Selling to the Council

We aim to help suppliers wanting to:

• supply South Tyneside Council with goods or services
• carry out works on our behalf

We encourage competition and welcome bids from new and established suppliers, especially from:

• local small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs)
• third sector organisations
• social enterprises

For more information on what procurement is, see Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply: What is procurement?

Benefits of working with the Council

As a business partner, the Council is:

• fair
• non-discriminatory
• professional
• a well established organisation
• prompt to pay, and has an early payment programme called the 'Supplier Incentive Programme'

North East Procurement Organisation (NEPO)

The 12 Councils in the North East form the North East Procurement Organisation (NEPO).

This is used to work together and share procurement best value including the delivery of certain goods, services and work from third party suppliers.

Find out more about NEPO.

Rules we must follow

There are rules the Council has to follow when procuring goods and services.

Procurement rules

The tendering process

Quotations can be used for simple purchases under £100,000 in value.

Tenders are used for more complex procurements or values over £100,000.

We usually use either an open or restricted procedure.

The tendering and quotation process

Standard documentation

The Council aims to have a standardised approach to its tender documentation.

Standard documentation

Register your business

If you're a supplier wanting to do business with South Tyneside Council, please register on the NEPO portal, ProContract.

Register your business

Procurement support for your business

The Council works with its partners in the public and private sector to match up the needs of its buying requirements to potential local suppliers.

Procurement support for your business

Purchase order (PO) and invoice process

South Tyneside Council has a 'No PO - No Pay' policy.

This means suppliers must quote a valid PO number on each invoice submitted to the Council for payment, otherwise the payment will be delayed.

Purchase order and invoice process

Responsible procurement is an important part of the Council's procurement process. 

We have a responsibility to help suppliers procure value for money goods, services and works.

We do this while:

• maximising social value
• minimising environmental impacts
• making sure people are treated ethically throughout its supply chains

Social value

The government requires Councils to consider social value in their procurement activities.

Social value is:

• improving the health and wellbeing of local people and the local environment
• providing skills and employment opportunities
• promoting the local economy

We use the Social Value Portal Themes, Outcomes and Measures (TOMS) in our procurement processes.

This supports our local priorities.

For more information, see Social Value Portal.

What social value development involves

Social value development involves:

• effective protection of the environment
• careful use of natural resources
• social progress which recognises the needs of everyone
• maintenance of high and stable levels of economic growth and employment

Help to improve your environmental performance

Listed below are a number of programmes which may be able to help you improve your environmental performance:

Climate change strategy and action plan

See climate change strategy and action plan.

Carbon Trust

An independent company funded by the government.

They help businesses and the public sector reduce carbon emissions.

Phone: 020 7170 7000
Web: Carbon Trust

We help to support local businesses and help them to identify, bid for, and win public sector contracts.

This is known as the 'Supply South Tyneside' scheme. 

Our aim is to increase the amount of money we spend with local businesses.

The current level of third party local spend is 55% from a level of 32% in 2010.

Our rules and procedures

To achieve our aim, we have made changes to our procurement rules.

The updated rules show the minimum number of local businesses we will contact for a quote when specific opportunities come up:

• For supplies and services - anything under the public procurement threshold (£213,477 inclusive of VAT)
  We will contact at least 2 local suppliers and 2 non-local suppliers and invite them to quote / tender (where possible)
• For works / construction - Anything under £213,477 (inclusive of VAT)
  We will contact at least 2 local companies and 1 non-local supplier and invite them to quote / tender (where possible)
• For works / construction - Anything from £213,477 (inclusive of VAT) to £500,000
  We will contact at least 2 local companies and 2 non-local suppliers and invite them to quote / tender (where possible)

To access these opportunities, you will need to register your business with us.

This policy does not guarantee that local businesses will secure Council contracts.

All businesses will have to show that they are competitive on cost and quality.

More information

For more information please contact South Tyneside Council's Procurement team on 0191 424 7008.

We have done an in-depth analysis of our purchase-to-pay process so we can understand our supplier base better.

We have partnered with Oxygen Finance to provide an early payment solution, which promotes benefits for suppliers and the Council.

This is called the 'Supplier Incentive Programme'.

To find out more and sign up to the programme, see Supplier Incentive Programme.

Benefits for suppliers

Benefits include:

• faster payments
• improved cash flow through early payment
• increased process efficiency through e-invoicing
• dedicated processing and query resolution
• closer collaboration and long-term relationships

Benefits for the Council

Benefits include:

• more efficient purchase-to-payment processes
• opportunity to understand and manage the supply base better
• commitment to drive end-to-end process efficiency and reduce cost
• increased resources to support the community

Key features

Key features include:

• e-invoicing
• priority query resolution
• prompt payment
• improved cash flow
• improved working relationships through dedicated supplier support

Taking part in the programme

As a member of the Supplier Incentive Programme, you are eligible for early payment.

This means that in return for paying you ahead of terms, a small agreed rebate is taken off the invoice value.

