Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
Kent County Council
Invicta House
Maidstone
ME14 1XQ
Contact
Mr Joseph Kay
Telephone
+44 3000411394
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UK - United Kingdom
Internet address(es)
Main address
Buyer's address
one.3) Communication
The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at
https://procontract.due-north.com/Advert/Index?advertId=b61db9e3-01f1-ee11-8129-005056b64545
Additional information can be obtained from the above-mentioned address
Tenders or requests to participate must be submitted electronically via
https://procontract.due-north.com/Advert/Index?advertId=b61db9e3-01f1-ee11-8129-005056b64545
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
SC23191 Coroner Removals and Transfer Service
Reference number
DN716972
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 98000000 - Other community, social and personal services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
Coroners are independent judicial officers, appointed by the local authority within the coroner area. Local authorities have a legal obligation to support the work of Coroner’s, to fund all the costs of the service and to provide the necessary resources to enable them to carry out their statutory obligations under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. This includes the provision of appropriate contractual arrangements for the removal of the deceased. For the four Kent coroner areas of Mid Kent & Medway, North-West Kent, North-East Kent and Central & South-East Kent, KCC is the lead authority for the administrative areas of Kent and Medway.
There are two service requirements to be procured under this process: Lot 1: Coroner Removals Service and Lot 2: Coroner Transfers Service. Please see the sections below for a description of these services.
Selection Questionnaire (SQ)
At this stage of the project, The Council have issued a Selection Questionnaire, to identify suitably qualified suppliers to provide a Coroners Removal and/or Coroners Transfer Service. To register your interest in this opportunity, please go to www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk. Prospective suppliers must complete the Selection Questionnaire and submit via the Kent Business Portal to be considered for this opportunity. Further information can be found in the Selection Questionnaire documents.
Bidder Briefing
The Council is offering a Bidder Briefing Session, to be held virtually via Microsoft Teams on Monday 1st July 2024 at 10am. The briefing will provide The purpose of this session is to explain the Selection Questionnaire (SQ) process, and support prospective suppliers to use our e-tendering system, the Kent Business Portal.
If you wish to join the briefing, please register at the following address: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/1f2ee65b-43c6-42dd-a379-148966892c2c@3253a20d-c735-4bfe-a8b7-3e6ab37f5f90
If you are unable to attend this session, a recording will be made available to all prospective tenderers following the session. Questions can also be raised via the Kent Business Portal.
If you require any additional information regarding this opportunity, please do not hesitate to contact Kent County Council through the messaging function on the Kent Business Portal.
two.1.5) Estimated total value
Value excluding VAT: £4,000,000
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: Yes
Tenders may be submitted for all lots
Maximum number of lots that may be awarded to one tenderer: 5
The contracting authority reserves the right to award contracts combining the following lots or groups of lots:
The Coroners Removals Service (Lot 1) has been separated into 15 contract areas:
1 (A) - Sevenoaks A (above A25) ,1 (B) - Sevenoaks B (below A25) , 1 (C) - Dartford & Gravesham , 1 (D) - Tunbridge Wells , 1 (E) - Tonbridge and Malling , 1 (F) - Medway ,1 (G) - Maidstone , 1 (H) - West Swale ,1 (I) - East Swale ,1 (J) - Ashford ,1 (K) - Canterbury ,1 (L) - Shepway, 1 (M) - Thanet , 1 (N) - Dover NEK , 1 (O) - Dover CSEK
The Council anticipates that suppliers will be awarded up to 5 contract areas for Lot 1 (Coroners Removals Service). There is no limit to the number of areas an organisation can tender for. Further details on the proposed contract lotting can be found in the "SC23191 Information Document".
The Coroners Transfer Service (Lot 2) has been separated into 2 separate contract areas.:
2 (A) West Kent, 2 (B) East Kent
two.2) Description
two.2.1) Title
Coroners Removals Service
Lot No
1
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 98370000 - Funeral and related services
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKJ4 - Kent
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
Coroners Removals (Lot 1)
The coroner may decide that a suitable practitioner (normally a pathologist) is required to examine the deceased and carry out a post-mortem examination to discover the cause of death. In this scenario, the deceased needs to be transported from where it is lying to a designated mortuary for further enquiries to be made (to hold a post-mortem if required). The movement of the deceased to the mortuary constitutes a “Coroners Removal”.
In the cases where a post-mortem has been deemed necessary, the deceased needs to be transferred from the location of death to one of the designated post-mortem facilities below;
QEQM Hospital, Margate
William Harvey Hospital, Ashford
Medway Maritime Hospital, Gillingham
Tunbridge Wells Hospital, Pembury
Darenth Valley Hospital, Dartford
Where an organisation is awarded a contract area, they are responsible for providing this service throughout the specified area. They must deliver this service 24/7, 365 days a year, and in accordance with the service requirements as detailed within the specification.
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: £4,000,000
two.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Start date
1 January 2025
End date
31 December 2028
This contract is subject to renewal
Yes
Description of renewals
The initial terms for this contract is 3 years with an optional extension period of up to 24 months.
Contract extension will be subject to supplier performance etc throughout the initial term.
Please refer to the tender documents (Terms and Conditions) for further information.
two.2.10) Information about variants
Variants will be accepted: No
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
two.2) Description
two.2.1) Title
Coroners Transfers Service
Lot No
2
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 98370000 - Funeral and related services
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKJ4 - Kent
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
Coroners Transfer
In some cases, it is necessary to transfer the deceased from a designated mortuary to another designated mortuary. These transfers can occur locally as a transfer between mortuaries within Kent and Medway but can occur outside of Kent. This is due to the specific expertise that different mortuaries possess (E.g. London mortuary specialises in child deaths, Brighton mortuary specialises in infectious cases etc.) Cases like these where the deceased is transferred between mortuaries are more commonly known as a “Coroners Transfer”.
Where an organisation is awarded a contract area, they are responsible for providing this service throughout the specified area. They must deliver this service 24/7, 365 days a year, and in accordance with the service requirements as detailed within the specification.
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: £4,000,000
two.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Start date
1 January 2025
End date
31 December 2028
This contract is subject to renewal
Yes
Description of renewals
The initial terms for this contract is 3 years with an optional extension period of up to 24 months.
Contract extension will be subject to supplier performance etc throughout the initial term.
Please refer to the tender documents (Terms and Conditions) for further information.
two.2.10) Information about variants
Variants will be accepted: No
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 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
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Competitive procedure with negotiation
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: 2024/S 000-010638
four.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
Date
26 July 2024
Local time
12:00pm
four.2.3) Estimated date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates
12 August 2024
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
Duration in months: 3 (from the date stated for receipt of tender)
Section six. Complementary information
six.1) Information about recurrence
This is a recurrent procurement: Yes
six.3) Additional information
Optional Requirement
As a category 1 responder under the Civil Contingencies Act, Kent County Council has a duty to plan and prepare for emergencies. In the event of a Mass Fatality event, the Council may require contracted Coroners Removals and Transfer suppliers to provide additional services in order to transport the deceased, to meet the urgent demands of the event.This may involve additional mortuary transfers as required, and/or transportation of the deceased from a temporary mortuary site to an NHS mortuary. There is no guarantee that this provision will be used. Further information will be provided at the Invitation to Tender stage.
Please note that the published contract value includes the potential 5 year total duration for both the Coroners Removals and Transfer Service contracts, based on historic volumes and current rates.
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
Kent County Council
Maidstone
Country
United Kingdom