Highland Council announces a revised Trades Framework and tender exercise process
13th March 2020
Highland Council has listened to concerns raised by members and bidders over the process of the Trades Services Framework and tender exercise.
After a stand-still period which ended on 9 March 2020 and further discussion, Highland Council has announced the termination of the original framework and tender process.
A revised strategy will now be developed, with a view to bringing it forward for member approval in due course.
A significant amount of information was received by the Council during the standstill period, from both elected members and those participating in the tender process.
As a result, all candidates and tenderers (those who have submitted ESPDs/tenders) will be informed that the tender opportunity, in its current form, has been terminated.
A spokesperson for the Highland Council said: "The Council is satisfied that it is reasonable and appropriate for us to make changes to the current procedure as currently exists.
"We also intend to have a further session with members in relation the revised strategy and tender process before issue.
“This is to try to provide the opportunity for members to raise any further residual issues, should there be any, and to allow for them to be discussed and addressed prior to issue."
Highland Council now intends to issue a new tender to market, based on an alternative set of procurement criteria and a change in the evaluation approach, which incorporates the lessons learned by the local authority through the feedback received and the stand still period.
Related Businesses
Related Articles
As intimated in Highland Council's budget plan, a new senior management structure is to be implemented following approval by Council 14th March. It reconfigures the senior management team into two layers, rather than three and brings Highland Council into line with other benchmarked authorities.
Today, Morrison Construction introduced some of their local apprentices who are working on the UK Governments' Levelling Up Funded refurbishment project at the Northern Meeting Park in Inverness. All these apprentices have been recruited from the Highland area.
The by-election to elect a councillor to represent Ward 19 - Inverness South on The Highland Council has been won by Duncan Cameron McDonald - Independent who was one of the eight candidates who contested the vacancy. Voters in the ward went to the poll yesterday (Thursday 11 April) and the by-election count was held this morning in The Highland Council Headquarters in Inverness.
The Technology Placement Programme offers funding to businesses in the Highland Council area to cover up to 70% of the cost of employing a student or graduate. The Technology Placement Programme offers funding to businesses in the Highland Council area to cover up to 70% of the cost of employing a student or graduate.
Following the success of its Business Digital Grant scheme launched last year, The Highland Council is delighted to announce further funding. This is to help Highland companies access digital support alongside other business growth support.
The Highland Council is delighted to confirm a highly successful second year for Public Service Obligation (PSO) flights between Wick and Aberdeen. The period from April 2023 to March 2024 has seen a substantial increase in passenger numbers, with several months seeing over 1,000 passengers using the service, and overall the service has seen year on year growth of 25%.
Members of Highland Council, who met on Thursday 14 March 2024, approved a corporate Digital Ambition, which has been designed to deliver significant organisational change across Council services, recognising the current priorities within the organisation. The Strategy, which is embedded within the wider Council Delivery Plan, has been developed to focus attention and resources on areas of change which will deliver the greatest benefit to the Council.
The Council remains committed to supporting mentoring in our schools, including the support that is currently delivered through the MCR Pathways programme. Highland Council is currently undertaking a review of Employability Support provided by a number of different council services and how these relate to the work carried out by external partners and in our schools.
Highland Council members have considered and agreed a revised draft Highland Outcome Improvement Plan. The partnership plan has been reviewed and updated by the Community Planning Partnership.
Members at today's (14 March 2024) meeting of The Highland Council agreed the local authority's new draft Community Wealth Building Strategy. They were also asked to note that a period of public engagement on the draft will now begin, with a final strategy returning to full Council for consideration in September.
