Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
Leicestershire County Council
County Hall, Leicester Road, Glenfield
Leicester
LE3 8RA
Contact
Mrs Rajwinder Bhola
Telephone
+44 1163057479
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UK - United Kingdom
Internet address(es)
Main address
https://www.eastmidstenders.org/index.html
Buyer's address
https://www.eastmidstenders.org/index.html
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Regional or local authority
one.5) Main activity
General public services
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
Alcohol & Substance Misuse Testing
Reference number
DN737528
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 85148000 - Medical analysis services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
Provision of drug and alcohol misuse testing services.
The service involves taking tests from employees, who may be based anywhere in Leicestershire however the agency must be able to provide a nationwide service. The employees are based over numerous sites which are majority all within Leicestershire but, testing agencies must be able to travel nationwide at any time (24-hour service) to promptly respond to a need for with-cause testing.
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)
Value excluding VAT: £825,000
two.2) Description
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 71620000 - Analysis services
- 85148000 - Medical analysis services
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UK - United Kingdom
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
We require in excess of 550 tests per year made up of random and with-cause testing.
It is difficult to predict the number of tests required, historically during December 2023 to March 2024 in a four month period, 198 tests were carried out broken down as follows:
25% with cause
66% Random basis
9% Other
General Requirements:
A testing agency is required to provide drug and alcohol testing on the grounds of health and safety and compliance with the Traffic Commissioner’s recommendations. t.
Service Providers must be able to work as closely as possible to the LCC Testing policy, procedure and toolkit.
In future, LCC may also wish to buy some test kits directly without the services of a testing agent as supply only, it is preferred if the supplier could offer this sale of kits only although not essential.
Testing is carried out at the roadside or on site depending on circumstances. Random drug testing is saliva testing but, with-cause / assurance drug testing is a urine test.
The employees are based over numerous sites which are currently all within Leicestershire but, testing agencies must be able to travel nationwide at any time (24-hour service) to respond to a need for with-cause testing whilst outside of Leicestershire (e.g. an accident or near-miss for a driver who can be located outside of the county) within two hours of the callout request. Drivers who are tested are required to make deliveries nationwide with the majority being Leicestershire.
The policy applies to all employees of Leicestershire County Council and Eastern Shires Purchasing Association (ESPO), except school staff.
Types of testing required are:
With Cause Testing
Our 'with cause' testing policy (which applies to all staff regardless of their role) worked positively since 2018. ‘With cause’ testing applies to all employees, not just those in safety critical roles. The Council will undertake ‘with cause’ alcohol and/or drug testing in situations where there is a serious risk to health and safety. Scenarios where testing is required includes but is not limited to:
• An employee is involved in an incident (e.g. an accident in a work vehicle or whilst using their own vehicle for business purposes, any accident resulting in injury requiring medical attention).
• An employee is involved in a near-miss traffic incident.
• An employee’s behaviour or evidence suggests that the individual has consumed alcohol and/or drugs.
Assurance Testing
We also carry out assurance testing following a positive test.
• The test is a control measure within a Support Plan for someone who has had a positive test result and / or disclosed issues of substance misuse. It may be referred to as Assurance Testing in these circumstances.
To support employee wellbeing and avoid substance-related incidents at work, we added random testing to our policy for staff in Safety Critical Roles since 2021.
Safety critical roles are defined below:
• Individuals who are employed as drivers or who drive council vehicles e.g. taxi drivers, bus drivers, chauffeurs, winter gritter drivers, HGV drivers.
• Individuals who operate or work in very close proximity to safety critical machinery. Safety critical machinery usually requires the user to undergo training in the form of obtaining specific license/additional safety qualification e.g. road workers, forestry workers, ESPO warehouse staff, waste operatives, forklift truck drivers and escorts operating tail lifts etc.
• Supervisors/managers who direct (not merely supervise or manage) the way that safety critical tasks are performed by employees.
Alcohol Testing
Alcohol testing involves the use of an electronic breath-testing device. A ‘positive’ result indicates that more than 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath was present in the sample. This figure is the England and Wales drink-driving limit.
Drugs Testing
Where the results are analysed in a laboratory the Laboratory must be ISO 17025 and ISO 15189 compliant.
All Service Providers are asked to read the LCC Substance Misuse Policy and Procedure thoroughly and would be expected to work in alignment with the policy.
Service Levels and Contract Management are stated in the specification.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Quality criterion - Name: PSR Key criteria / Weighting: 70
Price - Weighting: 30
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: No
two.2.13) Information about European Union Funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Open procedure
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes
four.2) Administrative information
four.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure
Notice number: 2024/S 000-027972
Section five. Award of contract
Contract No
DN737528
Lot No
1
A contract/lot is awarded: Yes
five.2) Award of contract
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
2 January 2025
five.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 3
Number of tenders received from SMEs: 3
Number of tenders received from tenderers from other EU Member States: 0
Number of tenders received from tenderers from non-EU Member States: 0
Number of tenders received by electronic means: 3
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
AttoSure Limited
33 Scottow Enteprise Park, Badersfield.
Norwich
NR10 5FB
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UKH1 - East Anglia
The contractor is an SME
Yes
five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Total value of the contract/lot: £825,000
Section six. Complementary information
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
Leicestershire County Council
Leicester
LE3 8RA
Country
United Kingdom