Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
Department of Justice NI
C/O Construction and Procurement Delivery, 303 Airport Road West
BELFAST
BT3 9ED
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UK - United Kingdom
Internet address(es)
Main address
https://www.justice-ni.gov.uk/
Buyer's address
https://www.finance-ni.gov.uk/topics/procurement
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://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
Additional information can be obtained from the above-mentioned address
Tenders or requests to participate must be submitted electronically via
https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
Tenders or requests to participate must be submitted to the above-mentioned address
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
DOJ - Holistic Support for Victims of Paramilitary Violence
Reference number
ID 3671887
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 85322000 - Community action programme
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
The Department of Justice (DoJ) was established in April 2010, following the devolution of policing and justice powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Tackling Paramilitarism Programme Board, chaired by the Head of the Civil Service, has oversight of delivery of the action plan and the Tackling Paramilitarism Programme Team, which coordinates delivery across Executive Departments, ALBs and the voluntary and community sector, is based in the DoJ. An Independent Reporting Commission (IRC) has been set up by the UK and Irish Governments to oversee progress in tackling paramilitarism, including on delivery of the action plan and publishes an annual report. Delivery of the Executive action plan for tackling paramilitary activity, criminality and organised crime (published in 2016) is one of the commitments made in the New Decade, New Approach agreement and is reflected in the Programme for Government/Outcomes Delivery Plan and DoJ Corporate Plan for 2020/21. One of the key issues that remains to be addressed in delivery of the action plan is the continuation of violent attacks on individuals by paramilitary groups. There are a number of voluntary and community sector and oversight bodies pressing for action to address this particular type of violence, including the NI Commissioner for Children and Young People, the Independent Reporting Commission, and the #Stopattacks group. The PSNI has a duty to investigate attacks but often finds its work limited by the unwillingness of victims and witnesses to come forward out of fear and intimidation. Each year there are around 60-80 victims of paramilitary violence (this reflects the numbers recorded in PSNI Statistics; some attacks may go unrecorded and the statistics do not cover threats and intimidation that might precede an attack). In addition to new victims each year, there are victims of historic attacks who may have not yet received any support following their attack and who may benefit from access to a bespoke programme. These attacks occur across Northern Ireland but particular areas of activity include Belfast, Londonderry, Ards, Coleraine, and Newtownabbey / Glengormley. Victims are often unwilling to contact statutory or other service providers for support out of fear, stigma and intimidation; they fall between gaps in service provision or existing providers may be unaware of their needs or feel unable to take on the role of supporting this challenging client group. Victims need support with a range of issues, most pressingly trauma or counselling support, but also with issues such as drug misuse, debt, self-esteem, training and employment, access to benefits, housing, and family relations. There are existing programmes providing support for these issues but they are not always accessible by victims of paramilitary violence and do not address the specific circumstances (i.e. the attack) that gave rise to their need for support. Some existing programmes, including those being delivered as part of the Executive action plan, focus on specific geographical areas (e.g. specific areas of Belfast, Londonderry, Larne, Carrickfergus, Bangor and Lurgan) or target groups (e.g. preventative work with young men vulnerable to becoming involved in criminality or paramilitary activity). The aim is not to duplicate provision, but to address the specific needs of victims and support them to access existing provision, particularly in areas or with target groups not being picked up in existing programmes (e.g. older men or those in areas with high levels of paramilitary activity, such as Ards, Coleraine, Newtownabbey, other areas within Londonderry). DoJ are therefore seeking to: 1. put in place a programme to support victims of paramilitary violence. 2. provide support to victims 3. build capacity among service providers to work with victims of paramilitary violence. 4. learn about effective approaches and inform work on tackling violence and paramilitarism more generally.
