The Brigade spends in excess of £90 million each year on a wide range of goods, services and works.
As a public sector organisation, the way in which we procure is governed by internal regulations and national and European legislation.
The London Fire Commissioner's Procurement Standing Orders set out the internal policy by which we spend money on goods, services and works to ensure contracts are awarded to suppliers that are financially, commercially and technically capable of delivering requirements to maximise value for money.
Depending on the contract value, the Brigade adheres to a framework of legislation and processes, which includes:
To obtain the best value, all of our procurement activity is subject to reasonable competition and where appropriate we utilise framework agreements and contracts awarded by other bodies on behalf of public sector authorities e.g. Crown Commercial Service, Kent County Council, the Fire Consortium and others. In addition we undertake collaborative procurement with other fire authorities, emergency services, local authorities, the GLA Group and other public bodies.
Fair and appropriate levels of competition regardless of the contract value is the Brigade's default approach to award of contracts.
The Commissioner’s Procurement Standing Orders specify the minimum levels of competition that must be followed for different contract values.
Subject to compliance with the EU Procurement Regime, all exceptions to competition are subject to scrutiny and approval by the appropriate governance level.
The Brigade advertises and manages all tender opportunities on the In-tend E-tendering Portal (see accompanying Guide) and, where applicable, low value contracts are advertised on Contracts Finder.
All new procurement opportunities that require publication of a notice in the OJEU are also published in Tenders Electronic Daily (TED) through the Bluelight portal.
The Brigade does not respond to unsolicited emails or telephone calls and therefore encourages all companies wishing to work with the Brigade to register with the BlueLight E-tendering Portal.
Any supplier interested in pursuing business opportunities with the Brigade should visit In-tend E-tendering Portal (see accompanying Guide) where they can register free of charge against contract categories that align with their business. When a contract opportunity arises within a category they have indicated, they will receive an alert and can then decide whether or not they wish to register an expression of interest against that specific opportunity and enter into the procurement process.
Use of the Bluelight Portal is free of charge to suppliers and user guides are available in the Suppliers Area section. Registration also enables access to opportunities advertised by other participating Member Authorities within the Emergency Service Sector.
Responding to Contract Opportunities
Instructions on how to participate in and respond to competitive opportunities are detailed in all advertisements and the documents for competition. You are advised to read these carefully and use any clarification period to raise any questions you may have to which the Brigade will respond accordingly.
The Terms and Conditions applicable to a contract will vary depending on the requirement and the procurement approach e.g. for a contract awarded under a framework, the framework call off Terms and Conditions will apply.
All Terms and Conditions will be issued during the competitive process for potential suppliers to review before submitting a proposal.
Except where there is a written contract signed by both parties, the standard Purchase Order Terms and Conditions shall apply to all purchase orders sent by the Brigade.
In line with the Local Government Transparency Code, the Brigade publishes details of tenders and contracts for any contracts of a value of £5,000 or more.
To access data of the Brigade's tenders or contracts with a value of £10,000 or more, and details of the purchase orders with a value of £5,000 or more, refer to the data published on a quarterly on the London DataStore.
To request copies of the tender/contract documents, email infoaccess@london-fire.gov.uk.
Responsible Procurement is the purchase of goods, works and services in an environmentally and socially responsible way that delivers value for money and benefits the local community.
Our approach to Responsible Procurement corresponds to how we deliver social value through procurement. Find out more about how sustainability is delivered in the procurement of goods and services in our Sustainability section.