1.8.8 Procurement of Goods and Services

SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER

This procedure is a guide for Frontline Teams and sets out the process to be followed when commissioning goods and services. Note that authorisation must be sought from the budget holder prior to the commissioning of goods or services.

This chapter is new for February 2012.

Who can Approve the Purchase of Goods and Services
How to Purchase Goods and Services
Raising a Requisition: Location Admin Task
Procure to Pay
Stationery
Conferences/ Training
Travel
Taxis
Interpreters
Contact Supervision
Making Payments to Clients
What Payments Can be Made from Imprest Accounts?
Section 17
Payments Over £200
CHAPS Payments
Expenses
Hospitality and Meetings

1. Who can Approve the Purchase of Goods and Services

1.1

Anyone who has a budgetary authorisation limit can approve the purchase of goods and services. Authorisation limits are set as follows:

Role	Value £
Deputy Team Manager	Up to £250
Team Manager	Up to £15,000
Operations Manager	Up to £75,000
Assistant Director and Director	Up to £250,000
Executive Director	Up to £500,000
Chief Executive & Chief Financial Officer (Exec Director Finance)	Over £500,000

1.2

Operations Managers, team mangers and Deputy team managers can only approve the purchase of goods and services for the budgets they are responsible for.

1.3

Only the Director, Assistant Director & Operations Managers can approve funding from placement budgets.

1.4

The above limits are for the approval of goods and services through the Council's financial system, Agresso. Guidance on payments from Imprest Accounts is covered in Sections 9, Interpreters and Section 11, Making Payments to Clients.

1.5

An up to date signatory list must be maintained to ensure that payments are only authorised by appropriate managers.

1.6

Managers must ensure that they check Agresso on a daily basis to ensure that requisitions are authorised as soon as possible.

1.7

Managers must also alert Location Admin Teams when they are going to be on leave. This is to ensure that appropriate arrangements are put in place to re-direct Agresso requisition approvals.

2. How to Purchase Goods and Services

2.1	All goods and services should be procured through Agresso. Location Admin Teams will be responsible for completing the purchasing process.
2.2	Requisitions for all work, goods or services to be supplied to the authority must be approved and official orders must be issued. Goods and services received must be checked to ensure they are in accordance with the order and the goods received note to be completed on Agresso. Payments must not be made unless goods have been received by the authority to the correct price, quantity and quality standards.
2.3	Web requisitioners are staff who need to create orders for goods or services purchased. All employees can be requisitioners regardless of post, duties and responsibility. In general, location Admin Teams will complete this function.
2.4	Workers must not: Enter into individual arrangements directly with suppliers; Enter into any contractual arrangements on behalf of the Council without proper authority; Commit the Council to expenditure that has not been properly approved and agreed; Make financial arrangements that fall outside of their devolved limit.

3. Raising a Requisition: Location Admin Task

3.1	You must create a requisition before you order a product/service from a supplier. The requisition is not the purchase order but a request for a purchase order. As a requisitioner/approver it is your responsibility to ensure that you comply with the council's Contract Procedure Rules, which can be found on Ealing's Intranet.
3.2	To view the contract procedure rules open the Intranet & click on "A to Z of services" from the left hand menu. Click on "Agresso" & select "Procurement CPRs" from the right hand menu.

4. Procure to Pay

4.1

The whole process from when the initial requisition is raised to when the invoice is approved and paid is called 'procure to pay'. The list below highlights the 'procure to pay' process:

Raise a requisition (usually location administrators);
Requisition approved by approver (budget holder);
Purchase order automatically generated upon approval (please note: approval can take up to two days);
To obtain the goods, team admin send the purchase order to the supplier;
Once the good/services, have been received, notify location admin to log on to Agresso and confirm 'goods receipt note' (GRN);
The invoice will be sent directly to central payments/accounts payable - there are some exceptional circumstances when location admin will receive invoice direct;
Match the invoice number with the purchase order number on the system (match against goods receipt note). If it matches against GRN then the payment will be processed and paid.

