Services Procurement: Statement of Work (SOW) / Project-Based Delivery & Professional Services
Case reference FOI2026/01517
Received 1 July 2026
Published 14 July 2026
Request
I am writing to request information regarding your organisation's current approach to Services Procurement, particularly in relation to Statement of Work (SOW) / project-based delivery and professional services.
Specifically, I would be grateful if you could provide information on the following:
1) How SOW or project-based services are currently procured and managed.
2) Who the lead supplier(s) are for these services.
3) The procurement routes or frameworks typically utilised by the authority.
4) The types of programmes or projects most commonly delivered through this model (e.g. digital, transformation, workforce).
5) Which internal functions are responsible for managing these engagements (e.g. procurement, HR, transformation teams).
6) Any current challenges, priorities, or strategic focus areas in relation to Services Procurement.
7) The renewal or expiry dates of any existing contracts relating to Services Procurement Service.
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If possible, please provide this information in line with your obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
If any part of this request is unclear, please do not hesitate to contact me for clarification.
Response
I am writing to request information regarding your organisation's current approach to Services Procurement, particularly in relation to Statement of Work (SOW) / project-based delivery and professional services.
Specifically, I would be grateful if you could provide information on the following:
1) How SOW or project-based services are currently procured and managed.
Answer: The Council procures services in accordance with its Contract Procedure Rules, which form part of the Council's Constitution and govern the procurement and management of contracts for goods, works and services. The Contract Procedure Rules set out procurement routes, requirements for competition, use of framework agreements, approval processes and contract management arrangements.
The Contract Procedure Rules are publicly available on our council website and can be viewed via the following link:
As such we consider this information to be exempt under Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 because it is reasonably accessible to you via other means. Please take this letter as a refusal notice under S17 of the Act.
2) Who the lead supplier(s) are for these services.
Answer: Information relating to the Council's current contracts are publicly available on our council website and can be viewed via the following link:
https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/contractsregister
As such we consider this information to be exempt under Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 because it is reasonably accessible to you via other means. Please take this letter as a refusal notice under S17 of the Act.
3) The procurement routes or frameworks typically utilised by the authority.
Answer: The Council utilises a range of procurement routes in accordance with its Contract Procedure Rules, including open tendering procedures and framework agreements.
Information regarding current and planned procurement activity, including framework arrangements identified for certain procurements, is publicly available via the Council's Contracts Register and Pipeline of Future Opportunities. These are on our council website via the following link:
https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/contractsregister
As such we consider this information to be exempt under Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 because it is reasonably accessible to you via other means. Please take this letter as a refusal notice under S17 of the Act.
Framework providers utilised by the Council include:
· Crown Commercial Service (CCS)
· ESPO
· YPO
· Procure Partnerships
· Pagabo
· NEPO
4) The types of programmes or projects most commonly delivered through this model (e.g. digital, transformation, workforce).
Answer: Information regarding current and planned procurement activity, including framework arrangements identified for certain procurements, is publicly available via the Council's Contracts Register and Pipeline of Future Opportunities. These are on our council website via the following link:
https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/contractsregister
As such we consider this information to be exempt under Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 because it is reasonably accessible to you via other means. Please take this letter as a refusal notice under S17 of the Act.
If you require information relating to a specific category of a project or programme, please provide clarification regarding the category you would like us to provide further information on.
5) Which internal functions are responsible for managing these engagements (e.g. procurement, HR, transformation teams).
Answer: Responsibility for procurements and contract management sits across a number of functions depending on the nature of the requirement. These may include:
· Commercial Services / Procurement
· Commissioning officers
· Service departments
· Project and programme management teams
· Contract managers
The Council's governance arrangements are set out within the Contract Procedure Rules. This information is publically available on our council website and can be viewed via the following link:
As such we consider this information to be exempt under Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 because it is reasonably accessible to you via other means. Please take this letter as a refusal notice under S17 of the Act.
6) Any current challenges, priorities, or strategic focus areas in relation to Services Procurement.
Answer: The Council’s Delivery Plan 2025/2026 is publically available on our council website and can be viewed via the following link:
As such we consider this information to be exempt under Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 because it is reasonably accessible to you via other means. Please take this letter as a refusal notice under S17 of the Act.
7) The renewal or expiry dates of any existing contracts relating to Services Procurement Service.
Answer: This information can be found on the Council’s contracts register, which is publically available on our council website and can be viewed via the following link:
https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/contractsregister
As such we consider this information to be exempt under Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 because it is reasonably accessible to you via other means. Please take this letter as a refusal notice under S17 of the Act.
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If possible, please provide this information in line with your obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
If any part of this request is unclear, please do not hesitate to contact me for clarification.
Documents
This is Herefordshire Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
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