About this guide

This guide has been produced to assist suppliers who wish to conduct business with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It aims to help in the following ways:

• by outlining the rules that the Council must follow
• by alerting suppliers to the opportunities to supply to the Council
• by explaining how to bid for Council procurement opportunities

The guide has been produced to supplement the Council’s normal procedures and to help improve its scope for obtaining value for money from its tendering process.

The Council is responsible for procuring goods, services, and works . This includes anything that will impact on the daily lives of residents, and can vary from waste management services to the maintenance of Council buildings, or resources used in schools or Council offices.

The Royal Borough encourages competition and welcomes bids from new and established suppliers. Contracts are awarded on the basis of obtaining value for money for the taxpayer. The Council cannot discriminate in favour of local suppliers, but they are encouraged to compete for Council contracts and use this guidance as a tool to help them better prepare for tenders.

The benefit of dealing with the Royal Borough is that the Council has to be fair, non-discriminatory, honest and professional in the way that it awards contracts and chooses its suppliers. The Council pays promptly in line with national standards and agreed contract terms.

If any supplier is interested in tender opportunities with the Council, they should respond as requested in the tender advertisement.