Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
General Optical Council
10 Old Bailey
London
EC4M 7NG
Contact
Kayleigh Allen
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UKI31 - Camden and City of London
Internet address(es)
Main address
Buyer's address
https://www.mytenders.co.uk/search/Search_AuthProfile.aspx?ID=AA14321
one.2) Information about joint procurement
The contract is awarded by a central purchasing body
one.3) Communication
Access to the procurement documents is restricted. Further information can be obtained at
Additional information can be obtained from the above-mentioned address
Tenders or requests to participate must be submitted electronically via
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Other type
Regulatory body
one.5) Main activity
Other activity
Regulation
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
Optical Consumer Complaints Service (Mediation)
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 79422000 - Arbitration and conciliation services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
Our requirements are that:
(a) The service must be free to users and will be funded by the GOC;
(b) The service must be demonstrably independent of the NHS, UK Government, optical professionals and optical professional bodies;
(c) The service must treat individuals fairly, regardless of their background, characteristics or circumstances and the service provider must collect EDI data (with appropriate regard to data protection legislation);
(d) The service must be unbiased and resolution-focused;
(e) The service must be visible on the Internet and have a dedicated web presence via the www.opticalcomplaints.co.uk domain (which will continue to be owned by the GOC);
(f) The service must not be subcontracted unless the GOC has agreed this in advance in writing;
(g) The service must have a documented appeal and review mechanism for circumstances where the proposed resolution is not accepted;
(h) The service must operate a mechanism for consumers to complain about the Service, if they are dissatisfied;
(i) The service provider must work closely with the GOC and abide by the published ‘Working Together’ policy
(j) The service provider must work with the GOC and with the optical profession to further establish awareness of the service and to promote its benefits to the profession.
(k) The service provider must collect trend and outcome data and must publish an annual report in the form that previous annual reports have taken;
(l) The service provider must report annually to the GOC Council; and
(m) The service provider must maintain the OCCS service on the list of accredited ADR providers pursuant to the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.2) Description
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UK - United Kingdom
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
The Service
We are seeking to procure a provider for an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mediation service in respect of consumer complaints about optical goods and services provided by General Optical Council (GOC) registrants, or by the businesses that employ them in the UK.
The Optical Consumer Complaints Service (OCCS) is an independent and free mediation service for consumers (patients) of optical care and the professionals providing that care. The service is funded by the GOC and will be provided to members of the public, registrants, optical businesses and others.
Disputes generally relate to the supply of spectacles, frames, lenses or contact lenses and the supply of optical eyecare and dispensing provided by opticians (optometrists and dispensing opticians).
The provision of the OCCS service will be governed by an agreement commencing 1 April 2024 and concluding 31 March 2027, with an option for the GOC to extend for 12 months at the conclusion of the three-year contract period.
We are looking to appoint a single service provider.
The current OCCS website is at: https://www.opticalcomplaints.co.uk/
Service Requirements
Our requirements are that:
(a) The service must be free to users and will be funded by the GOC;
(b) The service must be demonstrably independent of the NHS, UK Government, optical professionals and optical professional bodies;
(c) The service must treat individuals fairly, regardless of their background, characteristics or circumstances and the service provider must collect EDI data (with appropriate regard to data protection legislation);
(d) The service must be unbiased and resolution-focused;
(e) The service must be visible on the Internet and have a dedicated web presence via the www.opticalcomplaints.co.uk domain (which will continue to be owned by the GOC);
(f) The service must not be subcontracted unless the GOC has agreed this in advance in writing;
(g) The service must have a documented appeal and review mechanism for circumstances where the proposed resolution is not accepted;
(h) The service must operate a mechanism for consumers to complain about the Service, if they are dissatisfied;
(i) The service provider must work closely with the GOC and abide by the published ‘Working Together’ policy
(j) The service provider must work with the GOC and with the optical profession to further establish awareness of the service and to promote its benefits to the profession.
(k) The service provider must collect trend and outcome data and must publish an annual report in the form that previous annual reports have taken;
(l) The service provider must report annually to the GOC Council; and
(m) The service provider must maintain the OCCS service on the list of accredited ADR providers pursuant to the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015
The service provider should expect to receive approximately 1800 cases a year and these should be resolved within approximately 45 days.
