ITT Cannock Outdoor Wedding
Receptions
Invitation to Tender
for
Cannock Outdoor Wedding Receptions
Licence and Business Opportunity
Reference No: COWR/Can/15-16
Invitation To Tender Ref: COWR/Can/15-16
1. Introduction
You are invited to submit a tender (“ITT”) by the Forestry Commission (“FC”) for the
opportunity to operate a Licence for Cannock Outdoor Wedding Receptions, their
professional advisers and other parties essential to preparing a tender for this
opportunity and for no other purpose.
1.1 The Business Opportunity Cannock Chase Forest is situated within the county of Staffordshire and is
approximately 20 miles north of Birmingham. Cannock Chase is an AONB and is 26
square miles in size attracting around 2.3 million day visits per year. The Forestry
Commission manages 4571 hectares (>40% of the total) of woodland and open space
within the AONB.
The Forestry Commission also manages a high quality visitor attraction called Birches
Valley forest centre. The Forest centre hosts around 350,000 visitors each year with
many people enjoying the recreational facilities which include adventurous play,
orienteering, off road cycling and walking trails. The site hosts a number of third party
businesses including café, cycle centre, Go Ape high wires courses and Segways.
Birches Valley has developed further as a visitor attraction offering a wide variety of
activities and events including Forest Live concert programme and Christmas tree
Sales.
Located around 1 mile from the Birches Valley Forest Centre there is a large lightly
wooded open space known locally as “Tackeroo”. This site is used for a variety of
activities such as organised sporting events, camping, theatre, and private functions.
The site benefits from having hard standing for parking and drinking water provisions,
allowing large events to take place without impacting visitors to the nearby Forest
Centre. This is the site that is being made available for this Cannock Outdoor
Weddings opportunity.
We are looking for partners who will provide a high quality customer experience,
whilst maximising the business opportunity. We are looking for a wedding/event
organiser to provide outdoor ‘party’ or ‘festival’ style wedding receptions or similar
celebrations at Cannock Forest.
Any partner will need to work proactively with us, alongside the existing businesses on
site to provide new experiences, attract new audiences and ultimately new income
streams to Cannock Forest. We are looking for a business to provide an innovative
and exciting Cannock Outdoor Wedding Receptions experience to compliment Cannock
Forest.
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In recent years Cannock Forest has offered Outdoor Weddings as part of the
attraction. The successful bidder will be able to start taking bookings for the first term
on the licence as soon as the licence has been awarded. We would be looking to
award the licence within a couple of months of scoring this tender. However this may
be subject to change.
We will always consider equality when conducting our procurement activities. We
require you to meet your duties under the Equality Act 2010 and ask for evidence that
you are aware of and operate in accordance with those requirements.
The FC is using a process based on the principles of the restricted procedure under
the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 (as amended) for this business opportunity.
However, the contract is formally exempt from the application of the Public Contracts
Regulations 2006 (as amended) and therefore they do not apply.
More information about the Forestry Commission is available on our website at
www.forestry.gov.uk.
2. Type and term of Licence
We are looking for a commercial operator who will work with us to build a distinctive
high quality Cannock Outdoor Wedding Receptions offer that both complements and
enhances the wider visitor experience as well as raising revenue to support Cannock`s
non-commercial work.
We will be awarding a Licence for Cannock Outdoor Wedding Receptions. The single
Licence is for a period of four plus five years. A full copy of the Licence is enclosed
with this ITT.
You should note that the Licence will form the contract between the FC and the
successful bidder. If you are successful you will be required to enter into the Licence
on the terms specified. Variations or amendments to the Licence will not be
considered and the FC will not enter into any negotiations. At this ITT stage, bidders
will be required to confirm their agreement to the form of Licence (please see Part G)
– failure to do so may lead to the disqualification of the bidder from the process.
