Applicants are advised to submit a minimum of 2 written quotes for actual cost items listed in their Rural Priorities Proposal when submitting their Proposal and before the Proposal is ready to be 'committed' for Stage 2 and 3 assessment and scoring (see exceptions listed below).
Suppliers should be asked to quote on the same set of specifications so that quotes can be compared on an equal basis.
At Stage 1 assessment the Case Officer will check the quotes are clear and accurately reflect what is being proposed.
The Case Officer will be looking for the following basic elements in all quotes supplied:
- Quotes are in written/printed form and clearly originated from a reputable supplier
- Supplier's contact/business details are clear and legitimate
- Quote is based on specifications as described in proposal
- No missing elements
- No ineligible elements
- Cost calculations are correct and precise
The Case Officer will advise the applicant if the quotes supplied are insufficient in any way before the applicant commits the proposal and the Case Officer proceeds to Stage 2 and 3 assessment. It is in the applicant's best interest to remedy any deficiencies to ensure their proposal passes Stage 2 assessment otherwise they risk rejection before the proposal proceeds to Stage 3 assessment and scoring.
If the Proposal is approved, funding will be based on the lowest quote received. The applicant can choose to proceed with the higher quote if they wish but must be willing to fund the difference themselves.
For the purposes of public procurement legislation, all proposals costing £3.4 million (ex VAT) or more of which 50% or more is funded from the public body is considered to be a "subsidised public works contract", and it is a condition of funding that the recipient of the funding complies with the processes and procedures set out in the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2006.
The following exceptions may be admissible subject to Case Officer approval:
- A single quote would be acceptable where the specifications are so specialised only one supplier is available and it would be unreasonable or impracticable to find a second quote, e.g. Where supplier is a contractor required to carry out works in a remote area where only one qualified contractor is available.
Note: The Case Officer will still be expected to check value for money against standard rates for similar activities elsewhere (e.g. such as those published in reputable Farm Management Handbooks) whilst taking into account the remote location factor.
If the applicant is seeking quotes for second hand items and is unable to obtain a second like for like quote then a quote for an item with the same specifications, which is new, would be acceptable, in order to demonstrate value for money.
- If the applicant intends to carry out part or all of the work themselves they need to quote the value of their input in such a way that it can be compared like with like against another quote. If the applicant's quote is the only one submitted (i.e. as per Point 1 above) then the Case Officer will be expected to check value for money against standard rates for similar activities where these are available (e.g. Published Farm Management Handbook).
- Where the individual item value is small or the applicant has little alternative but to source individual items from a supplier/s for an activity that might otherwise have been tendered as a whole and:
the cost of individual parts are sufficiently small that a single reputable supplier's price list is sufficient evidence of cost, e.g. building materials sourced individually from a national building supply chain store as opposed to being part of a larger contract tender for building works.
The value of each part is small, e.g. below £1000.
Then a single quote may be acceptable.
Note: In this case if the applicant is sourcing actual cost items in individual small parts they would need to provide justification why the proposal cannot be more easily tendered in larger parts and 2 quotes obtained.
- The applicant is a not-for-profit community constituted group delivering a proposal aimed at Axis 3 type Options where:
- they are subject to other public funding rules (including Lottery) regarding tendering of actual cost items, or
- require to secure their entire funding package (including SRDP funding) before tendering the proposed works in order to secure contractor confidence in the tendering process and limit the liabilities of the community members for tendering costs that might not otherwise be available to the community group, and
- the applicant has obtained and supplied sufficient estimates of likely cost from reputable and qualified advisors such as quantity surveyors, architects or engineers, etc. as part of their proposal submission
Note: In this case the Case Officer can accept estimates of costs from recognised advisors as evidence of actual cost item values before the Proposal is committed and in order to score and recommend the proposal to the RPAC. However, if the proposal is successful, the applicant will still need to submit minimum of 2 quotes as and when these are obtained and, before claiming the relevant payment.