Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
Scotland Excel
Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street
Paisley
PA1 1AR
Telephone
+44 1414888230
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UKM83 - Inverclyde, East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire
Internet address(es)
Main address
http://www.scotland-excel.org.uk
Buyer's address
https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/Search_AuthProfile.aspx?ID=AA10383
one.2) Information about joint procurement
The contract is awarded by a central purchasing body
one.3) Communication
The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at
https://www.publictendersscotland.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk
Additional information can be obtained from the above-mentioned address
Tenders or requests to participate must be submitted electronically via
https://www.publictendersscotland.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
one.5) Main activity
General public services
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
Provision of a Shared Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) Technology Solution
Reference number
04-22
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 72260000 - Software-related services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
The solution will provide a common platform to enable and simplify Councils’ move to digital telecare and will provide for innovation and development during the Framework, as described in the Tender Documents.
two.1.5) Estimated total value
Value excluding VAT: £15,000,000
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.2) Description
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 48000000 - Software package and information systems
- 48900000 - Miscellaneous software package and computer systems
- 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
- 72268000 - Software supply services
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKM - Scotland
Main site or place of performance
Various locations throughout the geographical boundaries of participating Councils and associate members within Scotland
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
A multi-tenant cloud solution used in Alarm Receiving Centers, delivering the digital capability throughout Scotland as set out in the Tender Documents.
This Tender process is for participation in a Framework Contract for the provision of a Shared Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) Technology Solution intended to meet the needs of Scotland Excel’s member Councils and Associate Members to assist in the transition from analogue to digital telephony services.
In line with Regulation 72 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015, Contract and Framework agreements may be modified without a new procurement procedure in accordance with this Part in some cases. Further details of the cases in this permitted can be found in the document "0422- Regulation 72", within the "Information & Instructions" folder in the "Buyer Attachments" area of the PCS-T project for this procurement.
This Framework Contract is intended to provide an efficient method of engaging a single Supplier for the provision of a Shared Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) Technology Solution to Councils and aims to ensure that the Solution is delivered in a consistent and co-ordinated way across all of Scotland.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Quality criterion - Name: Technical / Weighting: 70
Cost criterion - Name: Commercial / Weighting: 30
two.2.6) Estimated value
Value excluding VAT: £15,000,000
two.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Duration in months
72
This contract is subject to renewal
No
two.2.10) Information about variants
Variants will be accepted: No
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: Yes
Description of options
The duration of “72” months shown in II.2.7 is subject to an option exercisable at the sole discretion of Scotland Excel to terminate the contract at the end of the 4th year (as set out within the Procurement Documents).
two.2.13) Information about European Union Funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
two.2.14) Additional information
Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in Regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015. Please see the Invitation to Tender contained on the PCS-Tender project relevant to this procurement and the other Procurement Documents for further information.
Section three. Legal, economic, financial and technical information
three.1) Conditions for participation
three.1.1) Suitability to pursue the professional activity, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers
List and brief description of conditions
Not Applicable
three.1.2) Economic and financial standing
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required
1. SPD (Scotland) Question 4B.5.1b and 4B.5.2 - INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS:
It is a requirement of the contracts to be procured under the proposed framework agreement that tenderers hold, or can commit to obtain prior to the commencement of any subsequently awarded contract, the types and levels of insurance are indicated below:
Employers’ Liability Insurance – statutory Five Million Pounds (5,000,000GBP) Sterling, each and every claim,
Public/Products Liability Insurance – Ten Million Pounds (10,000,000GBP) Sterling, each and every claim but in the aggregate for products; and
Professional Indemnity Insurance - Five Million Pounds (5,000,000GBP) Sterling, each and every claim, or, Ten Million Pounds (10,000,000GBP) Sterling in the annual aggregate. Scotland Excel understands that tenderers may wish to evidence the cover spread across multiple insurers, which would be acceptable.
Tenderers should note that an increased level of insurance may be required by a Council at the time of appointing a Contractor depending on its specific requirements.
