In general, it is the responsibility of Heads of Departments to designate appropriate authority limits within their spending units. However, all units must abide by the following limits:

• Orders for purchases costing more than £10,000 (inclusive of VAT) per individual item or group of related items - to be approved by the Director of Finance. For this purpose, purchase includes leasing and other finance arrangements.
• Invoices and credit notes to a value greater than £10,000 - to be approved by Head of Department.

All Heads of Departments must ensure that authority limits for their areas of responsibility have been detailed and notified to the Finance Office and the Head of Purchasing Services for:-

• Approval of Purchasing Requisitions and Orders.
• Payments.
• Salaries & Wages. (timesheets).

Deputies for authorisers must be clearly established in advance of need.

All requisitions must be approved by a person who has the appropriate level of authority, prior to the issue of a Purchase Order to the supplier