Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
Suffolk County Council
Endeavour House, Russell Road
IPSWICH
IP1 2BX
highwaysservicesprocurement@suffolkhighways.org
Telephone
+44 1473260450
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UKH14 - Suffolk
Internet address(es)
Main address
one.3) Communication
The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at
Additional information can be obtained from the above-mentioned address
Tenders or requests to participate must be submitted to the above-mentioned address
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
Highways Services Contract
Reference number
CD1358
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 45233139 - Highway maintenance work
two.1.3) Type of contract
Works
two.1.4) Short description
Suffolk County Council wishes to appoint an industry-leading service provider to become its partner in the delivery of the Council’s highways maintenance and professional services (Contract).The Council is looking to forge a long-term collaborative relationship with a service provider that delivers a Contract that actively supports the Council’s corporate objectives and provides added value to the County.At present, the majority of the Council's highways maintenance activities (including street lighting (SLS), intelligent transport systems (ITS) and professional services) are delivered through its existing highways contract which is due to expire in September 2023.The Council intends to put in place a new, flexible Contract to maximise the potential for success for both itself and the appointed service provider. The Contract will deliver both core highways maintenance services and certain professional services with a separate contract put in place for the provision of SLS and ITS
two.1.5) Estimated total value
Value excluding VAT: £1,600,000,000
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.2) Description
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKH14 - Suffolk
Main site or place of performance
Suffolk
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
The Council wishes to put in place a new, exciting and flexible arrangement to facilitate its highways activities. The current intention is to ensure that the new Contract encourages and facilitates the following:• Collaboration and partnership – the Council is keen to establish a partnership with the appointed service provider which embodies trust in service delivery and pricing, actively supports its objectives, promotes collaboration and embraces the needs of the Council as well as the people of the County of Suffolk.• Social considerations – in putting in place this important Contract, the Council will consider how it can bring Social Value benefits to its communities by ensuring these are embedded in the service specification, form part of its procurement decisions and are delivered through this Contract. • Climate Emergency – potential service providers will need to demonstrate how they will help the Council with its aim to be Carbon Net Zero by 2030. This will include reviewing and monitoring highway services activities to mitigate environmental impacts whilst actively working in accordance with the Council’s Climate Change Commercial Ask. • Environmental considerations – the Council also wishes to seek out opportunities within the highway maintenance services where it can make positive contributions to biodiversity and protecting the environment across Suffolk. • Communication and Engagement - communication for the highways service plays a key role in keeping customers and stakeholders informed about the different services being delivered (location and time) and informs the Council of defects, complaints and compliments.• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion – the Council wants a service provider that is committed to ensuring fair and accessible opportunities for everyone from diverse backgrounds and promoting an inclusive culture and environment within the workplace. The Contract will provide for the delivery of both core highways maintenance services and professional services. Whilst the likely value of the professional services under the Contract is considerably lower than the value of the core maintenance services, the Council considers the quality and manner in which those professional services are delivered to be of equal importance to the overall success of the Contract and is committed to ensuring that the provider of those professional services engages directly with the Council and has an opportunity to influence the development of the Contract more generally particularly in the context of innovation, sustainability and social value. The service provider will provide professional services for small to medium size improvement and capital maintenance schemes as well as large and/or specialist type activities for specific tasks or programmes. Separate contracts will be put in place for the provision of SLS and ITS services in the first instance however, the Council reserves its right to bring those services into this Contract at a later date. The Council is aware that the approach it has decided to take in respect of the Contract may be different to many of the approaches currently in, or coming to, the market. The Council strongly believes that its approach will not only promote a closer working relationship with the service provider but will provide the best value for money for the Council, delivered through a platform which supports and anticipates change and improvement, and which has been established to promote and deliver on the key objectives. The Council will ensure a fair and transparent procurement process whilst complying with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and intends to invite the top four scoring Candidates to participate in and submit an initial tender. The top three scoring Bidders will then be invited to participate in and submit detailed and final tenders. Further information about the procurement process is set out in the Project Information Memorandum (PIM).
