How we select potential suppliers

We use a wide-range of sources to select potential suppliers. We do not, however, maintain approved supplier lists. Our mainly suppliers' sources include:

• our knowledge of the market in question
• existing suppliers to the  FCO or other Government Departments
• suppliers who have expressed an interest in bidding for FCO business
• the Internet, advertisements and suppliers' catalogues
• replies to contract advertisements
• trade shows and exhibitions
• trade associations, Chambers of Commerce and professional organisations
• trade directories and specialist journals. 

Terms and conditions

We have a standard sets of terms and conditions covering various types of goods and services. Below are examples of model contracts and invitations to tender for FCO goods, services and consultancy:

Model FCO Goods Contract (Short Form - value not exceeeding £100,000)  (PDF, 42.8K) 
 
Model FCO Contract for Services/Consultancy (Short Form – value not exceeding £15,000)  (PDF, 58.1K) 
 
Model FCO Consultancy/Services Contract (Medium Form – value between £15,000 and £100,000)  (PDF, 168K) 
 
Model FCO Invitation to Tender for Services Contracts (Medium Form) (Above £15,000 and below £100,000)  (PDF, 234K) 
 
Model FCO Invitation to Tender for Consultancy Contracts (Medium Form) (Above £15,000 and below £100,000)  (PDF, 229K) 
 
Model FCO Invitation to Tender documents for Services (long form - value over £100,000)(PDF, 193K) 

The terms and conditions for Information Communication Technology and Works projects are likely to be based on the Office of Government Commerce model agreements and the GC Works suite of contracts, respectively.

Current contracts

By clicking on the following link) you can view a summary of our current contracts with lifetime values in excess of £250,000 (PDF, 15K). 

Invitation to tender process

Contracts for goods/services and works are let under the EU Procurement Directives, if the estimated lifetime value exceeds £90,319  and £3,497,313 respectively. Relevant contract advertisements are published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU). The relevant supplement to OJEU is available from UK agents such as The Stationery Office and Business Information Publications Ltd.

Many of our contracts are also advertised on our contracts adverts page and in trade or professional journals or we use the supplier selection process (described above) to identify the companies we invite to bid for the business in question.

When we invite a company to tender, we:

• specify our requirements in terms of outputs, whenever appropriate, to encourage innovation;
• invite tenders from enough suppliers to ensure there is genuine competition, at the same time restricting the field to those who have a reasonable chance of success;
• make sure that procedures and documentation are clear and concise, and only ask for information necessary to evaluate bids;
• provide all tenderers with the same information and opportunity. 

Suppliers are given clear instructions on how tenders should be submitted. They should ensure these steps are followed carefully. For example, tenders received after the stated deadline will be rejected even if the delay occurred in transit.  

Our standard procurement process is summarised below:

• define requirement
• carry out market research and prepare advertisements
• prepare tender documents and decide evaluation criteria
• select potential suppliers and issue Invitation to Tender package
• open tenders at specified date and time
• evaluate tenders final selection and contract award
  debriefing of unsuccessful tenderers 

Recommendations are put before senior managers for approval at key stages of the process to ensure a fair and transparent process. Records are maintained throughout the process so a full audit trail of contract award decisions are on record.

Tender evaluation

Our tender evaluation process is designed to identify the supplier(s) who will provide the best value for money for a particular purchase. This is not necessarily the bid at the lowest price as we take full account of both quality issues and whole life costs to generally identify the most economically advantaged tender.

The evaluation process is strictly controlled and objectively carried out against agreed award criteria. Each of the various criteria are weighted to reflect their relative importance. The nature of the award criteria and their weightings will vary depending on the specific contract being considered.

During the evaluation process we may ask bidders to demonstrate their products or services. We may also ask to visit their premises and possibly take up appropriate references.

Contract award

We notify successful and unsuccessful bidders in writing as soon as we have reached our decision. We are happy to provide a debriefing to unsuccessful suppliers and offer constructive feedback which might improve their prospects of winning future business. We also welcome any comments on our own performance, procedures or processes. 

Prompt payment

We aim to reduce invoice payment times to 10 working days and all valid goods and services invoices received are paid as soon as they have been authorised by the FCO officials responsible for the contract. We are applying this policy to all suppliers of goods and services. We will not be changing our existing contractual terms and conditions which remain at 30 days. We rely on suppliers to ensure their invoices provide the details needed to match them quickly to the original order or contract. The required information will be set out in the contract documentation.

For guidance on the correct way to submit an invoice, read the section below (Invoice guidance for suppliers).

Where a supplier lets a sub-contract in connection with an FCO contract they must include similar prompt payment terms to those above in respect of payments to their sub-contractors.

The Prompt Payment Code is another critical step in a series of structured initiatives devised by the government with The Institute of Credit Management (ICM) to tackle the crucial issue of late payment and help small businesses especially.

Invoice guidance for suppliers

Our commitment is to pay you within 10 working days of the FCO receiving a correct invoice delivered to the FCO UK Processing Centre in Milton Keynes. Suppliers who have provided goods or services to the FCO must follow the guidance below when submitting an invoice to the FCO.

Suppliers’ invoices must include the following information:

• Date of Invoice
• A correct Purchase Order number 
• The quantity of the goods or services provided and the relevant cost including the appropriate VAT calculation. 
• Supplier name and contact details
• Supplier bank details
  

If the invoice is not received in this way we will unfortunately have no option but to return the invoice to your offices for proper presentation. In circumstances where there is a genuine dispute between a supplier and the FCO we will of course undertake the procedures agreed within the contract we have both signed.

Invoices must be sent to the UK Processing Centre in Milton Keynes (the full address is shown below) and not to the individual or Department of the FCO to which you delivered the goods or services. The ten day commitment will only start once the invoice is delivered to the UK Processing Centre. Any invoice not sent there directly will lead to payments delays.

Should you have any queries with regard to the prompt payment of invoices and wish to make a telephone enquiry, please call the UK Processing Centre on 01908 745135 where FCO staff will be pleased to deal with your enquiry.

The full postal address for the UK Processing Centre is as follows:

Foreign & Commonwealth Office
UK Processing Centre
Hanslope Park
Milton Keynes
MK19 7BH

Government Procurement Card

We sometimes prefer to pay for lower value goods and services with the Government Procurement Card, a Visa-based corporate purchasing card. Suppliers should be prepared to accept this form of payment.