Suppliers

This page contains information for current and potential suppliers.

Find out more about the procurement process, the work we are doing to help local suppliers and download our policies and useful documents.

The Corporate Commissioning and Procurement service covers all procurements accross Northumberland County Council

 
The vision for the Corporate Commissioning and Procurement service is to simply provide a sustainable professional procurement service which adds value to our stakeholders and supports delivery of cost improvement programmes for each stakeholder 

Our dedicated team of professionals engages with suppliers to negotiate the best contract or purchase, based on a balance of achieving efficiency savings and meeting the social, economic and environmental goals of the council.

Our standard Purchase Order Terms and Conditions for Goods and Services can be viewed here

A copy of the Shared Procurement Service Strategy 2017-2021 can be found here

 
Information about purchase orders and invoicing.

  1. No Purchase Order, No Payment Policy
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 If you do not quote a valid purchase order number on your invoice, we will contact you to ask you to provide it.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.
 
  1. Purchase order numbers
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
  1. Invoices
To assist with the processing of your invoice for payment, your invoice should contain:
  • your company name and address
  • your VAT registration number (if applicable)
  • invoice number
  • invoice date
  • valid purchase order number
  • name of the service area requesting goods/service or council contact person
  • full description of the goods/services supplied
  • for each line item: quantity, description, unit price, net value, VAT rate, VAT value, line total
  • invoice totals: Net, VAT, Gross
 
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.

NCC Purchase Order Terms and Conditions
Please see link to NCC general goods and services Purchase Order Terms and Conditions
 
The announcement of the climate emergency has increased the spotlight on sustainability in all areas of the Council. Procurement of goods, works and services is a large contributor to the overall carbon emissions of the Council. The Procurement Service has an exceptional opportunity to drive a more sustainable approach to goods, works and services the council procures, complementing the goals of the Climate Change Action Plan approved in January 2021, the Health in all Policies (HiAP) Action Plan and COVID19 economic recovery plans.

This Council has recently approved a new updated Procurement Corporate Social responsibility Policy to support achieving 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 six CSR commitments.

Procurement CSR Commitments

The aim is for each new procurement activity over £50,000 to be systematically assessed against the six commitments to ensure where ever possible a positive social, environmental and economic impact is achieved via the procurement process and the subsequent delivery of the Councils external 3rd party contracts.
 
Any questions regarding the Procurement Corporate Social Responsibility Policy please contact Financeprocurement@northumberland.gov.uk

Please find a copy of the new Procurement Corporate Social Responsibility policy for your information
Procurement CSR Policy 2021-2030
In Northumberland we have committed to the Fair Tax Foundation’s Councils for Fair Tax Declaration and join other authorities across the UK including North East councils Gateshead, Sunderland, South Tyneside, North Tyneside, and Newcastle in supporting fair tax practices.

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.
 

What is Fair Tax?

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.

Fair Tax Council logo

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.
 

Which other councils and organisations are supporting Fair Tax?

A list of accredited organisations is available on the Fair Tax website, while you can also check which local authorities across the country have approved the declaration.
 

Find out more

Find out more information on the Fair Tax website.
Northumberland County Council is committed to ensuring that our ethical practices to combat slavery and human trafficking are followed throughout our supply chains. This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes our slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year ending 31 March 2024

To read Northumberland County Coucil's statement Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement, click here.