All invoices should be addressed to LONDON BOROUGH OF EALING, not individuals or Location teams/sites.

If VAT is being claimed on invoice, the provider must also identify VAT registration number clearly on the invoice.

A VAT invoice must contain the following information:

Invoices over £250 incl.VAT ("Full)

The suppliers name and address;
VAT Registration Number of supplier;
An Invoice Number;
The Date when Invoice was issued;
The Council's Name and address;
A Description of the Goods or Services;
Date when the Goods or Services were supplied to us;
The Total Tax Chargeable in Sterling;
The Total Value of The Purchase, Excluding Tax in any currency;
The Rate of Any Discount;
The Total Amount Payable Including Tax;
The Unit Price;
The Rate of Tax.

Invoices £250 or Less inc. VAT ("Less detailed")

The Suppliers Name and Address;
VAT Registration Number of supplier;
The Date When the Invoice was Issued;
A Description of the Goods or Services;
The Total Amount Payable Including Tax;
The Rate of Tax.

4.2

You can find the Agresso user manuals, FAQs on ordering goods and services and payment of invoices on Ealing's Intranet. Open the Intranet. Click on "A to Z of services" from the left hand menu. Click on "Agresso".

5. Stationery

5.1	Purchasing Stationery is done through the Office Depot catalogue via Agresso. Guidance on this process can be found on the Agresso Internet page by clicking on "guidance on placing stationery purchase orders.pdf". Purchasing stationery is done through location Admin Teams. Team admin have a list of essential stationery items.
5.2	Only essential items of stationery should be ordered.

6. Conferences/ Training

6.1	Employees seeking one-to-one coaching or training should first investigate the use of an internal scheme.
6.2	Attendance at paid for conferences should be restricted to one Ealing Council delegate per conference. Attendees should share knowledge with colleagues on their return, to justify the expenditure and make sure that learning contributes to performance improvement
6.3	Employees who voluntarily leave Ealing Council within 12 months of completion of external professional training should be required to pay back course fees. Line managers should not approve external training course applications for employees during notice periods or in the last two months of a fixed term contract. This does not apply if courses support a redundancy situation.

7. Travel

7.1

Travel warrants are issued for travel by national rail services and some London underground journeys. Warrants can be issued to clients or staff.

Warrants:

Cover journeys that originate from a national rail station but can cover London underground travel;
Are issued to children over 15 years as an adult ticket, under 15 years a child ticket;
Are issued to staff and clients separately;
That are unused should be returned to the Team Admin Officer.

8. Taxis

8.1	Ealing has a framework contract for taxi services. These contracted companies must be used as they have been subject to a formal contract evaluation. Taxis used outside of this arrangement should only be used in exceptional circumstances or an emergency and where there are no framework services can be used. Ealing's main contracted taxi service is provided through Wheel Get You There Ltd.
8.2	Taxis are used primarily for transporting clients e.g. on schools runs, contact, medical examinations and emergency situations. Some female drivers are available but notice is required. It is important to note that child and baby seats are not provided.
8.3	Admin Teams will be responsible for booking taxi journeys on receipt of a Taxi Request Form Template, which is available from Admin Teams. (refer to S17 and imprest requirements).

