Kerb lowering

[Manc in London]

I thought we were talking about a kerb lowering here.
Fuck me, if it comes in over £75K!

Most councils contract out highways maintenance. The contracts are worth far more than £75k.

 

[Ponka]

What evidence do you have of such widespread corruption?

Have you ever submitted a tender application or had to manage the tendering of a contract?

i haven't personally but 100 % know that people who hand out work for councils take back handers,its nothing new its been going on for years,everythings bent where theres money at stake

I tender a couple of contracts each year, and on no occasion have I ever accepted or been offered an incentive to accept one bid over another. I never will do.

I do not think you appreciate how stringent procurement procedures and regs are. The process is transparent and deviation from this are nigh on impossible. Evaluation panels must include procurement officers from outside of the department. They are not the kind of people who will accept a 'gift'. Our organisation carries out audits of most contracts. You would not believe the length they go through. Checks include an audit of all telephone calls and emails. Taking backhanders from an organisation could get someone in a whole lot of trouble. It would not be worth the risks. These procedures are in place for all contracts exceeding £75k.

All sounds well and good in theory...

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co...ilding-solutions-assists-in-manchester-692391

But there's always some who seek to gain in these situations

 

[andyhinch]

As others have said leave it a few months and just do it, I've been in this situation a few times, never had a problem.

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

You should have just said nothing and got a mate to lower it with new kerbstones from jewsons or somewhere similar. They wouldnt care once its done and why would they need to know?

Not that easy though.you need to dig out the concrete,that the original kerbs are in,then dig out the original flags,asphalt or concrete path to then form a path to your lower kerb.it sisnt a job you can do in a couple of hours.

And there'll be some bugger who works for the Tameside Highways living a few doors away who will check the paper work and when yer halfway through see that there hasn't been any 'clearance' and a jobsworth will be round!

 

[I'm With Stupid]

What evidence do you have of such widespread corruption?

Have you ever submitted a tender application or had to manage the tendering of a contract?

i haven't personally but 100 % know that people who hand out work for councils take back handers,its nothing new its been going on for years,everythings bent where theres money at stake

I tender a couple of contracts each year, and on no occasion have I ever accepted or been offered an incentive to accept one bid over another. I never will do.

I do not think you appreciate how stringent procurement procedures and regs are. The process is transparent and deviation from this are nigh on impossible. Evaluation panels must include procurement officers from outside of the department. They are not the kind of people who will accept a 'gift'. Our organisation carries out audits of most contracts. You would not believe the length they go through. Checks include an audit of all telephone calls and emails. Taking backhanders from an organisation could get someone in a whole lot of trouble. It would not be worth the risks. These procedures are in place for all contracts exceeding £75k.

Amazing that with all the safeguards in place, they can only find contractors that charge twice as much as anywhere else then, eh? Maybe they're just universally shit at their jobs and don't understand basic negotiation? Or maybe they just don't give a shit because it's not their money?

 

[cockneycarparkm32]

The price is a little high . We used to get £600 ten years ago . Three years back I made an inquiry locally and was quoted £750 . You are better off getting the approved contractor to do the work as I used to get a lot of dig down and replace kerbstones where tinkers had taken £500 for doing the path and kerbs , the job was only £100 pounds more done legit . The contractor has to prove assets, Raswa ticket , plant and machinery,public liability,concreting in plastic ducted utilities that serve you and your neighbours , wipe you`re mouth matey , you`ll make the savings on car insurance taking it off road ...

 

[Manc in London]

i haven't personally but 100 % know that people who hand out work for councils take back handers,its nothing new its been going on for years,everythings bent where theres money at stake

I tender a couple of contracts each year, and on no occasion have I ever accepted or been offered an incentive to accept one bid over another. I never will do.

I do not think you appreciate how stringent procurement procedures and regs are. The process is transparent and deviation from this are nigh on impossible. Evaluation panels must include procurement officers from outside of the department. They are not the kind of people who will accept a 'gift'. Our organisation carries out audits of most contracts. You would not believe the length they go through. Checks include an audit of all telephone calls and emails. Taking backhanders from an organisation could get someone in a whole lot of trouble. It would not be worth the risks. These procedures are in place for all contracts exceeding £75k.

Amazing that with all the safeguards in place, they can only find contractors that charge twice as much as anywhere else then, eh? Maybe they're just universally shit at their jobs and don't understand basic negotiation? Or maybe they just don't give a shit because it's not their money?

Unfounded speculation presented as fact.

You do realise that it is not just about money, it is about quality too. I have read propsals that don't meet the spec but are cheaper than everyone else. Should I accept the proposal?

Yes, there are some bad apples. Name me an industry or sector where this does not exist.

Based on your post, I don't think you are in a position to question someone's competence.

 

[Pelly Greeny]

What evidence do you have of such widespread corruption?

Have you ever submitted a tender application or had to manage the tendering of a contract?

i haven't personally but 100 % know that people who hand out work for councils take back handers,its nothing new its been going on for years,everythings bent where theres money at stake

I tender a couple of contracts each year, and on no occasion have I ever accepted or been offered an incentive to accept one bid over another. I never will do.

I do not think you appreciate how stringent procurement procedures and regs are. The process is transparent and deviation from this are nigh on impossible. Evaluation panels must include procurement officers from outside of the department. They are not the kind of people who will accept a 'gift'. Our organisation carries out audits of most contracts. You would not believe the length they go through. Checks include an audit of all telephone calls and emails. Taking backhanders from an organisation could get someone in a whole lot of trouble. It would not be worth the risks. These procedures are in place for all contracts exceeding £75k.

What about contracts of less than £75k - what's in place to ensure nothing dodgy goes on?

 

[Manc in London]

There are procedures in place for contracts less than £75k but they are less stringent. You still cannot, for example, say something to an applicant and not share it with all applicants. You have to apply a sense of prportionality.

If corruption is rife, then use freedom of information act requests and expose them. It surely won't take long with everyone in local government being incompetent or corrupt :)

 

[jacko74]

There are procedures in place for contracts less than £75k but they are less stringent. You still cannot, for example, say something to an applicant and not share it with all applicants. You have to apply a sense of prportionality.

If corruption is rife, then use freedom of information act requests and expose them. It surely won't take long with everyone in local government being incompetent or corrupt :)

Well at least you're admitting that everyone in local government are incompetent and corrupt (not forgetting lazy as well) it's why they all work in the public sector, they wouldn't last 2 minutes having to do a job in the real world.