2. SPD Scotland) Question 4.B.6 - OTHER ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS:
A search of the Tenderer against Equifax's Protect must not return a 'Warning' or 'Caution' returnable code or any neutral code, unless the Tenderer confirms that it can provide any other document which Scotland Excel considers appropriate to prove to Scotland Excel (acting within its permitted discretion under the applicable public procurement rules) that the Tenderer does / would not present an unmanageable risk should it be appointed on to the proposed Framework Agreement.
Equifax's Protect is a fraud indicator / credit risk search and analysis of five areas of threat in relation to a particular company: credit history; disqualification; validation and investigation bureau; connected data; and bureau information. It shall be a condition of the Contract that, if required by Scotland Excel, the appointed Contractor shall deliver a validly executed Parent Company Guarantee in the form set out in the tender documents.
three.1.3) Technical and professional ability
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required
The Tenderer must have the following:
EXPERIENCE
Tenderers will be required to provide examples that demonstrate that they have the relevant experience to delivering services of a similar scope and scale to those detailed in this specification.
SUBCONTRACTING:
Tenderers will be required to confirm whether they intend to subcontract and, if so, for what proportion of the contracts to be called-off under the proposed framework agreement.
If you intend to subcontract any share of the contract to third parties on whose capacity you do not rely to satisfy the selection criteria, you must secure that each subcontractor completes a separate SPD (Scotland) Response for all Parts of the SPD (Scotland) Qualification Envelope, except Part 4 (Selection criteria).
QUALITY MANAGEMENT
The tenderer MUST HOLD a UKAS (or equivalent) accredited independent third-party certificate of compliance in accordance with BSEN ISO 9001 (or equivalent).
OR
A documented policy regarding quality management. The policy must set out responsibilities for quality management demonstrating that the tenderer has and continues to implement a quality management policy that is authorized by their Chief Executive, or equivalent, and is periodically reviewed at a senior management level. The policy must be relevant to the nature and scale of the work to be undertaken and set out responsibilities for quality management throughout the organisation.
HEALTH AND SAFETY PROCEDURES
The tenderer MUST HOLD a UKAS (or equivalent), accredited independent third-party certificate of compliance in accordance with ISO 45001 (or equivalent) or have, within the last 12 months.
OR
The tenderer must have a regularly reviewed and documented policy for Health and Safety (H&S) management, endorsed by the Chief Executive Officer, or equivalent. The policy must be relevant to the nature and scale of the work and set out responsibilities for H&S management at all levels within the organisation. The policy must be relevant to the nature and scale of your operations and set out your company’s responsibilities of health and safety management and compliance with legislation.
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT STANDARDS
The Tenderer MUST HOLD a UKAS (or equivalent) accredited independent 3rd-party Certificate of compliance with BS EN ISO 14001 (or equivalent).
OR
A regularly reviewed documented policy regarding environmental management, authorised by the Chief Executive, or equivalent. This policy must include and describe the tenderer's environmental emergency response procedures, including the preparedness and response procedures for potential accidents and emergency response situations that give rise to significant environmental impacts.
INFORMATION SECURITY (IS)
The Tenderer MUST HOLD a UKAS (or equivalent) accredited independent 3rd-party certificate of compliance in accordance with BS EN ISO 27001 (or equivalent.), plus ISO 27002, ISO 27017 based on ISO/IEC 27002 for cloud services or equivalents, ISO 27018 and ISO 22301 or equivalent.
OR
A documented policy regarding information security. The policy must set out responsibilities for ensuring information security demonstrating that the tenderer has and continues to implement an information security policy that is authorised by their Chief Executive, or equivalent, and is periodically reviewed at a senior management level. The policy must be relevant to the nature and scale of the work
to be undertaken and set out responsibilities for information security throughout the organisation.
CYBER SECURITY
The Tenderer will need to be successfully listed on the Digital Telecare Security Assessment Scheme or be able to evidence a similar level of security accreditation in line with the requirements of the scheme. Further information can be found within the procurement documents.
three.2) Conditions related to the contract
three.2.2) Contract performance conditions
For full details of the conditions relevant to the proposed Framework Agreement and Call-offs (to the extent known or settled at this stage), please see the procurement documents (details of how to access these being set out in section "1.3 Communication") of this Contract Notice.
