Can a contractor be used that is known to the clerk?

Question

In our town we struggle to get three quotes for large landscaping/fencing/contracting type jobs. My husband has his own contracting business who lives in the town and would submit quotes that are not over inflated, unlike some others who do inflate prices because it is a council. Are there rules against my husband submitting a quote? We have an assistant clerk who would look at the quotes submitted and leave me out of the process and obviously there is no guarantee the work would be given to him. It pains me that we may only receive one estimate and have to go with these inflated prices or deal with someone inexperienced when money needs to be looked after. Thanks

Answer 1

I'm not aware of any legal reason why not. In this scenario, it would be important to obtain at least one other quotation for the work. The councillors would need to be able to demonstrate that, in appointing your husband, they have secured value for money. You would also need to be able to demonstrate that you had not prepared the specification for the contract, so involve the assistant clerk and at least two members of the council. Distance yourself as much as possible from every aspect of the process, including the agenda item under which the tenders are to be considered. Finally, be completely open and transparent about the process.

Comments

I cannot better what Davethe Clerk has said.  Just one tweak - rather than saying distance yourself as much as possible ... I would say distance yourself completely ...

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Indeed. Antarctica's nice at this time of year!

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I was thinking somewhere a bit warmer! That's great advice, I would want nothing to do with the process whatsoever. The team is big enough that I can take myself out of the equation all together.

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...but you won't see penguins in Benidorm!

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I don't see why not.  You can get mars bars, snickers and cadbury's flakes so why not penguins?

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Apparently, it's all down to Brexit!

Answer 2

The reason councils get over inflated quotes is because they are a painfully tedious nuisance to have to deal with.
Providing a comprehensive quote takes time, effort and money to produce and it  is generally accepted that there is at best a 2 in 3 chance of it all being a complete and utter waste of time.
Councils would do well to understand just how unattractive it is for trades to engage with them.
There is a general lack of understanding in councils which generates massive inefficiency and inflated costs.
If the assistant clerk is dealing with the quotes, they need to be anonymised and presented to Cllrs for consideration.
Declare your interest in advance, remove yourself from the process.