Schools

Schools in Lincolnshire spend over 50 million pounds a year on goods and services. On this page we aim to help you achieve value for money and accomplish efficiencies. There are a number of ways to do this, but one of the easiest is to use existing framework agreements.

For more information on this, and other support, please use the links on this page.

This is your page, and if you have any suggestions for improvement, or support please contact: procurement.lincolnshire@lincolnshire.gov.uk

Framework Agreements

What is a framework agreement?

A framework agreement is a formal agreement with selected or shortlisted suppliers and may cover the provision of a group of goods, works or services- there may also be more than one supplier under each framework. Having framework agreements in place is less time consuming and costly than going through the tender process but is still subject to full competition.

 It allows you to contact suppliers as and when required, with the purpose being to establish the terms of contract like price and quantity.

Advantages of using a framework:

• Compliant with EU legislation and LCC’s Finance Procedure Rules.
• Lower prices due to economics of scale
• Normally there is a lead buyer responsible for the framework with market expertise who can challenge the supplier.
• Saves time and money as there is no need to do a formal tender or repeat bidding
• Reduced amount of paperwork and evaluation.
• Increased flexibility. Institution is not tied to a particular agreement
• Freedom to award contracts without the need to re-advertise and re-apply

There are two main purchasing organisations that set up framework agreements; Buying Solutions and ESPO.

Buying solutions set up national frameworks, details of which can be found at; http://www.buyingsolutions.gov.uk/frameworks/ (you will need to register to see prices)

ESPO mainly set up regional frameworks, details of which can be found at;
http://www.espodealingdirect.org/