FI16663

Request

I am conducting research into the various procurement approaches that Councils within England use to procure Food products (Ambient, Chilled & Frozen) for supply and distribution to local authority premises, schools, libraries etc. that are served by their Council.

Under this Freedom of Information Act Request, I would be most grateful if you would confirm the following:

Part 1

  1. Which of the following procurement routes the Council chose to procure its current Food supply requirements:
    1. Direct Award Contract-i.e. the Council ran its own procurement , involving the development of Council-specific Food supply and delivery specifications, management of the tender process and award of a Contract to the successful bidder(s).
    2. Mini-Competition under a Framework Agreement-i.e. the Council selected a relevant Framework Agreement and ran a Mini-Competition (involving the development of Council-specific food supply and delivery requirements), managed the mini-competition process and awarded business to a supplier(s) under the Framework Agreement.
    3. Direct Award under a Framework Agreement-i.e. the Council selected a relevant Framework Agreement and directly awarded business to a supplier(s) under the Framework Agreement, without running a further competition process.
    4. Part of another local Authority’s tender process – i.e. the Council’s requirements were included within a multi-Council run procurement.
  2. Details of the current Contract:
    1. Scope: Ambient Food, Chilled and/or Frozen Food
    2. Contract Period: How long (months) and scope for extension (months)
    3. Contract Value: Over the length of the Contract
    4. Contract Expiry Date: Date
    5. Current Supplier(s) Details: Organisation Name(s)
  3. Where the current contract expires in 2026, which procurement route(s) the Council is considering or intends to use.
  4. Which department within the Council is responsible for the performance management of the current contract.
  5. Which department within the Council is/will be responsible for the re-procurement of the food supply service. 

Part 2

  1. Schedule of the products delivered to your organisation, including monthly/annual volumes where applicable
  2. Details of any specific product manufacturers/suppliers/wholesalers required to be used as part of service delivery
  3. Frequency of deliveries, endpoint locations and details of any specific packaging/transportation requirements (cages etc.).

Response

Under Section 1(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act, we have established that this information is not held. This is because Dover District Council does not procure ambient, chilled or frozen food products. I should add that the District Council has no responsibility for schools or libraries. The responsible authority for these services in our District is Kent County Council who can be contacted at freedomofinformation@kent.gov.uk.