Included (and enclosed) as part of the Licence are Management Regulations and a Key
Performance Indicator document. Both these documents will be referenced in the
Licence and will be regularly used and reviewed throughout the Licence period to
monitor performance. Performance against these documents will inform the Forestry
Commission’s decision to retender or renew the Licence at expiry of the term. If the
decision is made to renew the Licence a further 5 year term may be granted.
However, the Forestry Commission reserves the right to fully retender the business
opportunity at the end of the initial Licence period.
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3. Timetable, enquiries and return
arrangements
3.1 Timetable
Set out below is the proposed procurement timetable. This is intended as a guide,
and while we do not intend to depart from the timetable, we reserve the right to do
so.
Stages
Dates
Site Visit
6th January 2016
Closing date and time for questions
14th January 2016
Closing date and time for Tender
submission
18th January 2016
Interview days
21st January 2016
Expected Notification of Intent to Award
25th January 2016
Expected Start Date (working with the FC)
8th February 2016
Bookings can be taken for the period from:
1st January 2017
3.2
3.2.1
Clarification, Viewing Day and Interviews
Clarification
Once we have evaluated the tender submissions, we may need more clarification, and
we may ask for this as additional information. The purpose is to further explore
information you have provided in your submission.
3.2.2
Viewing day
Cannock is open all year round. Bidders will be invited to attend a viewing day to help
understand more about the requirements of the Licence and the business opportunity
available. The bidder viewing day will take place on the date specified in the timetable
at Section 3.1 above and bidders should contact the person named in the covering
letter to confirm their attendance and receive further details.
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3.2.3
Interview Days
We invite bidders to attend an interview at Cannock as specified in Section 3.1 above.
For the avoidance of any doubt, the clarification interviews will not be a scored
element of the tender process. The purpose of these interviews will be to confirm the
FC’s understanding of the Bidders’ tender submissions. However, the FC does reserve
the right to adjust bidder’s scores depending on the outcome of any clarifications
given. Bidders should note that the FC will be under no obligation to seek clarification
of any aspect of the tender response that is not clear. We expect interviews to last for
approximately 1 hour.
Each interviewee will be asked to make a 10 minute presentation about their
submission but this aspect will not form part of the scoring mechanism and will be
used to clarify the FC’s understanding of the overall submission only.
3.3
Enquiries
Please send all enquiries in writing or by email quoting the contract number printed at
the front of this document by the deadline set out in section 3.1 to:
Forestry Commission – C/O Lindsey Wright
Lady Hill, Birches Valley,
Rugeley, Staffordshire,
WS15 2UQ
Email: lindsey.wright@forestry.gsi.gov.uk
All questions considered by the FC to be non-commercial and/or not commercially
sensitive will be formally distributed to all bidders. As a matter of course, the identity
of the enquirer will be protected. Where a bidder views any query as confidential
(particularly where it believes that the release of the query to other bidders may
reveal commercially sensitive or confidential information or a trade secret) the
following procedure will be adopted:

if a bidder believes that a query is of a confidential or commercially sensitive
nature, then it must be marked as such;

if the FC considers, in its absolute discretion, that it is able to treat the query on
a confidential basis, then it will do so;

if the FC considers, in its absolute discretion, that it is unable to treat the query
on a confidential basis having regard to current guidance and legislation, then it
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will notify the bidder of its decision and the bidder will have the opportunity to
withdraw the query; and

if the bidder does not withdraw the query then the query and its answer will,
where appropriate, be released to all bidders.
3.4 Return arrangements
Please return your completed tender as:
 four paper copies by post or hand delivered, and
 one copy on disk or USB type storage device in a read only format
Please note that we do not accept fax or email copies.
We must receive your completed tender before the closing time shown in the
Timetable at Section 3.1. We will keep tenders received before this deadline
unopened until after this time. We reserve the right not to consider any tenders
we receive after the deadline. Please be aware that tenders may be copied for our
use.
Mark your envelopes with the words:
‘Tender for Cannock Outdoor Wedding Receptions Ref No COWR/Can/15-16 Not to be opened until 1200hrs 26th January 2016.’
