Types of Contract

For the purpose of this document, there are six types of contract in use within the Council. If in doubt about the categorisation of a contract, please consult the Health and Safety or Procurement Teams.  

4.1     Purchase of Goods/Low Risk Services:

This includes the purchase of a wide range of goods and some services including such items as:

• pens, paper
• machines and equipment
• chemicals

and provision of ‘LOW RISK’ Services such as Trainers, HR or Finance Consultants, postal and delivery services. 

4.2     Installation of Equipment:

If an item being purchased requires installation e.g. a machine tool in a school workshop it must be installed by a competent person to the correct standard, incorporating where applicable, safety devices, lock off switches, guards, emergency stops etc.

Legislation applying to these areas may include Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH), Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER), Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER), etc. The requirements of these regulations need to be addressed prior to purchase.

4.3     Directly Supplied Service Contracts:

Including services such as window cleaning, cleaning of buildings, maintenance of machines and equipment, grounds maintenance and forestry / tree work and supply of lease / hire equipment, provision of personal care.

4.4     Construction / Building Maintenance:

Including highways, general building and repair work sometimes involving a number of different trades. The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 apply to all such work, no matter how small (See Part 2 the ‘Toolkit’ Section 7).

4.5     “High Risk” Projects, Trades and Consultancy Services:

Typically; these involve engineering and architectural design for buildings, roads, landscaping and other professional services or trades such as gas work, electrical work etc.

4.6     Outsourcing a Function / Service:

Whole Service areas or functions may be outsourced to external organisations e.g. IT, Facilities, Estate Management, etc.

Although it may have little input or control over the day-to-day management of the function once it is outsourced, the Council is still responsible for monitoring the contractor’s performance. This includes ensuring that the contractor is competent and has all the necessary health and safety arrangements in place.