Procurement and Purchasing Policy

Al-Waris Foundation is committed to obtaining appropriate value from charitable funds while ensuring that purchasing decisions are:

The lowest price will not automatically represent the best procurement decision.

The charity may consider:

This policy establishes the framework for:

This policy applies to procurement undertaken by:

It covers:

The Board of Trustees retains ultimate responsibility for ensuring that charity funds are spent appropriately.

Trustees should ensure that:

Routine procurement may be delegated to authorised persons.

Only persons with appropriate authority may commit Al-Waris Foundation to expenditure.

Authority may be limited according to:

A person must not deliberately divide a purchase into smaller transactions to avoid an approval or quotation threshold.

Al-Waris Foundation will normally apply the following principles:

Purchasing should achieve an appropriate balance between cost, quality and benefit.

The procurement process should reflect the value and risk of the purchase.

Potential suppliers should not be unfairly favoured because of personal relationships.

Significant purchasing decisions should be capable of explanation.

Bribery, kickbacks, undisclosed commissions and procurement manipulation are prohibited.

Material purchases should have sufficient records to demonstrate what was purchased and why.

Value for money does not necessarily mean selecting the cheapest supplier.

Relevant considerations may include:

Al-Waris Foundation will use proportionate procurement requirements.

Unless the Board approves different thresholds for a particular category or project, the following internal framework should normally apply:

A single reasonable price may normally be accepted without obtaining competing written quotations.

The purchaser should still consider whether the price appears reasonable.

Where reasonably practicable, at least two prices or quotations should be compared.

These may include:

Where reasonably practicable, at least three quotations should be obtained.

The selection decision should be documented.

A more formal procurement exercise should normally be undertaken.

This should include:

These are internal governance thresholds and may be varied where justified.

It may not always be reasonable or possible to obtain the normal number of quotations.

Examples include:

The reason for a material exception should be documented.

In genuine emergencies, normal procurement procedures may be streamlined where delay could:

Emergency procurement must still be:

Urgency must not be used as a routine justification for avoiding controls.

Material purchases should have a sufficiently clear specification.

Depending on the purchase, this may include:

Clear specifications allow meaningful comparison between suppliers.

Suppliers may be assessed using factors including:

The reason for selecting a materially more expensive quotation should be recorded where appropriate.

Before significant purchasing from a new supplier, proportionate checks should be completed.

These may include:

Contractors undertaking material project work may require enhanced checks.

These may include:

Where reasonably practicable, a new contractor proposed for repeatable project work should initially be given a limited pilot.

A pilot should be used to assess:

Large batches of repeat projects should not normally be awarded to an untested contractor without a documented reason.

A contractor who performs satisfactorily may be used for subsequent work without repeating the complete initial due-diligence process for every individual project.

However:

Where Al-Waris Foundation intends to commission multiple similar projects or purchase significant quantities, it should seek bulk pricing where this may provide better value.

Negotiations may consider:

Bulk pricing must not result in unacceptable reductions in quality.

Anyone involved in procurement must disclose relevant conflicts.

Examples include where a supplier or contractor is:

See the Conflict of Interest Policy.

Procurement from a trustee or connected person must not occur merely because the person is known to the charity.

Any such transaction must be:

The conflicted person must not improperly participate in the decision.

No person involved in procurement may request or accept:

in return for influencing a purchasing decision.

See the Anti-Fraud, Bribery and Corruption Policy.

Reasonable and modest hospitality may be accepted where it cannot reasonably influence a procurement decision.

Hospitality should be declined where it could create:

No person may:

Suspected false quotations should be investigated.

Suppliers must not knowingly be permitted to manipulate competition through:

Evidence of collusion should be escalated.

Approval should occur before the charity becomes committed to material expenditure where reasonably practicable.

Approval records may include:

The charity may use purchase orders for material or repeat purchasing.

A purchase order may contain:

Material services or project work should normally have written terms.

Terms may include:

Full payment in advance should be avoided where this creates unnecessary risk.

Where an advance is required, consideration should be given to:

For suitable projects, payments may be divided into stages such as:

Milestone payments can reduce financial exposure.

Where appropriate, final payment should not be released until the charity has reasonable evidence that:

Invoices should normally contain sufficient information to identify:

Unclear or suspicious invoices should be investigated before payment.

Reasonable controls should exist to prevent the same invoice being paid more than once.

Where duplicate payment occurs, recovery should be pursued where appropriate.

Requests to change supplier bank details should be independently verified where reasonably practicable.