Submissions may be excluded if you do not mark the envelope in this way.
Only one tender submission is permitted from each bidder. In the event that more
than one is submitted by a bidder the one with the latest time of submission (prior to
the deadline given) will be evaluated and the other(s) disregarded.
Please send your completed tender documents to the following address:
Forestry Commission – C/O Lindsey Wright
Lady Hill, Birches Valley,
Rugeley, Staffordshire,
WS15 2UQ
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3.5 Completing the ITT
All Bidders must answer every question.
Warning: Please note that if you fail to answer any question, the FC may
reject your submission in full and will not evaluate any further questions.
Bidders are advised to satisfy themselves that they understand all of the requirements
set out in this ITT, Management Regulations KPIs and Licence before submitting their
tender. If you are unable or unwilling to comply with the FC’s requirements as set out
in this ITT, Management Regulations KPIs and Licence, or you decide not to
participate in the process, you are required to destroy this ITT and all associated
documents immediately (and any copies of all or any part thereof or extracts
therefrom) and not to retain any electronic or paper copies. Formal notification if
adopting this position is requested.
The tender should not be qualified in any way.
3.6 Supporting documents
Your organisation will only be evaluated based on the information in your tender and
the clarification interview. Please do not send any information that is general company
or promotional literature, as this will not form part of our evaluation. Any additional
documents you provide must refer to a question within the ITT and be easily
identifiable as the answer.
3.7 Costs
All costs associated with participating in this process remain your responsibility in all
circumstances. We will not return any part of your completed tender to you.
3.8 Right to cancel or vary the process
We reserve the right to cancel or withdraw from the evaluation and award process at
any stage or to vary or amend the tender process at any point. The FC reserves the
right not to award the Licence for any reason.
3.9 Confidentiality
You must treat all information we supply to you in confidence. Do not disclose it to
third parties unless you need to obtain sureties or quotations for submitting your
response.
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The FC is subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“Act”) and the
Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (“EIR”). As part of the FC’s duties under
the Act or EIR, it may be required to disclose information concerning the procurement
process or the proposed contract(s) to anyone who makes a reasonable request. If
the bidder considers that any of the information is commercially sensitive (meaning it
could reasonably cause prejudice to the bidder if disclosed to a third party) then it
should be clearly marked as "Not for disclosure to third parties”, together with
valid reasons in support of the information as being exempt from disclosure under the
Act and the EIR. The FC will endeavour to consult with the bidder and have regard to
comments and any objections before it releases any information to a third party under
the Act or the EIR, however, the FC shall be entitled to determine in its absolute
discretion whether any information is exempt from the Act and/or the EIR or is to be
disclosed in response to a request of information. The FC must make its decision on
disclosure in accordance with the provisions of the Act or the EIR and can only
withhold information if it is covered by an exemption from disclosure under the Act or
the EIR.
3.10
Language
The completed tender and all accompanying documents must be in English or a full
English translation must be provided at no cost to the FC.
3.11
Applicable Law
The Licence that will be entered into as a result of this ITT will be governed by English
law.
3.12
Financial Offer
The financial offer should be in sterling and exclusive of VAT.
3.13
Additional costs
Once we have awarded the Licence, we will not pay any additional costs incurred. The
successful bidder must pay its own legal fees in relation to the Licence.
3.14
Disclaimer
While the information in this ITT and supporting documents has been prepared in
good faith by us, it may not be comprehensive nor has it been independently verified.
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Neither the FC, nor their advisors, nor their respective directors, officers, members,
partners, employees, other staff or agents:

makes any representation or warranty (express or implied) as to the accuracy,
reasonableness or completeness of this ITT; or

accepts any responsibility or liability for the information contained in the ITT or
for the fairness, accuracy or completeness of that information, nor will any of
them be liable for any loss or damage (other than in respect of fraudulent
misrepresentation) arising as a result of relying on such information or any
subsequent communication.