9. Interpreters

9.1	There are only two Authorised Interpreting Agencies: ITLS; Language is Everything.
9.2	The worker requiring the translation/interpreter service should notify team admin by e-mail of booking requirements & copy to team manager/deputy to authorise spend. The information required by admin will be: Name (this needs to be child name); FWi I.D; Date; Venue; Language required; Approximate length of appointment; Whether this is a 1st request for this service user; If ongoing is there a preferred interpreter to be booked & what provider are they from.
9.3	The team admin must refer to the preferred providers price list quote for the service required. Booking must be made under the council's process for Best Value for Money policy.
9.4	Team admin complete the booking form having made a valued judgment under best value for the specified needs from the consolidated price list. If an e-mail quote is required before booking it must be made very clear on the e-mail this is for a quote only. NOTE: in the event of cancellation, a booking form is considered a firm booking and cancellation charges will apply if the booking is not cancelled within specified time as per terms of contract (see below).
9.5	Team Admin should confirm the booking by e-mailing the completed booking form to the agency and copy to the Business Support Team.
9.6	The booking form should identify the current Purchase Order Number. The Business Support officer notifies team admin of the current PO number by e-mail each time a new standing order is raised. On receipt of new order number previous PO numbers are no longer valid and should not be used.
9.7	The supplier will return the booking forms to team admin with an indication of the cost of the 1st hours booking. The 1st hours booking cost will include any travel time and travel costs. Subsequent hours or part hours worked will be charged as per the consolidated price list.
9.8	Team admin upload the returned booking form and any translation documents onto the child/YP FWi record. The Business Support Officer will send original purchase orders to the agency.
9.9	On completion of the job the provider will send invoice details through to the Business Support Team at the address below of the booking including cost and budget expenditure code assigned. London Borough of Ealing Business Support Team Ealing Council PO Box Number 54158 Ealing W5 9DS
9.10	The Business Support Officer will verify the invoice against the booking form before GRN'ing and passing invoice for payment to Central Accounts Payable. If a job is cancelled the agency must be notified as soon as possible. If less than 24 hours notice is given a cancellation fee will be charged.
9.11	The Business Support team must be notified of all cancellations and if cancellation costs are incurred, for invoice verification. Cancellation notification should be uploaded onto child/YP FWi record by admin.

10. Contact Supervision

10.1	All arrangements for contact supervision must be made via the contact service. The contact service will be responsible for making appropriate arrangements in the event that they are unable to facilitate contact from the framework contract.

11. Making Payments to Clients

11.1	Each Admin Team has an imprest account from which cash and cheque payments can be made for clients to pay for client expenses and minor items of expenditure up to a cash limit of £200 maximum with the exception of grants to care leavers. Payments over £200 must be made by cheque or BACS through the Agresso Payments system. NOTE: It is NOT a budget allocation - but a facility to spend some of the budget.
11.2	Staff salary, wages (casual/consultancy) or car mileage payments should NOT be made from the imprest account under any circumstances. Staff expenses must be claimed via the Payroll Section. Guidance and forms can be found on Ealing's Intranet.
11.3	Open the Intranet. Click on "Working In Ealing" from the left hand menu. Click on "Pay and pensions".
11.4	Workers in safeguarding and support who are requesting payment in respect of a client/family from the imprest account should complete a delegated powers (form X). The worker needs to ensure that all sections of the form are properly completed and that a detailed explanation as to why the expenditure is necessary is given. Workers also need to ensure that the form X is completed in black ink otherwise quality of information is compromised when the form is uploaded onto the system. Failure to comply with these requirements may mean that payment is delayed.

12. What Payments Can be Made from Imprest Accounts?

12.1

The following are examples of what payments can be made via an imprest account:

Client contact;
Section 17 (covered below);
Medical / dental costs;
Client subsistence;
Client travel (see Travel and Taxis sections above);
Birth / death certificates;
Passport applications and related fees;
Leaving care grants (Leaving Care Team Only);
Items to support Life Story work.

13. Section 17

13.1

The maximum limit of approval for one off payment of section 17 imprest spend is as follows:

Role	Value £
Deputy Team Manager	Up to £50
Team Manager	Up to £200

13.2

Any spend over these limits need to be agreed by an Operations Manager and clearly evidenced on file. Payments can be either in cash or cheque.

13.3

The maximum limit of section 17 spend per family per 12 month period is currently set at £300. Any spend over this limit needs to be agreed by an Operations Manager and their agreement should be clearly evidenced on file. Sec 17 spend per family which exceeds £300 in a 12 month period will be subject to review at the section 17 panel.

13.4

Section 17 payments should only be made to ensure the following:

To prevent a child from becoming looked after;
To assist in returning looked after children to live at home with their parents;
Ongoing family support work.