Particular caution should be exercised where the request is:

Overseas procurement should follow the same core principles as UK procurement while recognising local conditions.

Additional considerations may include:

See the Overseas Operations and Partner Due Diligence Policy.

Local procurement may be preferred where it:

Local purchasing must still be appropriately documented.

Where formal written quotations are not commonly available, alternative evidence may include:

The charity should preserve a reasonable audit trail.

Where quotations are received in foreign currencies, comparison should use a reasonable exchange-rate basis.

The final accounting record should reflect the actual sterling cost where applicable.

Water-project procurement should reflect actual site conditions.

Al-Waris Foundation may use:

depending on technical and local conditions.

A single installation type should not be imposed regardless of site suitability.

Before commissioning water work, quotations should identify where applicable:

Variable-depth pricing should be clearly understood before work begins.

Before substantial drilling or installation, the contractor should provide a proportionate site assessment.

This may consider:

No contractor should guarantee water availability unless there is a proper basis for doing so.

Each Al-Waris Foundation water installation should receive a unique project number.

The project number should link procurement records with:

Before final closure of a water project, records should normally include:

Where appropriate, completed installations should display an Al-Waris Foundation branded plaque or durable project identifier.

This supports:

Where water is intended for drinking, the charity should consider whether water-quality testing is appropriate.

The charity must not advertise water as tested or safe unless this is supported by appropriate evidence.

Food purchasing should consider:

Bulk purchasing may be used where it provides better value.

Where food packages are assembled by the charity, procurement records should permit calculation of:

Bulk food may be divided into smaller packages where:

Savings from bulk procurement should not compromise food safety or quality.

Emergency procurement may require speed and flexibility.

The charity should prioritise:

Normal quotation requirements may be reduced where genuinely necessary, but records should still be maintained.

Purchases involving technology should consider:

Recurring software subscriptions should be periodically reviewed.

The charity should cancel services that:

Significant equipment purchases should be recorded where appropriate in the charity's asset register.

Records may include:

Where goods are donated rather than purchased, the charity should still consider:

The charity is not obliged to accept unsuitable donated goods.

Where reasonably practicable and proportionate, purchasing decisions may consider:

These factors should be balanced against charitable effectiveness and available resources.

Where a procurement relationship presents material modern-slavery risk, the charity should consider appropriate due diligence.

Credible evidence of serious exploitation should be escalated.

Contractors who may interact with beneficiaries should be subject to appropriate safeguarding requirements.

Procurement decisions should consider:

Where a supplier processes personal data for Al-Waris Foundation, procurement should consider:

Appropriate data-processing arrangements should be established where required.

Suppliers must not be given access to confidential charity information unless reasonably necessary.

Access should be limited to the information required for the contracted purpose.

Material suppliers and contractors should be monitored proportionately.

Factors may include:

Significant positive or negative supplier performance may be recorded for future procurement decisions.

Records should be:

Where a supplier performs poorly, the charity may:

For assets or projects requiring ongoing maintenance, procurement should consider:

The cheapest initial option may not represent the lowest long-term cost.

Suspected procurement fraud should be handled under the Anti-Fraud, Bribery and Corruption Policy.

Examples include:

Higher-risk overseas suppliers may require sanctions screening.

The charity must not knowingly make prohibited funds or economic resources available to designated persons or entities.

See the Sanctions and Terrorist Financing Policy.

Material procurement records may include:

Procurement records should be retained in accordance with the Records Retention and Disposal Policy.

Records associated with significant projects may need to be retained with the wider project file.

The charity should maintain sufficient procurement records to demonstrate responsible use of charitable funds.

Transparency does not require publication of:

Purchases must not be artificially divided into multiple smaller transactions for the purpose of avoiding:

Related purchases forming part of the same requirement should be considered together where appropriate.

For frequently purchased goods or services, the charity may establish an approved supplier or framework arrangement.

This may reduce unnecessary repeated quotation exercises.

The arrangement should be periodically reviewed for:

A sole-supplier arrangement may be justified where:

The justification should be documented for material expenditure.

Material concerns about procurement fairness, conflicts or misconduct should be reported through an appropriate route.

Fraud concerns should be handled under the Anti-Fraud, Bribery and Corruption Policy.

The Board should receive proportionate information concerning:

Trustees do not need to approve every routine purchase.

Breaches of this policy may result in:

This policy should be read alongside:

This policy will be reviewed:

Version: 2.0 Status: Approved Approved by: Board of Trustees Approval date: 25/08/2026 Next scheduled review: 24/08/2027