welsh language standards
2.5.1 Ffestiniog Town Council’s Welsh Language Standards state that contracts, agreements or arrangements with third parties which relate to the provision of services to the public in Wales that would have otherwise been provided by ourselves, will comply with the relevant parts of Ffestiniog Town Councils Welsh Language Standards.
2.5.2 All Ffestiniog Town Council’s suppliers are encouraged to be aware of its Welsh Language Standards when providing services to the public on behalf of Ffestiniog Town Council.
2.6 Health and Safety
2.6.1 The health, safety and wellbeing of Ffestiniog Town Council’s employees, suppliers/contractors, volunteers, and people who use its resources is of the utmost importance to Ffestiniog Town Council. Ffestiniog Town Council will ensure arrangements are in place so that everyone remains healthy, well and injury free.
2.6.2 Suppliers may be excluded for proven non-compliance with relevant health and safety legislation, or for a poor track record on previous contracts involving health and safety requirements.
2.7 Data protection
2.7.1 Quotes are submitted on the condition that the appointed supplier will only process personal data (as may be defined under any relevant data protection laws) that it gains access to in performance of this Contract in accordance with Ffestiniog Town Council’s written instructions and will not use such personal data for any other purpose.
2.7.2 The contracted supplier will undertake to process any personal data on Ffestiniog Town Council’s behalf in accordance with the relevant provisions of any relevant data protection laws and to ensure all consents required under such laws are obtained.
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