Farewell From Ranjana

You'll have seen in last month's newsletter that we've recently been recruiting for a Senior Contracts and Procurement Officer; this is because we are shortly to be losing Ranjana Kapur to pastures new.

What Should I Tell An Unsuccessful Bidder?

A procurement challenge brought by European Dynamics earlier this year serves as a reminder of the importance of giving reasons to unsuccessful bidders when carrying out procurements subject to The Public Contracts Regulations 2015.

New Contract Value Thresholds Effective 1 January 2016

New thresholds for the application of the various public procurement regimes come into force on 1 January 2016. For supply and service contracts awarded by education establishments the new threshold above which the public procurement regime will apply is €209,000, or £164,176, for public works contracts its €5,225,000 or £4,104,394.

Extension of AV Equipment Framework

The Audio Visual Equipment and Equipment with Installation framework has been extended until 29th February 2016. The framework is to be re-tendered with a contract notice to be published in the OJEU on 1st December 2016.

Expiry of Occupational Health Services Framework

The above framework expired on 30 November 2015. Having reviewed the low use of the framework over the last four years and having had very few enquiries about this framework the decision has been taken not to re-tender it at this time.

Benchmarking Activity This Month – We’ve Been Busy!

Please see the table below which show the fantastic results achieved in the benchmarking exercises that have been carried out during November.

Spending Review 2015: Too Soon to Celebrate for FE?

The public sector has become accustomed in recent years to an impending sense of doom ahead of budget or spending review announcements. Following FE budget cuts in real terms of 14% in the last parliament, Education Secretary Nicky Morgan conceded in September that the FE sector was in a "fragile" state. Amid recent ministerial statements that FE would not be protected from cuts, 125 FE College principles wrote to the Government warning that further cuts would tip them "over the precipice".

EU Audit - Errors in Procurement will lead to funds being withheld

The EU Court of Auditors investigated how member states conduct procurements under The European Regional Development Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Social Fund (now the European Structural Investment Fund (ESIF)).

Ground-Breaking Exam Procurement Project with CCS and AOC

CPC are delighted to have recently joined a project with AoC, CCS and a number of colleges who have been working on the development of an agreement for procuring from Awarding Organisations under the new EU regulations.

The Surprising Benefits of Sit-To-Stand Workstations

The level of interest in sit-to-stand workstations is growing with significant media interest in 2015 about the health benefits of being active within the workplace. While over 90% of workstations in Scandinavia are sit-stand, in the UK this is less than 1%. The traditional barriers to buying this type of solution have been around cost and uncertainty about whether UK employees will embrace this new way of working.