13.5

Within the above circumstances a summary of items where Section 17 might be appropriate is as follows:

Food;
Gas and electricity (exceptional circumstances only);
Baby equipment (exceptional circumstances only);
Childcare / Childminders - only if the alternative is to accommodate the child, and for an agreed period of time;
Travel -public transport only (for example to enable a parent or guardian to attend a child protection conference);
Clothing - essential clothing only;
Furniture / Household equipment - for example beds for children;
Bedding - for the children only;
Deposits on Accommodation (exceptional circumstances only);
School Holiday Activities - only if the alternative is to accommodate the child or part of the care plan.

13.6

Wherever possible clients should be required to approach the DSS for support for these items. Where applicable evidence that the DSS have refused payments and the reason must be obtained and placed on file.

13.7

Any requests for funding of deposits or independent legal advice must be discussed and approved by the relevant operations manager. This agreement must be clearly evidenced on file.

13.8

Social workers must ensure that spending is properly evidenced on file and is appropriate. This will include requiring that wherever possible, goods are purchased from a source such as Argos where costs can be easily confirmed & agreed before payment is made. A full record should be maintained on the child's record. Copies of receipts must also be uploaded on to the clients record.

14. Payments Over £200

14.1	All payments over £200 must go through the procure to pay process as described above, excluding Leaving Care Grants.

15. CHAPS Payments

15.1	In emergency situations, CHAPS payments can be made. A CHAPS (Clearing House Automated Payment System) payment ensures that the funds are transferred into the recipient's bank account on the same day that the transfer is made. Examples where CHAPS payments may be appropriate include: Rent and deposit required by a landlord/estate agent in order to secure a property for a young person; Subsistence payments (rent, childcare, allowances) which have been missed through the normal payment route; Overdue invoices for which the supplier is threatening to terminate a service or legal action.
15.2	CHAPS payments incur a £50 administration charge, which will be charged to the relevant team's budget.
15.3	You are required to complete a "manual payment form" copies of which are held by location admin teams. Guidance for use is on the form.
15.4	To support the payment, you will need to provide the following evidence: Third party evidence to show the bank details of the recipient i.e. invoice/letter/email/fax that clearly states their name and address; Third party evidence to show the amount that is owed and nature of payment; Email confirmation or copy of panel minutes (if applicable) from an Operations Manager to approve.
15.5	You are not required to obtain signatures on the form, however, you must obtain manager approval to incur spend.
15.6	You must state in the bottom box the reason why the payment is an emergency and why it can't go through the normal Agresso payment process.
15.7	The form and supporting evidence needs to be sent to either Joanna Frost or Dawn Calvert in Children's Service Finance who will check the form, get the relevant signatures and pass to the Treasury Section.
15.8	All CHAPS forms which are received by 5pm will be paid the following working day and be in the recipient's bank account by 5pm of that day.

16. Expenses

16.1	Allowable expenses can be claimed using the designated expenses claim form. Claims must be supported by a receipt as appropriate.
16.2	Managers approving Comensura expenses must ensure that the expenses list is complete with full details of the expenses being claimed (including mileage details etc). This list must be printed off, the copy should be certified by the manager and relevant receipts attached. Managers should maintain a file of these claims for audit purposes.
16.3	Please note that travel/car mileage can only be claimed if incurred as part of a workers duties. Mileage from home to work should NOT routinely be claimed by permanent or temporary staff. In exceptional circumstances, and in the interests of the service, this may be authorised by an operations manager. This authorisation must be evidenced on the claim.

17. Hospitality and Meetings

17.1	Refreshments - No refreshments should be booked for meetings where all attendees are council staff or being paid by the council (i.e. advisors and contractors). Organisers should ensure that there are adequate breaks for long meetings or meetings which run late to enable attendees to get refreshments.
17.2	Room hire - When booking rooms every effort should be made to book rooms in council facilities. If requirements cannot be met in this way staff have a duty to demonstrate "value for money" in any external booking made.

End