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Open procedure
four.1.3) Information about a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system
The procurement involves the establishment of a framework agreement
Framework agreement with a single operator
In the case of framework agreements, provide justification for any duration exceeding 4 years:
This exceptional period reflects the subject matter of the contract. The exceptional timeframe of six years is to ensure security and stability for the benefit of the vulnerable end-user of the Solution. The framework period of six years has also factored in the impending switch-off of the analogue telephone system this is scheduled to be completed in the year 2025.
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: 2022/S 000-002831
four.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
Originally published as:
Date
21 April 2023
Local time
12:00pm
Changed to:
Date
10 May 2023
Local time
12:00pm
See the change notice.
four.2.4) Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted
English
four.2.7) Conditions for opening of tenders
Date
21 April 2023
Local time
12:00pm
Section six. Complementary information
six.1) Information about recurrence
This is a recurrent procurement: No
six.2) Information about electronic workflows
Electronic ordering will be used
Electronic invoicing will be accepted
Electronic payment will be used
six.3) Additional information
Tenderers must take care to comply with the requirements set out in the Tender Documents in accordance with the instructions given.
In particular, Tenderers should note the requirements set out in the Tender Documents as regards submission of a fully completed tender response. Amongst others, this includes the provision of a video demonstration as part of the tender response, and where exclusions may apply if information is not provided in the tender response.
Tenderers should note that a retrospective rebate will apply to this Framework. Further information is contained in the Tender Documents.
Tenderers will note the intention to establish a single supplier framework and to award a contract which may extend to a maximum of 6 years (see IV.1.3).
The terms and conditions permit variations during the life of the framework to enable innovation and development.
This Tender process is subject to the Law and Guidance applicable in Scotland relative to the award of public contracts including (without limitation) as set out in the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015, most recently amended to reflect the European Union exit by the UK. Any prior version of the relevant Law and Guidance, or terminology related thereto, which appears in these Procurement Documents should therefore be interpreted and applied as currently in force.
Scotland Excel as a central purchasing body, may procure this framework on behalf of the following contracting authorities (and successor bodies):
- the 32 local authorities in Scotland listed at http://www.scotland-excel.org.uk/home/aboutus/Ourmembers/Local-authorities.aspx;
- Tayside Contracts;
- Scotland Excel associate members, listed at http://www.scotland-excel.org.uk/home/Aboutus/Ourmembers/Associate-members.aspx; ,
- Any integration authority, or other bodies, established pursuant to the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014; and, Telecare Service Providers (as noted in the 04-22 Information and Instructions document).
The above is subject to each contracting authority entering into and maintaining a relevant membership agreement or other access
agreement with Scotland Excel.
Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in Regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.
Subcontractors on whose capacity the Bidder does not rely: Scotland Excel will request the following information in the Single
Procurement Document (Scotland):
- whether the bidders intend to subcontract any share of the contract to a third party;
- list of the proposed subcontracts as far as it is known at that stage; and
- what proportion/percentage of the contract does the Tenderer intend to subcontract.
Please note that these subcontractors on whose capacity the Tenderer does not rely will be subject to the rules regarding Exclusion as set out immediately above.
The buyer is using PCS-Tender to conduct this ITT exercise. The Project code is 21642. For more information see: http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/info/InfoCentre.aspx?ID=2343
A sub-contract clause has been included in this contract. For more information see: http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/info/InfoCentre.aspx?ID=2363
Community benefits are included in this requirement. For more information see: https://www.gov.scot/policies/public-sector-procurement/community-benefits-in-procurement/
A summary of the expected community benefits has been provided as follows:
As part of your response within the technical criteria, tenderers will be requested to confirm if they will offer community benefits for this framework.
(SC Ref:697205)
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
Court of Session
Edinburgh
EH1 1RQ
Country
United Kingdom
six.4.3) Review procedure
Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures
An economic operator that suffers, or risks suffering, loss or damage attributable to a breach of duty under the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 (SSI 2015/446) (as amended) may bring proceedings in the Sheriff Court or the Court of Session.