two.1.5) Estimated total value
Value excluding VAT: £275,000
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.2) Description
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 85312300 - Guidance and counselling services
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKN - Northern Ireland
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
The Department of Justice (DoJ) was established in April 2010, following the devolution of policing and justice powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Tackling Paramilitarism Programme Board, chaired by the Head of the Civil Service, has oversight of delivery of the action plan and the Tackling Paramilitarism Programme Team, which coordinates delivery across Executive Departments, ALBs and the voluntary and community sector, is based in the DoJ. An Independent Reporting Commission (IRC) has been set up by the UK and Irish Governments to oversee progress in tackling paramilitarism, including on delivery of the action plan and publishes an annual report. Delivery of the Executive action plan for tackling paramilitary activity, criminality and organised crime (published in 2016) is one of the commitments made in the New Decade, New Approach agreement and is reflected in the Programme for Government/Outcomes Delivery Plan and DoJ Corporate Plan for 2020/21. One of the key issues that remains to be addressed in delivery of the action plan is the continuation of violent attacks on individuals by paramilitary groups. There are a number of voluntary and community sector and oversight bodies pressing for action to address this particular type of violence, including the NI Commissioner for Children and Young People, the Independent Reporting Commission, and the #Stopattacks group. The PSNI has a duty to investigate attacks but often finds its work limited by the unwillingness of victims and witnesses to come forward out of fear and intimidation. Each year there are around 60-80 victims of paramilitary violence (this reflects the numbers recorded in PSNI Statistics; some attacks may go unrecorded and the statistics do not cover threats and intimidation that might precede an attack). In addition to new victims each year, there are victims of historic attacks who may have not yet received any support following their attack and who may benefit from access to a bespoke programme. These attacks occur across Northern Ireland but particular areas of activity include Belfast, Londonderry, Ards, Coleraine, and Newtownabbey / Glengormley. Victims are often unwilling to contact statutory or other service providers for support out of fear, stigma and intimidation; they fall between gaps in service provision or existing providers may be unaware of their needs or feel unable to take on the role of supporting this challenging client group. Victims need support with a range of issues, most pressingly trauma or counselling support, but also with issues such as drug misuse, debt, self-esteem, training and employment, access to benefits, housing, and family relations. There are existing programmes providing support for these issues but they are not always accessible by victims of paramilitary violence and do not address the specific circumstances (i.e. the attack) that gave rise to their need for support. Some existing programmes, including those being delivered as part of the Executive action plan, focus on specific geographical areas (e.g. specific areas of Belfast, Londonderry, Larne, Carrickfergus, Bangor and Lurgan) or target groups (e.g. preventative work with young men vulnerable to becoming involved in criminality or paramilitary activity). The aim is not to duplicate provision, but to address the specific needs of victims and support them to access existing provision, particularly in areas or with target groups not being picked up in existing programmes (e.g. older men or those in areas with high levels of paramilitary activity, such as Ards, Coleraine, Newtownabbey, other areas within Londonderry). DoJ are therefore seeking to: 1. put in place a programme to support victims of paramilitary violence. 2. provide support to victims 3. build capacity among service providers to work with victims of paramilitary violence. 4. learn about effective approaches and inform work on tackling violence and paramilitarism more generally.
two.2.6) Estimated value
Value excluding VAT: £275,000
two.2.7) Duration of the contract or the framework agreement
Duration in months
36
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) Form of procedure
Open procedure
four.2) Administrative information
four.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
Originally published as:
Date
17 January 2022
Local time
3:00pm
Changed to:
Date
24 January 2022
See the change notice.
four.2.4) Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted
English
Section six. Complementary information
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
Neither CPD nor the Department of Justice can provide any guarantee as to the level of business under this contract.. . Contract monitoring: the successful contractor's performance on the contract will be regularly monitored. Contractors not delivering on contract requirements is a serious matter. It means the public purse is not getting what it is paying for. If a contractor fails to reach satisfactory levels of contract performance they will be given a specified time to improve. If, after the specified time, they still fail to reach satisfactory levels of contract performance, the matter will be escalated to senior management in CPD for further action. If this occurs and their performance still does not improve to satisfactory levels within the specified period, it may be regarded as an act of grave professional misconduct and they may be issued with a notice of written warning and notice of unsatisfactory performance and this contract may be terminated. The issue of a notice of written warning and notice of unsatisfactory performance will result in the contractor being excluded from all procurement competitions being undertaken by Centres of procurement expertise on behalf of bodies covered by the Northern Ireland Procurement Policy for a period of up to 12 months from the date of issue of the notice. The authority expressly reserves the rights:. (i) not to award any contract as a result of the procurement process commenced by publication of this notice;. (ii) to make whatever changes it may see fit to the content and structure of the tendering competition;. (iii) to award (a) contract(s) in respect of any part(s) of the services covered by this notice; and. (iv) to award contract(s) in stages.. And under no circumstances will the authority be liable for any costs incurred by candidates.
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
The UK does not have any such bodies with responsibility for appeal/mediation procedures.
N/A
Country
United Kingdom
six.4.3) Review procedure
Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures
CPD will comply with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and, where appropriate, will incorporate a standstill period (i.e. a minimum of 10 calendar days) at the point information on the award of the contract is communicated to tenderers. That notification will provide full information on the award decision. This provides time for unsuccessful tenderers to challenge the award decision before the contract is entered into.