The contents of this document, and that of any other documentation sent to you by
the FC in respect of this process, are provided on the basis that they are and shall
remain the property of the FC, must be returned on demand and must be treated as
confidential. If you are unable or unwilling to comply with this requirement you are
required to destroy this document and all associated documents immediately and not
to retain any electronic or paper copies.
Nothing in this document shall be taken as constituting an offer, contract (whether
implied or otherwise), investment advice or any agreement between the FC and any
other party. Nothing in this document or this procurement process is intended to or
creates an implied contract between the parties that the FC will review any tender
received. Any award of the Licence is subject to all requisite FC approvals and the FC
being generally able to proceed.
If there is any change to the bidder’s standing since the ITT stage which means that
(a) information submitted by the bidder at ITT stage is no longer correct, or (b) the
bidder’s ability to perform the contract materially deteriorates, the bidder shall
immediately inform the FC in writing. If there is any change in the information
provided by the bidder the bidder shall immediately inform the FC and seek approval
in advance for such change. If such approval is not obtained, the FC reserves the right
to disqualify the bidder.
The bidders and their consultants and advisers must not at any time release or make
any statements to any third party relating to this process without the prior written
consent of the FC, including the FC’s consent as to the content of the publicity.
3.15
Inducements
Offering an inducement of any kind in relation to obtaining this or any other Licence
with us will disqualify you from being considered and may constitute a criminal
offence.
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3.16
Licence management
If we award the Licence to you, you will have to comply with all of the requirements of
the Licence, Management Regulations and Key Performance Indicators.
3.17
Conflicts of Interest
Where there is any indication that a conflict of interest exists or may arise then it shall
be the responsibility of the bidder to inform the FC detailing the conflict in writing. The
FC will be the final arbiter on cases of potential conflicts of interest. Failure to notify
the FC of any potential conflict of interest will invalidate any verbal or written
agreement.
Consortia arrangements
If you are bidding as a consortium, you must provide the following information:

full details of the consortium; and

the information we ask for in this ITT for each of the consortium’s constituent
members as part of a single complete response.
You should provide details of the actual or proposed percentage shareholding of the
constituent members within the consortium in a separate Annex. If as a consortium
you are not proposing to form a corporate entity, please provide full details of
alternative proposed arrangements in the Annex. However, please note we reserve
the right to require a successful consortium to form a single legal entity before
contract award.
We recognise that arrangements about consortia may (within limits) be subject to
future change. You should therefore respond in the light of current arrangements.
We remind you that you must tell us about any future proposed change to your
consortia and seek approval in advance for such change so we can make a further
assessment by applying the selection criteria to the new information you provide. If
such approval is not obtained, the FC reserves the right to disqualify the bidder.
Sub-contractors
Where you propose to use sub-contractors, please give all the information we ask for
about the prime contractor. Where sub-contractors will play a significant role in the
delivery of the services or products, please show in a separate Annex (by inserting the
relevant company or organisation name) the composition of the supply chain, showing
which member of the supply chain will be responsible for the elements of the
requirement.
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4.
4.1
Evaluation and award
Evaluation
We will objectively evaluate responses to this ITT using the evaluation matrix at
Section 4.5
Some questions in this ITT are pass/fail and are fundamental requirements of the
process. The pass/fail questions are identified in section 4.6. If you do not answer
any one of these questions appropriately, we reject your submission in full and will not
evaluate any further questions.
4.2
Compliance
The information supplied in each tender submission will be checked for completeness
and compliance before responses are evaluated and the FC may disqualify your tender
submission if you fail to:



pass a pass/fail question or section
provide a satisfactory response to any questions in this ITT or
inadequately or incorrectly complete any question;
submit a completed ITT by the deadline.
Bidders who pass such compliance checks will be invited to attend an interview to
clarify aspects of their tender submission (please see section 3.2.3 above).
4.3 Award
Once we have carried out the evaluation and identified the successful bidder, we will
tell you in writing by email or post of our intention to award.
