- If the contract is for a 'one-off' service, estimate the total value of that service
- If the contract is regular in nature, the value of successive contracts of the same type should be estimated over 12 months (either based historically or in the future). Note, however, requirements cannot be disaggregated in order to avoid the legislation.
- Fixed term contracts for services should be estimated for the duration of the contract.
- Where the contract is part of a series, the whole series should be estimated over a 12-month period or longer, if appropriate.
- If a contract is for a fixed period, say one year, but has an option(s) to extend, for example, for a further period of one or two years. Then, regardless of whether there is uncertainty about exercising the extension options, the maximum duration, i.e. 3 years, is used when estimating its value.
- If the contract, or series of contracts, do not indicate a total price, then in the case of fixed-term contracts where that term is less than or equal to 48 months, estimate the total value for their full term. In the case of contracts without a fixed term (e.g. an indefinite or uncertain period) or with a term greater than 48 months, the monthly value multiplied by 48.
- When calculating the value expected to be paid for public services, where appropriate take account of:
- The premium payable for insurance services
- The fees, commissions or other remuneration payable for banking and financial services, and
- The fees or commissions payable for design services.
- Where a proposed provision of services may result in contracts being awarded in the form of separate lots, then the total value of all the individual lots must be calculated. Note: individual lots may be removed from the EU procurement exercise where they are valued at less than £62,842 and taken together they represent less than 20% of the total overall valuation.
Note: Where the proposed contract includes more than one of the above elements, the value must be determined by calculating its highest possible value. In addition, the contracting authority shall not enter into separate contracts with the intention of avoiding the application of the rules, nor use a valuation method that gives the lowest estimated value.