Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
NHS Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board
Unit 10 Phoenix Court, Christopher Martin Road
Basildon
SS14 3HG
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UKH3 - Essex
Internet address(es)
Main address
https://www.midandsouthessex.ics.nhs.uk/
one.1) Name and addresses
NHS Herts and West Essex Integrated Care Board
Charter House Parkway Welwyn Garden City
Hertfordshire
AL8 6JL
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UKH3 - Essex
Internet address(es)
Main address
https://hertsandwestessex.icb.nhs.uk/
one.1) Name and addresses
NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board
Aspen House Stephenson Road Severalls Business Park
Colchester
CO4 9QR
Contact
Amy Jayne Alexandra Wilson
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UKH3 - Essex
Internet address(es)
Main address
https://suffolkandnortheastessex.icb.nhs.uk/
one.2) Information about joint procurement
The contract involves joint procurement
one.3) Communication
The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at
https://attain.bravosolution.co.uk/
Additional information can be obtained from the above-mentioned address
Tenders or requests to participate must be submitted electronically via
https://attain.bravosolution.co.uk/
Tenders or requests to participate must be submitted to the above-mentioned address
Electronic communication requires the use of tools and devices that are not generally available. Unrestricted and full direct access to these tools and devices is possible, free of charge, at
https://attain.bravosolution.co.uk/
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
one.5) Main activity
Health
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
Provision of a Pan Essex Dynamic Support Register Keyworker Service for Children and Young People with a diagnosed learning disability and/or autism
Reference number
ACE-0771-2024-MSE
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 85323000 - Community health services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
The Authority invites responses from suitably qualified and experienced providers to deliver a (non-clinical) Dynamic Support Register Keyworker Service for children and young people with a diagnosed learning disability and / or autism (the Service).
Hereafter all references to the Authority incorporates: NHS Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB), NHS Suffolk and North East Essex ICB and NHS Hertfordshire and West Essex ICB.
Please note, the team facilitating this procurement is the LD/Autism Health Equalities Team (LD/A HET), hosted by Essex County Council, which works across the Transforming Care Partnership between the three Integrated Care Boards (ICB), which are named as Contracting Authorities in the Contract Notice, and the three Local Authorities. These are Essex County Council (ECC), Southend-on-Sea Unitary Authority and Thurrock Unitary Authority. The programme is delivered by all partners within the TCP, but the Service Development Funding (SDF) for this Service comes from NHSE directly to the ICB's. The partnership and funding flows are thereafter governed / mechanised under a Section 75 Agreement between partners, meaning the funding sits within ECC budgets purely as it hosts the LD/A HET team, to enable the team to deliver the programme of work. The Authority have taken the decision to name the ICBs in this Notice as the Commissioners, as the proposed Contract will be managed by ICB Contract Manager(s) and Commissioners. However, the successful bidder will be required to invoice ECC to enable the necessary payment mechanisms to be implemented because of where the funding is sitting/managed. The Local Authorities are not proposed to be party to the Contract.
Further information can be found at sections II.2.4, II.2.14 and VI.3 and within the Procurement documents.
two.1.5) Estimated total value
Value excluding VAT: £4,715,395
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.2) Description
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 48180000 - Medical software package
- 48190000 - Educational software package
- 85000000 - Health and social work services
- 85140000 - Miscellaneous health services
- 85323000 - Community health services
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKH3 - Essex
Main site or place of performance
Essex, including: North East Essex, West Essex, Mid Essex, Basildon & Brentwood, Thurrock, Southend-on-Sea and Castle Point and Rochford
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
The Authority is undertaking an open tender to identify a suitably qualified and experienced and technically and professionally capable provider to deliver the Service for Children & Young People (CYP) with learning disabilities and/or autism (LD/A) up to the age of 25, within Southend, Essex & Thurrock (SET).
Locally, SET have too many CYP with LD/A admitted to Tier 4 hospital settings according to national targets. Embedding the DSR Keyworker Service aims to reduce these admissions for those up to the age of 25 where avoidable and help to maintain and support the CYP’s placement within the community. Further information can be found within the Tender Documents upon registration with the eProcurement Portal.
The Contract will be for a term of 36 months from 1st April 2025 until 31st March 2028. The Authority is providing for a potential extension of up to 24 months until 31st March 2030 to future proof this contract, but this is in no way guaranteed, and activation of such extension will be at the sole discretion of the Authority based on fundamental principles, including the performance of the provider and results of any service evaluations undertaken.
The aggregate value of the contract over the term (including extensions) as advertised in Find a Tender Service is £4,715,395 excluding VAT. The Contract Value for the three-year term, which will act as an affordability envelope for the purposes of bidding, is £2,829,147. Any bids received in excess of such affordability envelope will be rejected as non-compliant.
