Working in partnership
We want to work with suppliers who share our values and work collaboratively with our teams to deliver great value for money for our residents and communities, encourage innovation and support continuous improvement.
Compliant practices
As a registered provider of social housing, we ensure that our approach to procurement is fair, transparent and compliant with all relevant procurement legislation, regulatory requirements and our internal financial rules. Where required, contract opportunities are advertised through recognised routes, including our e-procurement portal, the Find a Tender Service, appropriate frameworks and other approved platforms.
Find out more about our procurement tender process
Delivering value for money
We take a holistic view of delivering value for money for our residents when preparing to tender a contract, by considering and balancing cost, quality, social value and the environment in our evaluation criteria. We are committed to responsible sourcing, reducing environmental impact and working with suppliers who create wider social, economic and environmental benefits for our residents and the communities in which they live.
We are subject to the Social Value Act 2012, and look to create wider social, economic and environmental benefits for our residents and their communities through our third-party contracts wherever possible. When assessing bids with a pre-tender estimate of £100,000+ including VAT per annum for contracts of two years or more, 10% of the overall score is allocated to social value.
Procurement methodology
Contract value | Requirement |
£5,000 or less | Budget holder discretion, at least one written quote with market testing. |
£5,001-£49,999 | At least three written quotes with optional qualitative and social value elements; or Call-off from third-party framework or another suitable platform. |
£50,000-Find a Tender Service (FTS) thresholds | Full tender process with significant qualitative and social value elements, unless procuring straightforward or repeat goods, commodities or services; or Call-off from third-party framework or another suitable platform. |
Above FTS thresholds | Open/competitive flexible procedure with significant qualitative and social value elements; or Call-off from third-party framework or another suitable platform. |
Standard forms of contract
Contract spend thresholds (excluding VAT) | £0-5,000 | £5,000-£50,000 | £50,000-Public contract | Over public contract |
Goods | Email instruction; West Kent / supplier terms and conditions | West Kent or supplier terms and conditions | Terms and conditions / Call-off contract | Bespoke / Call-off contract |
Services | Email instruction; West Kent / supplier terms and conditions | West Kent terms and conditions / consultancy agreement / services contract | West Kent consultancy agreement / services contract / Framework call-off contract | West Kent consultancy agreement / services contract / Framework call-off contract |
Works | Email instruction; West Kent / supplier terms and conditions | West Kent small works / JCT minor work contract | West Kent small works / JCT suite | Framework call-off / JCT suite |
Our terms and conditions of business
Supplier assurance
All suppliers and contractors must meet appropriate assurance standards before working with us. This may require us to carry out checks on areas such as financial stability, data protection and security, insurances, safeguarding measures, health and safety records and environmental sustainability, as well as securing positive references from other clients.
These checks help us mitigate key risks including fraud, modern slavery and data loss, and provide assurances to our residents that we maintain a healthy and sustainable supply chain.
Getting involved
We do not generally operate approved supplier lists. Instead, we prefer to tender individual contracts as they arise. We use appropriate third-party frameworks, dynamic purchasing systems and dynamic markets for the majority of our contracts with spend exceeding the public contracts threshold.
When tendering either for below-threshold contracts to a pre-selected shortlist, or those we would like to offer to the open market, we use the myTenders e-procurement portal.
Suppliers can register on various portals to access opportunities to work with us.
MyTenders: this is our e-procurement portal, used when submitting quotes and taking part in tender processes.
Note: it is advised that a generic email address is used where possible for a new login, to minimise disruption should personnel change. If suppliers have any questions related to the portal, including the registration process, they should get in touch with the myTenders customer services team.
Find a Tender Service: The Government's new Central Digital Platform (CDP) builds on the Find a Tender Service, listing all opportunities open to anyone, as well as details of contracts entered into. Their factsheet explains how to use the platform.
ProcureCo: by registering on ProcureCo, suppliers and housing providers can connect early engagement and discussion before tenders go live.
If you would like more information, or have any procurement queries, please contact tenders@wkha.org.uk.