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Procurement at MOJ
Information about procurement at the Ministry of Justice and how we're improving procurement opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Most procurement at the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) involves a formal competitive tendering process and follows EU procurement regulations and directives. These change according to the value of the contract.
Details of our tender and contract documents can be found on the Contracts Finder website. All procurements that exceed the EU Public Procurement Directive thresholds (currently set at £113.057) are advertised in TED (Tenders electronic daily) the supplement to the Official Journal of the EU (OJEU), via a contract notice.
The OJEU publishes information on procurement contracts that are worth more than the EU limit. It invites suppliers to express interest or tender directly and sets out information about contracts that have been awarded.
Tendering opportunities
Download the (list of potential tendering opportunities) with the MOJ over the next 12 months. It is updated quarterly.
How to tender for a public sector contract
Find out more about the procurement and tendering process, how to use contracts finder and how to search for a contract in the tendering for public sector contracts guide.
Purchase order terms and conditions
General purchase order terms and conditions:
eProcurement
eProcurement (procuring online) provides an efficient, simple and auditable way of managing sourcing and contract management.
It also:
- improves the visibility of sourcing activities
- increases opportunities for suppliers to interact with the MOJ
- ensures fair and open competition
To take part in an eProcurement event you must submit an expression of interest in response to a tender that the MOJ has advertised.
The eSourcing portal manages the sourcing process.
If you are already registered and want to submit an expression of interest in response to a tender you can do so through the portal.
If you are not registered you need to follow these steps:
- submit an expression of interest to the MOJ
- the MOJ will invite you to register with the eSourcing portal
- register with the eSourcing portal
- you will get an email inviting you to the sourcing event that you have expressed an interest in
You can download the on how to use the eSourcing portal.
If you need further help you can contact the eSourcing team.
Email: eSourcing@noms.gsi.gov.uk Telephone: 0845 010 0132
Tender and contractual complaints process
If you have a complaint regarding our competitive tendering process, you can find guidance on how to submit a complaint below.
Prompt payment of our suppliers
We aim to pay all valid and authorised invoices within 5 working days in line with the prompt payment code. We will not be changing our existing contractual terms and conditions.
The date of receipt is defined as the day we receive your invoice at our address.
Invoicing the MOJ
When invoicing the MOJ you must include:
- date of invoice
- your name and contact details
- your bank details
- the purchase order number given to you by the department
- the agreed charge (if not, a breakdown of the work services related to the charge, or an explanation of the difference between the actual charge and the agreed one)
- confirmation that you’ve completed the services fully
Send your invoice to:
Ministry of Justice
PO Box 697
Caerleon House
Cleppa Park
Newport
NP10 8ZF
If you have any queries contact the helpdesk.
Telephone: 0800 783 0162
Invoicing the National Offender Management Service (NOMS)
Carry out the same process as above, but entering a NOMS purchase order number (a 7 digit number usually starting with a 1 or 2).
Send your invoice to:
National Offender Management Service
Ministry of Justice Shared Services
PO Box 746
Newport
NP20 9BB
If you have any queries contact the helpline:
Shared Service Contact Centre
Email: enquiries@hmps.gsi.gov.uk
Telephone: 0845 010 3502
You’ll be informed if your invoice is being disputed and we will tell you who to contact with further enquiries. The payment target will be frozen while the dispute is resolved.
If your invoice is legitimate and we take over 30 days to pay it, you may have recourse through the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.
Our payment performance
The percentage of invoices paid by the MOJ within 5 working days:
2014-15
| Period | Percentage |
| Year average | 83.96% |
| Jan 2015 | 85.2% |
| Dec 2014 | 85.2% |
| Nov 2014 | 85.6% |
| Oct 2014 | 85.5% |
| Sep 2014 | 82.1% |
| Aug 2014 | 84% |
| Jul 2014 | 85.7% |
| Jun 2014 | 82.1% |
| May 2014 | 82.1% |
| April 2014 | 82.1% |
2013-14
| Period | Percentage |
| Year average | 84.7% |
| March 2014 | 83.6% |
| February 2014 | 83.0% |
| January 2014 | 82.4% |
| December 2013 | 82.0% |
| November 2013 | 83.4% |
| October 2013 | 83.6% |
| September 2013 | 87.4% |
| August 2013 | 87.7% |
| July 2013 | 86.9% |
| June 2013 | 84.4% |
| May 2013 | 86.0% |
| April 2013 | 85.8% |
2012-13
| Period | Percentage |
| Year average | 87.9% |
| March 2013 | 86.1% |
| February 2013 | 85.4% |
| January 2013 | 83.4% |
| December 2012 | 84.3% |
| November 2012 | 90.2% |
| October 2102 | 89.1% |
| September 2012 | 88.7% |
| August 2012 | 88.5% |
| July 2012 | 89.3% |
| June 2012 | 89.2% |
| May 2012 | 90.3% |
| April 2012 | 88.6% |
Promoting small and medium enterprise (SME) procurement
An SME has been defined by the EU as follows:
| Category | Headcount | Turnover | Balance sheet total |
| Medium | <250 | £41 Million | £35.2 Million |
| Small | <50 | £8.2 Million | £8.2 Million |
| Micro | <10 | £1.7 Million | £1.7m |
Our procurement team are undertaking a range of work to support growth, and specifically to ensure that businesses of all sizes can work with the department and increasing the number of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that can compete on a level playing field for government business and supporting the UK economy at all levels.
The MOJ is one of the top performing departments in government in respect of expenditure with SMEs. In 2012/13, 35% of MOJ procurement spend went to SMEs, exceeding the government’s aspiration of 25%. We have increased MoJ’s spend with SMEs over the past 2 years by implementing a number of process changes to increase transparency and make it easier for SMEs to bid for MoJ work. This includes:
- appointing a Ministerial SME lead, supported by an SME champion in MoJ’s procurement team to oversee the implementation and delivery of the
- advertising business opportunities over £10,000 on Contracts Finder, the single advertising portal for government opportunities, to ensure that businesses everywhere can bid for contracts
- publishing a quarterly pipeline of forthcoming opportunities on the MoJ website, providing SMEs with early sight of forthcoming tender opportunities to help them plan and, where appropriate, to enable them to either form consortia or join prime contractors in order to be in a stronger position to bid for our business
- removing the Pre Qualification Questionnaire for all sub OJEU tenders
- where possible, splitting large contracts into smaller ‘lots’ that are more suitable for SMEs to bid for
We’ve implemented more efficient operating procedures to ensure that all but the most complex procurements are completed within the government’s new 120 day target, and have discontinued the use of the lengthy Competitive Dialogue competition procedure unless it can be demonstrated that it delivers value for money. Our procurement projects are now being undertaken using the EU Open Procedure.
MoJ has also been trialling Project Bank Accounts for construction suppliers, which aims to get payment to SME subcontractors immediately when the main contractor is paid, to further support SMEs working with government. We already include a ‘fair payment’ clause in all contract documentation with main contractors, which ensures payment to those further down the supply chain within 30 days.
These measures will encourage innovation and broaden the scope of businesses who can respond to our requirements. MoJ is working to give all our suppliers the confidence to invest for the future and the ability to compete on a level playing field.
- the MOJ has produced an
Winning the contract: free online course
- Winning the contract free online course