Procurement process waiver requests
January 28, 2022
The Trust has seen an increasing volume of waiver requests, which seek to avoid formal competitive procurement processes, instead approaching only one supplier. While there are justifiable reasons for completing a waiver, the current annual value of waivers submitted is close to £20m which is clearly too high. Where waivers are submitted it is difficult for the Trust to demonstrate compliance with Standing Financial Instructions (SFIs), which govern how the Trust spends money; in addition to ensuring best value is obtained.
Trust SFIs provide greater detail on the requirements for good corporate governance with regard to management of non-pay expenditure and are essential reading for all staff. Under SFIs the thresholds for competitive procurement requirements (as they relate to the completion of waiver forms) are as follows, meaning that waivers are necessary for requested purchases over £10k not following a competitive process.
| Obtain minimum of 2 verbal quotations | <= £10,000 |
| Obtain a minimum of 3 written quotations | Between £10,000 and £24,999 |
| Competitive procurement exercise carried out by the Trust Procurement Department or in accordance with procedures laid down by the Head of Procurement with a minimum of three suppliers being invited to participate – If advertised an advert must be included in Contracts Finder | £25,000 and £118.133 |
| Competitive procurement exercise carried out by the Trust Procurement Department or in accordance with procedures laid down by the Head of Procurement with a minimum of three suppliers being invited – must be advertised in Contracts Finder and The Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) | Above £118,133 |
A key exception to the above is where the Trust uses an approved national framework agreement, such as those provided by NHS Supply Chain, of which Procurement will give advice on. Procurement will also ensure that where it is felt that value can be added requests below the waiver threshold will still be subject to procurement review.
In an effort to simplify the process and ensure that where use of the process is justifiable is clear, the waiver request form has been re-designed and is provided with this communication. It will be necessary to select one of the below justifications when making a waiver request; along with a narrative supporting the request, confirmation that there is no interest in the requested company to declare and whether the request is retrospective for something that has already occurred. Where a retrospective waiver request is submitted, further action may be taken through the Audit Committee.
| Justification for Waiver | Mark as appropriate | |
| 1 | Products / Services can only be supplied by a particular supplier / person | |
| 2 | To buy elsewhere would result in incompatibility with existing equipment | |
| 3 | To buy elsewhere would result in disproportionate technical / project difficulty or cost | |
| 4 | Timescales genuinely preclude tendering (failure to plan is not a valid justification) | |
| 5 | Other. (NB – This option should only be selected in exceptional circumstances and will require approval from both the CFO and the Director of Procurement) |
The new form that accompanies this communication should be completed electronically and provided to Procurement via email. Where the previous form is provided from today’s date it will be returned and requested to be completed on the new document.
Procurement are developing a plan to address waivers where there appear to be other providers offering alternative products / services and waiver numbers will continue to be monitored and flagged where inappropriately raised.