The Council advertises tender opportunities on the:

• NEPO (North East Procurement Organisation) portal
• Government's Contract Finder site (opportunities over £25,000 in value)

The NEPO portal is used by all 12 North East Councils and other North East public sector bodies, to run their tendering and quotation processes.

Suppliers who are interested in doing business with the Council should register their business at NEPO (North East Purchasing Organisation).

Registering on the portal

Registering on the portal means you will see and be notified of opportunities.

It doesn't mean you will be invited to tender.

Futher evaluation may be needed, depending on the nature and value of the opportunity.

Current opportunities

All opportunites to do business with South Tyneside Council are available to view at NEPO: Opportunities.

Please select South Tyneside Council from the organisation list.

Contracts register

All current contracts in place with South Tyneside Council are available at Pro Contract: Contracts register.

Select South Tyneside Council from the list of organisations.

The list will automatically appear and is available to export.

Contracts Finder

The government Contracts Finder can be accessed at GOV.UK: Contracts Finder.

Opportunities over the public procurement threshold value

Tender opportunities that go over the values of the public procurement thresholds are advertised on GOV.UK: Find a Tender.

Find a Tender (FTS) is free to use.

FTS works with the following procurement portals:

• GOV.UK: Contracts Finder
• MOD Contracts
• Public Contracts Scotland
• Sell2Wales
• eTendersNI

The Council and South Tyneside Homes' Terms and Conditions shall apply to all purchase orders, to the exclusion of all other terms and conditions.

Where Terms and Conditions have not already been specified by the Council or South Tyneside Homes, the conditions set out below will apply as appropriate:

• Standard Terms and Conditions for orders - Goods and Services
• Terms and conditions for simple building works
• Terms and conditions for simple engineering works

Procurement strategy

This strategy:

• outlines our priorities for 2021-2024
• shows how procurement will contribute towards the South Tyneside Vision 2011-31 objectives, and the Council's community priorities

View the Procurement Strategy 2021 - 2024

Procurement business process

Procurements below EU threshold - supplies / services / works up to £213,477 inclusive of VAT

2 to 10 weeks (estimated amound of time to complete procurement process once specification is created):

1. Procurement check existing contracts and advise if there any suitable arrangements in place.
2. If none are available, Procurement will identify suppliers using Quick Quote, on an appropriate platform or the NEPO portal. If adverts are issued, they will be available on Contracts Finder.
3. Supplies and services - up to 4 quotations or minimum 4 tenders. Works - minimum 3 quotations, 2 local and 1 Tyne and Wear, using NEPO portal (Quick Quote, Request for Quotations/Tender) where possible.
4. The service area and Procurement evaluate the submissions to identify the best value, using issued evaluation criteria where appropriate. The winning supplier is then informed.
5. A purchase order or contract is put in place (a written contract is required when the value exceeds £100k). The NEPO system holds an audit trail for future reference.

Works over £213,477 (inclusive of VAT) to £500,000

10 weeks (estimated minimum timeline to complete procurement process once specification is created):

1. Procurement check existing contracts and advise if there any suitable arrangements in place. If not, a tender will be required.
2. Suppliers will be selected using a tender list using an appropriate platform - including 2 local and 2 Tyne and Wear providers, where possible.
3. Advertised on the NEPO portal and Contracts Finder. A tender or Selection Questionnaire (SQ) is sent to all suppliers who showed an interest on the NEPO e-tendering system.
4. If restricted procedure is used, SQs are evaluated against the selection criteria. Tender documents are then issued only to shortlisted suppliers that meet the selection criteria.
5. The returned tenders are evaluated against the award criteria detailed in the tender document. The most economically advantageous tender is selected.
6. Successful suppliers are informed of the outcome by procurement and a written contract is agreed.

Supplies / services over £213,477 (inclusive of VAT) and works over £5,336,937 (inclusive of VAT)

20 weeks (estimated minimum timeline to complete procurement process once specification is created):

1. To avoid the need to tender, Procurement check existing contracts and advise if there any suitable arrangements in place.
2. The Procurement Service advertise the opportunity through a contract notice. This is published on Find a Tender (FTS) and Contracts Finder.
3. A tender or SQ is sent to all suppliers who show an interest through the NEPO e-tendering system.
4. If restricted procedure is used, SQs are evaluated against the selection criteria. Tender documents are then issued only to shortlisted suppliers that meet the selection criteria.
5. The returned tenders are evaluated against the award criteria detailed in the tender document. The most economically advantageous tender is selected.
6. Written contract is finalised with the successful and unsuccessful bidders informed of the outcome in writing. Essential 10 day standstill period starts.
7. Contract is awarded and a contract award is published on Find a Tender (FTS) and Contracts Finder.

If you need any help with the information on these pages contact Corporate Procurement Services. 

The team can be contacted by phone or online.

To get in touch call 0191 424 7008 or email procurement@southtyneside.gov.uk.