The Authority is looking to appoint a single Preferred Bidder to manage all aspects of the Service. As such, a Lotting Strategy is deemed inappropriate as it risks creation of unnecessary fragmentation and complexity. Accordingly, the service will be offered as a single contract awarded to a single Preferred Bidder (either as a lead provider in it's own right, as a such as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) or consortium of providers, or in association with sub-contractors). Bidders will be required to confirm their Bidding Model including the legal form it takes. The Authority reserves the right to require members of any bidding group to assume a specific legal form if awarded the contract, if considered necessary for the satisfactory performance of the contract.
As per advice from NHSE, the contract to be entered into by the Authority and the Preferred Bidder for the procurement will be based on the NHS Terms and Conditions for the Provision of Services.
Further information can be found at sections II.2.14 and VI.3 and in the Procurement documents.
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: £4,526,780
two.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Start date
1 April 2025
End date
31 March 2028
This contract is subject to renewal
Yes
Description of renewals
There is an option to extend for a further 24 months until 31/03/2030.
two.2.10) Information about variants
Variants will be accepted: No
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: Yes
Description of options
There is an option to extend for a further 24 months until 31/03/2030.
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
In accordance with Regulations 56 to 58 of The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020) and as set out in the qualification envelope which is available with the procurement documents.
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
See the form of Contract supplied with the procurement documents.
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Open 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
18 November 2024
Local time
12:00pm
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: 6 (from the date stated for receipt of tender)
four.2.7) Conditions for opening of tenders
Date
18 November 2024
Local time
12:00pm
Section six. Complementary information
six.1) Information about recurrence
This is a recurrent procurement: No
six.3) Additional information
The Services within this procurement fall within Section 7 of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 (the "Regulations"). Neither the inclusion of the Bidder at Qualification Stage nor the use of the terms Process Overview, Selection Questionnaire, or Invitation to Tender nor any other indication shall be taken to mean that the Authority intends to hold themselves bound by any of the Regulations save those applicable to Public Contracts for social and other specific services listed in Schedule 3 of the Regulations (the "Light Touch" Regime).
The Authority may wish to expand the Dynamic Support Register Keyworker Services during the lifetime of the contract ("Contract modification(s)"). To this end, Bidders should be aware that after the award of contract, there is a possibility that the successful Bidder may be offered a variation(s) to the contract in accordance with Regulation 72 (1) (a) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020), in the following potential circumstances and or situations where necessary;
a) Appropriate alignment of the Service / Contract with the planned expansion of the DSR function for the SET TCP.
b) As a result of learning from dependent contracts commissioned to support autistic CYP, those with a learning disability (or both) such as the All Age Autism Outreach Service.
c) where additional funding becomes available to the Authority for delivery of service requirements that are similar and or complementary to the Keyworker Services already included in the Specification, at any given time, and do not modify the overall nature of the contract and or for delivery of the Keyworker Service over a longer duration in order to support sustainability of the Service and thorough evaluation of its effectiveness across the SET TCP. Such expansion would be by the addition of services commissioned by the Authority, where the Business Case provides objective evidence that contract variation is the most appropriate course of action, taking account of one or more of the following considerations; service safety, financial and economic impact, innovation, patient and public acceptability, impact on health inequalities, strategic alignment with National/Regional/Local strategic priorities, ability to improve multiple pathways, positive contribution to improved supply / improving service responsiveness, patient experience and health economy impact.
Disclaimer: The Authority shall not be responsible for any costs or expenses incurred by respondents to this procurement in preparing and/or submitting such responses.
To access the procurement documentation, please go to the Attain eProcurement Portal (Bravo powered by Jaggaer) at: https://attain.bravosolution.co.uk
Click on 'Register here' and follow the on-screen instructions. You can access the ITT: 'itt_154 - Dynamic Support Register Keyworker Service for Children and Young People with a diagnosed learning disability and/or autism' by clicking on the link called 'View current opportunities' on the Home Page. Please note that the tender will not be accepted by any means other than through the Attain e-Procurement Portal.
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
High Court of Justice of England and Wales
London
WC2A 2LL
Country
United Kingdom
six.4.2) Body responsible for mediation procedures
Public Procurement Review Service (PPRS)
London
publicprocurementreview@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Country
United Kingdom
Internet address
six.4.4) Service from which information about the review procedure may be obtained
NHS Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board
Unit 10 Phoenix Court, Christopher Martin Road
Basildon, Essex
SS14 3HG
Country
United Kingdom