two.2.5) Award criteria
Price is not the only award criterion and all criteria are stated only in the procurement documents
two.2.6) Estimated value
Value excluding VAT: £1,600,000,000
two.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Start date
1 October 2023
End date
30 September 2033
This contract is subject to renewal
Yes
Description of renewals
The contract term will be up to a maximum of 20 years comprised of an initial minimum term of 10 years followed by an optional aggregate extension period of up to a further 10 years. The duration and number of extensions beyond the minimum term of 10 years shall be determined at the Council’s absolute discretion. The Council will explore the duration of any extensions as part of the negotiations
two.2.9) Information about the limits on the number of candidates to be invited
Envisaged number of candidates: 4
Objective criteria for choosing the limited number of candidates:
Please refer to the Selection Questionnaire
two.2.10) Information about variants
Variants will be accepted: Yes
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: Yes
Description of options
The Contract shall include, but not be limited to, the following options:• to extend the scope of the Contract during its terms to cover SLS and/or ITS services or any other highway’s related services which aren’t currently part of the core service as described in the specification.• to extend the initial minimum term of the Contract from 10 years up to a maximum aggregate of 20 years.Such options shall be included in the Contract and shall be developed as part of the negotiation process with those Bidders selected to participate in that phase.
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 three. Legal, economic, financial and technical information
three.1) Conditions for participation
three.1.2) Economic and financial standing
Selection criteria as stated in the procurement documents
three.1.3) Technical and professional ability
Selection criteria as stated in the procurement documents
three.2) Conditions related to the contract
three.2.2) Contract performance conditions
The appointed supplier will be required to actively participate in the achievement of social, environmental and/or health & safety objectives. Accordingly certain award criteria and certain contract performance conditions will relate in particular to social, environmental, health & safety and/or other corporate social responsibility considerations. Further details can be found in the procurement documents and the Contract.
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Competitive procedure with negotiation
four.1.4) Information about reduction of the number of solutions or tenders during negotiation or dialogue
Recourse to staged procedure to gradually reduce the number of solutions to be discussed or tenders to be negotiated
four.1.5) Information about negotiation
The contracting authority reserves the right to award the contract on the basis of the initial tenders without conducting negotiations
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: 2021/S 000-031538
four.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
Date
28 April 2022
Local time
12:00pm
four.2.3) Estimated date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates
16 May 2022
four.2.4) Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted
English
four.2.6) Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender
Tender must be valid until: 30 September 2023
Section six. Complementary information
six.1) Information about recurrence
This is a recurrent procurement: Yes
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
Selection Questionnaire responses and tenders are to be completed electronically using the Portal: www.suffolksourcing.uk. Please note that a ‘request to participate’ for the purposes of this contract notice (in particular, Section IV.2.2) is by completion and return of the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire by the stated deadline.Bidders will remain responsible for all costs and expenses incurred by them or by any third party acting under instructions from Bidders in connection with taking part in this procurement, regardless of whether such costs arise as a consequence, direct or indirect, of any amendments made to the procurement documents by the Council at any time. The Council is mindful of the issues presented by conflicts of interest and will be proactively managing any actual or potential conflicts that may arise during this procurement. The Council has identified that one of the prospective Bidders, Atkins, is a member of the same group as one of the technical advisors, Faithful & Gould (F&G), advising the Council in this procurement process. The Council is taking appropriate action to ensure that F&G and Atkins have put in place all the necessary information barriers and precautions to manage all actual, potential and/or perceived conflicts of interest should Atkins chose to bid for the Contract.The Council reserves the right at any time to: i) reject any or all responses and to cancel or withdraw this procurement at any stage; ii) award a contract without prior notice; iii) change the basis, the procedures and the time-scales set out or referred to within the procurement documents; iv) require a Bidder to clarify any submissions in writing and/or provide additional information (failure to respond adequately may result in disqualification); v) terminate the procurement process; and/or vi) amend the terms and conditions of the selection and evaluation process.All discussions and correspondence will be deemed strictly subject to contract until a formal contract is entered into. The formal contract shall not be binding until it has been signed and dated by the duly authorised representatives of both parties.The estimated value of the Contract identified in II.2.6) is only an estimate at this stage and has the potential to be higher. There is some uncertainty as to the total value for several reasons including: (i) the flexible approach being adopted which anticipates change and continuous improvement; (ii) the availability of central Government funding for future projects/schemes; and (iii) the significant impact that inflation could have on costs under the Contract.In relation to Section II.2.10, variant bids may be accepted by the Council. However, this will only be in circumstances where the form and content of the variant has been approved by the Council in advance.
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
Royal Courts of Justice
Strand
London
Telephone
+44 2079477882
Country
United Kingdom
Internet address
six.4.3) Review procedure
Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures
Any appeals should be promptly brought to the attention of Nigel Innis, Head of Legal for the Council at the address specified in Section I) above, and will be dealt with in accordance with the requirements of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. Any appeals must be brought within the time scales specified by the applicable law, including, without limitation, the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. In accordance with such Regulations, the Council will also incorporate a minimum 10 calendar day standstill period from the date information on award of contract is communicated to Bidders.