4.4 Debriefing
We will give all bidders the opportunity of a debriefing. Please tell us in writing as
soon as possible if you want a debriefing. We will provide a formal debrief within 15
calendar days of receiving a request.
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4.5 Evaluation matrix
Section
Title
A
Form A –
Organisation and
Contact Details
A
Weight
Agreed Marking Criteria
Mandatory
Completion of this Section is mandatory and is
for our information only. We may confirm
company identity and basic details with external
bodies. Failure to complete this section may
result in the bidder being disqualified from the
process.
Form B – Grounds
for Mandatory
Rejection
Pass/Fail
If you answer ‘Yes’ to any questions relating to
mandatory rejection you will fail this section and
your submission will not be evaluated any
further.
A
Form C – Grounds
for Discretionary
Rejection
Pass/Fail
If you answer ‘Yes’ to any questions relating to
discretionary rejection you may fail this section.
However we will look for information from you
that clearly indicates that you have resolved any
past conduct or problem and taken steps to
prevent it recurring. If we are satisfied that this
is the case, you will pass this section.
B
Financial
Pass/Fail
You must be able to provide the financial
evidence set out in section B. The key objective
is for us to analyse your financial position and
determine the level of risk that it would present
to us – having regard to the requirement, value
and the nature of the business opportunity.
Where the overall risk to the Forestry
Commission is calculated to be ‘High’ then you
will fail this section.
C
Health and Safety
Pass/Fail
You must provide the information we have
requested in Section C.
D
Insurance Details
Pass/Fail
You must have the required levels of insurance
as requested in Section D. If you do not have
these, you must confirm that you will get them if
successful, before the contract start date.
Failure to confirm this may result in the bidder
being disqualified from the process.
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Section
Title
Weight
Agreed Marking Criteria
E
Specific Questions
Weight
E1
Business Plan
Each question will be scored from a possible 0-4,
as set out below. The scores will then be
multiplied by the weighting to give a total
possible score of 100%.
E2
40%
0 – No response /totally inadequate
Experience –yours
20%
No response or an inadequate response.
1 – Major Reservations or constraints
E3
Experience – staff
10%
E4
Show capacity
10%
E5
Capacity
10%
The response simply states that the bidder has
the capability to meet some of the requirements
set out in the question but have not given
information or detail on how they have done
this.
2 – Some Reservations or Constraints
Bidder has provided some information regarding
their capability to meet most of the
requirements as set out in the question or scope
of supply. There is some doubt in their ability to
consistently meet the full range of requirements.
3 – Fully Compliant
E6
Quality
10%
Bidder has provided detailed information
covering all elements of the question or scope of
supply. This gives full confidence in their ability
to consistently meet the full range of
requirements.
4 – Exceeds Requirements
Bidder meets the required standard in all
respects and exceeds some or all of the major
requirements
F
Referees
G
Terms and
Conditions of
Lease
Pass/Fail
Pass/Fail
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You must provide referees relevant to the
subject of this Licence opportunity. The number
of referees you provide should be the number
we asked for in Section F. When contacting
references we will be looking to confirm relevant
experience and business track record.
You must accept our terms and conditions of
Licence. If you do not accept the terms and
conditions of Licence or accept with
qualifications, this will amount to a ‘fail’. If you
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Section
Title
Weight
Agreed Marking Criteria
accept the terms and conditions of Licence
without qualification, this will amount to a ‘pass’.
H
Declaration
Pass/Fail
You must sign the declaration. Failure to do so
may result in the bidder being disqualified from
the process.
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5. Your Response
In order to submit a bid for this requirement you must complete and return the
following sections to the address detailed at Section 2.4 by the time and date detailed
in the timetable at Section 2.1.
Part A – Form A: Organisation and Contact Details
Part A – Form B: Grounds for Mandatory Rejection
Part A – Form C: Grounds for Discretionary Rejection
Part B – Financial
Part C – Health and Safety
Part D – Details of Insurance Policies
Part E – Specific Selection Questions
Part F – Referees
Part G - Terms and Conditions of Licence
Part H – Declaration
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Part A – Form A - Organisation and Contact
Details
Organisation Details
Question
Your Answer
A1
Full name of organisation
tendering (or of organisation
acting as lead contact where
a consortium bid is being
submitted).
