The Council and the Commercial Team
Selling to Staffordshire County Council?
We spend approximately £500 million to £600 million per year on goods, works and services, across a wide variety of categories ranging from social care, utilities, waste, finance, construction and highways provisions to catering, cleaning and office supplies.
Our Commercial Team drives procurement and contract management and supports the process of engaging with our providers to select, award, and manage the agreements to deliver value for money for the Staffordshire citizen. Whilst having commercial expertise, deep knowledge of product and service categories, and access to national buying power, the Commercial Team maximises our spending power so that delivery of our commissioned activities is established and managed to provide optimum quality, efficiency and outcomes.
We also work closely with our partners, e.g., local authorities, the NHS, blue light, education, the Local Government Association (‘LGA’), and central government and the council has regard to the LGA’s National Procurement Strategy.
The way we buy, or procure, is evolving.
We must follow key procurement and contracts legislation, and the new Procurement Act 2023 will be launched later in 2024. Whilst the Act is a complex set of procurement law for high value procurements, the government is providing general informative guidance for the supply market to support the implementation. This includes an animation for providers and for small and medium enterprises and voluntary, community and social enterprises SMEs and VCSEs, both which summarise the new Procurement Act, next steps and timelines, outlines the support which will be made available, and suggestions for initial steps to help prepare. Also available is a short guide for suppliers.
Notwithstanding the high value project work, it is important that the salient parts of all procurement processes are briefly outlined in these web pages to provide as much key information as necessary to both the public and to the prospective market provider looking to do business with the council.