How to sell to the Council
This site provides information to organisations about how they can supply products and provide services to the Council and covers the following:
- Supplier prospectus
- Our purchasing agent (ESPO)
- Approved lists
- Future opportunities
- Who to contact
- The Council’s standard terms and conditions
Comprehensive information about supplying to government in general can be found from accessing the Supplying Government website using the External Link on the right.
If you have any feedback on any procurement issue please email the Procurement Manager, Nigel Arkle, using the "contact us" link in the Related Information box to the right.
Supplier prospectus
The Council spends over £18 million a year on a variety of products and services, to enable it to provide the necessary services to its customers. A few examples of the range of these products and services are: stationery to construction works; preventative maintenance services to data collection consultancy services; refuse lorries to Leisure Centre equipment and computer equipment to plants for grounds maintenance.
The Council does not buy products or services relating to houses as it has transferred all of its housing stock to the Luminus Group (formerly Huntingdonshire Housing Partnership (HHP)). For information on how to become a Luminus Group supplier, please use the External Link box on the right to take you to Luminus Group's web site.
Products and services that are on framework agreements let by our purchasing agents, Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation (ESPO), will normally be purchased this way. Other requirements will be tendered via ESPO where they have the necessary category experience and knowledge . [See below for information about ESPO]
Suppliers for construction contracts ranging from £30,000 to the EU threshold are selected by one of two methods:
- via an approved list managed by a third party (e.g. Constructionline).
- open competition advertised in an appropriate press or trade journal.
The contracts that the Council expects to be let are published in advance, the details are provided in “Latest Opportunities” (link on the left).
Our purchasing agent (ESPO)
The Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation (ESPO) is a local authority purchasing and distribution consortium. It acts as a purchasing agent for its member authorities and other customers which includes Huntingdonshire District Council.
ESPO is made up by seven large Councils and provides certain goods and or services plus advice and assistance to all within the following areas; Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire , Lincolnshire, Norfolk Peterborough and Warwickshire.
Huntingdonshire District Council tries, wherever possible, to purchase its products and services through ESPO.
For information on how to become an ESPO supplier, please use the External Link box on the right which will take you to ESPO's web site.
Approved lists
The Council uses approved lists for construction contracts estimated between £30,000 and the EU Procurement Directive for Works contracts threshold (£3,611,319 from to 31st January 2006). For information, please use the links in External Link box on the right to take you to Constructionline website.
Future opportunities
The Council advertises future opportunities and contracts let at the "Latest Opportunities" web page which can be reached by following the link on the left.
The Council’s standard terms and conditions
The Council expects to buy its products and services on the basis of its standard terms and conditions wherever possible.
For various contracts these standard terms and conditions may be amended and or supplemented by specific terms and conditions that relate to that particular contract. To access the Council's current standard terms and conditions please click on "Standard Terms and Conditions" document located in the Linked Documents box on the right.