Commissioning plays a crucial role in delivering high-quality and achieving positive outcomes for our residents that we serve and our staff. We are committed to providing efficient, innovative, and sustainable services that meet the diverse needs of our residents. The Commissioning Framework serves as a roadmap to ensure that our commissioning activities align with our strategic objectives, promote value for money, and drive positive social impact.
This framework sets out the key principles that underpin our commissioning approach, emphasising collaboration, transparency, and residents at the heart of everything that we do. It outlines the steps involved in the commissioning process, from needs assessment and market analysis to contract management and performance evaluation.
We encourage all stakeholders, both internal and external, to familiarise themselves with this framework and actively participate in the commissioning process. Together, we can create a commissioning culture that drives innovation, fosters collaboration, and delivers services that make a positive difference in the lives of our residents.
Commissioning Framework (PDF)
If you supply goods or services to the council you must not accept verbal or written instruction to supply goods or services from any member of staff unless they provide you with a valid purchase order number.
If you submit a non-compliant invoice, you'll receive an email advising you that your invoice is not compliant and that future invoices with no purchase order number will not be paid.
Council staff are required to issue you with a formal purchase order number for the supply of goods and services. If you do not quote a valid purchase order number on your invoice, we will contact you to ask you to provide it. The invoice will not be paid until this is supplied.
Please make sure you request a purchase order number from your council contact when an order is placed. Co-operating with this policy is one of the best ways to ensure your invoice is paid promptly.
Our financial system produces purchase order numbers in the format ‘NCCnnnnnnn’ e.g.NCC1234567. Most PO numbers will look like this. Each order must be accompanied by a purchase order number supplied by a member of council staff. If a NCC buyer requests goods or services from you without providing you with a Purchase Order number, please refer them to this policy.
Do not accept the order until a purchase order number is provided.
If you have a question about an invoice or about the No Purchase Order, No Pay policy, please contact: accountspayable@northumberland.gov.uk
To ensure the timely processing and payment all invoices should be sent electronically to: accountspayable@nothumberland.gov.uk quoting a valid purchase order number.
Failure to do this may result in delays in processing your invoice and making payment to you.
Please see link to NCC general goods and services Purchase Order Terms and Conditions
This council’s Procurement Corporate Social Responsibility Policy supports the achievement of value for money on a whole life basis, generating benefits to our wider society and economy, whilst reducing damage to the environment and creating an improved social impact. The policy endeavours to incorporate corporate social responsibility when the council is procuring external goods, works and services through sixCSR Commitments. commitments.
The aim is for each new procurement activity over £50,000 to be systematically assessed against the six commitments to ensure wherever possible a positive social, environmental and economic impact is achieved via the procurement process, aligned to the Social Value Act 2012 and the subsequent delivery of the council’s external third party contracts.
Click here to read the Procurement Corporate Social Responsibility Policy and click here to read the Social Value Act 2012.
For any further information please contact Financeprocurement@northumberland.gov.uk
The Fair Tax Foundation has developed the Councils for Fair Tax Declaration in collaboration with UK cities, towns and districts who believe that they can and should stand up for responsible tax conduct - doing what they can within existing frameworks and pledging to do more if given the opportunity, as active supporters of tax justice.
The Declaration commits cities, towns and districts to pursuing exemplary tax conduct in their affairs, requiring greater transparency from suppliers and joining calls for more meaningful powers to tackle tax avoidance amongst suppliers when buying goods and services.
The decision to approve the Fair Tax Declaration was made in Northumberland at the beginning of 2022.
The Fair Tax Mark accreditation scheme was launched in February 2014 and seeks to encourage and recognise organisations that pay the right amount of corporation tax at the right time and in the right place. Tax contributions are a key part of the wider social and economic contribution made by business, helping the communities in which they operate to deliver valuable public services and build the infrastructure that paves the way for growth.
The Fair Tax Foundation operates as a not-for-profit social enterprise and believes that companies paying tax responsibly should be celebrated, and any race to the bottom resisted.
Research has revealed that between 2014-19, a huge 17.5% of UK public procurement contracts – with a combined value of £37.5bn – were won by businesses with connections to a tax haven. Recent research has found that the UK loses an estimated £17bn in corporation tax revenues as a result of profit shifting alone.
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