Transport concerns leads to review of council contracts (From York Press)

Transport concerns leads to review of City of York Council contracts

8:51am Saturday 4th August 2012 in News

City of York Council has had to review how it classifies the services it buys from businesses after a supplier raised concerns about how it handled a transport contract for taking disabled children to school.

Under European procurement directives, services provided by businesses to local authorities are classified as either Part A services, or Part B services, which are subject to minimal legislative requirements.

The council handled the contract as a Part B service, and did not allow a period of time following the announcement of the contract being awarded for it to be challenged, as required for Part A contracts.

The Cabinet Office has asked the council to review the process by which procurement contracts are classified, and to look at all new contracts for services that have been previously classified as Part B services.

Zara Carter, head of procurement at City of York Council said the Cabinet office concluded they had not breached any procurement regulations and recognised they proactively briefed all potential suppliers that the contract was a part B service at a bidder event before launching the tender.

She said: “We are absolutely committed to continuous improvement in our procurement service and to making it accessible for SMEs. Indeed, we have recently undertaken a review of our procurement service to ensure that the council is using its buying power effectively, supporting the local economy and providing value for money for residents.”