Community Life Choices
Procurement Process
Paul Large, Category Manager – Social Care Adults
Overview
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Aim
Timetable
Tender process
Summary
Questions?
Aim
• To move from block-contracted day services to service
user-selected services
• To enable service users to select services from providers
on a framework agreement for community life choices
• To provide service users with access to a wide range of
services and providers
• To enable service users to select services that will best
meet their needs & achieve the outcomes they are
seeking
• To provide opportunities for a broad range of providers –
large, small and micros
• This is a first step!
Timetable
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Jan/Feb – Consultation
Feb/Mar – Tender documents finalised
Early Apr - Tender advertised
End of May – Bids received
June – Evaluation & Award
Oct – Framework ‘live’
Tender Process - documents
• Invitation to Tender – describes the process
• Pre Qualification Questionnaire / Application
Form – minimum requirements
• Form of Tender – the bid (£)
• Method Statements – descriptive part of the bid
• Terms and Conditions of Contract (‘the contract’)
• Specification (s)
Pre-Qualification
Minimum requirements:
Sound financial standing ‘Credit safe’ check &/or analysis of accounts
No prosecutions e.g., fraud, theft, disqualification as company director
Insurance cover & levels of cover (£) – Public Liability, Employers Liability
Quality of services and the organisation Quality Assurance systems or processes
Quality & capability of staff - CRB checks, relevant skill set, qualifications,
experience
Capacity to provide the specified service(s) & levels of service evidence of how, where and to whom the organisation has provided such
services (examples of comparable contracts or provision) and references
Compliance with legislation & Council policy incl. equalities, sustainability, safeguarding, business continuity/disaster
recovery
Form of Tender
• Your bid price – possibly an hourly rate or
sessional charge
• A breakdown of the cost of providing your
services to back up the bid price
• Declarations as to the veracity of your bid
e.g., non-collusion
• Agreement to publish the successful bid(s)
(redacted copy)
Method Statements
• A set of questions to illicit from bidders how they will
provide the specified service(s) to the highest possible
standard
• Method statements may ask about:
• Staffing levels and responsibilities, management structure and
roles, managing challenges, implementation and exit planning,
• Method statements may also ask service-specific questions,
about TUPE transfers, service planning and review
• Bidders may be asked to demonstrate what new approaches
they can bring to service delivery to support s/users to achieve
their outcomes
Evaluation
• Selection criteria (short-listing)
– The minimum requirements stated in the tender & assessed via
responses to the PQQ / Application Form
– May be based on a minimum score or ‘Pass/Fail’ - or both
• Award criteria (basis for award)
– Made explicit in the Invitation to Tender (ITT)
– e.g. 40% price (bid £) / 60 % quality (responses to method
statements)
• Evaluation methodology will be made explicit in the ITT incl:
– the marking scheme and the weighting of marks for each
element
– e.g., some method statements may carry more ’weight’ (more
marks) than others or require bidders to achieve a minimum
score
Evaluation
• Bidders may be called for interview
• Performance at interview may be used to
moderate scores achieved at the written stage
• E.g., a low score for a written response may be
moderated upwards – or downwards – based on
the response to the same or a comparable
question on the same topic
Award
• Both unsuccessful and successful bidders
informed
• Unsuccessful bidders given a brief
summary of the main strengths &
weaknesses of their bid and their
evaluation score (price + quality)
• Unsuccessful bidders may seek further
feedback
Summary
• Block contracts are ending
• Service users will choose from whom they buy
services and what those services are
(Personalisation)
• When a service user opts for the Council to
manage its Personal budget, the Council may
select the services they need from providers on
a framework agreement
• Entry to the framework will be based on the
quality and price of a provider’s services
Questions?
paul.large@leics.gov.uk