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: £720,000
two.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Duration in months
36
This contract is subject to renewal
Yes
Description of renewals
The GOC may extend the contract by 1 year (12 months).
two.2.9) Information about the limits on the number of candidates to be invited
Envisaged minimum number: 5
two.2.10) Information about variants
Variants will be accepted: No
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: No
two.2.12) Information about electronic catalogues
Tenders must be presented in the form of electronic catalogues or include an electronic catalogue
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.1.1) Suitability to pursue the professional activity, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers
List and brief description of conditions
Assessment Criteria (Expression of Interest stage only)
Expressions of Interest will be assessed against the following criteria:
- Previous experience of having provided, or other significant and relevant knowledge/experience of, mediation/arbitration/conciliation/resolution services, or
equivalent;
(This is a PASS/FAIL criterium – where no relevant evidence is provided, those applications will fail and will not be assessed further. Applications that pass will be assessed up to 50% of the available maximum score).
Applications that pass stage A will then be further assessed against the following criteria:
- Evidence of a very good knowledge/understanding of consumer rights, and the applicable UK legislation; (20%)
- Evidence of previous experience of developing stakeholder relationships; (15%)
- How the applicant proposes to access relevant clinical expertise, and to be able to identify matters that raise fitness to practise concerns; (10%)
- Evidence of previous experience of publishing a formal annual report and formal reporting to an executive board, or equivalent. (5%)
You should therefore ensure that your Expression of Interest addresses these criteria.
We are unlikely to progress more than a maximum of the top 5 applicants to full tender stage.
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 service provider will receive approximately 1800 cases a year.
Information about the scale of the service and expected performance can be found in the OCCS annual reports found here: https://www.opticalcomplaints.co.uk/insights/downloads/
three.2.3) Information about staff responsible for the performance of the contract
Obligation to indicate the names and professional qualifications of the staff assigned to performing the contract
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Restricted procedure
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: No
four.2) Administrative information
four.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
Date
1 December 2023
Local time
5:00pm
four.2.3) Estimated date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates
8 December 2023
four.2.4) Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted
English
Section six. Complementary information
six.1) Information about recurrence
This is a recurrent procurement: No
six.2) Information about electronic workflows
Electronic invoicing will be accepted
Electronic payment will be used
six.3) Additional information
We are the regulator for the optical professions in the UK. Our purpose is to protect the public by promoting high standards of education, performance and conduct amongst opticians. We currently register around 30,000 optometrists, dispensing opticians, student opticians and optical businesses.
A brief description of our four core regulatory functions is:
- Setting standards for optical education and training, performance and conduct.
- Approving qualifications leading to registration.
- Maintaining a register of individuals who are qualified and fit to practise, train or carry on business as optometrists and dispensing opticians.
- Investigating and acting where registrants’ fitness to practise, train or carry on business is impaired.
This procurement process is being undertaken as a restricted tender procedure, pursuant to section 4.9 of the GOC Contracts and Procurement Policy: contract-and-procurement-policy-approved-sep-23.pdf (optical.org).
Please note that contracts for the provision of mediation services fall outside of EU procurement regulations (Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014, and Part 10 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015).
If there are any concerns about the timeline to deliver this service, please raise these within the expression of interest so that we can consider these on receipt of applications.
NOTE: To register your interest in this notice and obtain any additional information please visit the myTenders Web Site at https://www.mytenders.co.uk/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=230607.
The buyer has indicated that it will accept electronic responses to this notice via the Postbox facility. A user guide is available at https://www.mytenders.co.uk/sitehelp/help_guides.aspx.
Suppliers are advised to allow adequate time for uploading documents and to dispatch the electronic response well in advance of the closing time to avoid any last minute problems.
(MT Ref:230607)
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
Public Procurement Review Service
Cabinet Office
London
publicprocurementreview@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Telephone
+44 3450103503
Country
United Kingdom
Internet address
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-procurement-review-service-scope-and-remit