A2
Registered office address.
A3
Company or charity
registration number.
A4
VAT Registration number.
A5
Name of immediate Parent
Company.
A6
Name of ultimate Parent
Company.
A7
Type of organisation.
i) a public limited company
ii) a limited company
iii) a limited liability partnership
iv) other partnership
v) sole trader
vi) other (please specify)
A8
Length of time your business
has been operating.
A9
Please state whether there is
any potential conflict of
interest in relation to this
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Organisation Details
Question
Your Answer
Licence, for example if any
of those involved with the
Licence share private
interests with anyone within
the FC. Examples include
freemasonry, membership of
societies, clubs and other
organisations, and family.
A10
Consortia and Subcontracting.
If you have answered “YES” please give
details.
a) Your organisation is bidding
to provide the requirement itself
b) Your organisation is bidding
in the role of Prime Contractor
and intends to use third parties
to provide some services
c) The potential Provider is a
consortium
If your answer is (b) or (c) please indicate in a separate annex (by
inserting the relevant company or organisation name) the composition
of the supply chain, indicating which member of the supply chain (which
may include the Potential Provider, solely, or with other providers) will
be responsible for the elements of the requirement.
Contact Details – Contact details for enquiries relating to this process
A11
Name
A12
Address, including country and
postcode
A13
Phone
A14
Mobile
A15
Email
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Part A – Form B – Grounds for mandatory
rejection
Important Notice:
In some circumstances we are required by law to exclude you from participating
further. If you cannot answer ‘no’ to every question in this section it is very unlikely
that your application will be accepted and the FC reserves the right to reject the
application at their absolute discretion.
Please state ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to each question.
Has your organisation or any directors or
partner or any other person who has powers of
representation, decision or control been
convicted of any of the following offences?
Answer
(a) conspiracy within the meaning of section 1 or 1A
of the Criminal Law Act 1977 or article 9 or 9A of the
Criminal Attempts and Conspiracy (Northern Ireland)
Order 1983 where that conspiracy relates to
participation in a criminal organisation as defined in
Article 2 of Council Framework Decision
2008/841/JHA;
(b) corruption within the meaning of section 1(2) of
the Public Bodies Corrupt Practices Act 1889 or
section 1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906,
where the offence relates to active corruption;
(c) the offence of bribery, where the offence relates
to active corruption;
(i) bribery within the meaning of section 1 or 6 of the
Bribery Act 2010;
(d) fraud, where the offence relates to fraud affecting
the European Communities' financial interests as
defined by Article 1 of the Convention on the
protection of the financial interests of the European
Communities, within the meaning of:
(i) the offence of cheating the Revenue;
(ii) the offence of conspiracy to defraud;
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(iii) fraud or theft within the meaning of the Theft Act
1968, the Theft Act (Northern Ireland) 1969, the
Theft Act 1978 or the Theft (Northern Ireland) Order
1978;
(iv) fraudulent trading within the meaning of section
458 of the Companies Act 1985, article 451 of the
Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 or section
993 of the Companies Act 2006;
(v) fraudulent evasion within the meaning of section
170 of the Customs and Excise Management Act
1979 or section 72 of the Value Added Tax Act 1994;
(vi) an offence in connection with taxation in the
European Union within the meaning of section 71 of
the Criminal Justice Act 1993; or
(vii) destroying, defacing or concealing of documents
or procuring the execution of a valuable security
within the meaning of section 20 of the Theft Act
1968 or section 19 of the Theft Act (Northern
Ireland) 1969;
(viii) fraud within the meaning of section 2, 3 or 4 of
the Fraud Act 2006;
(ix) making, adapting, supplying or offering to supply
articles for use in frauds within the meaning of
section 7 of the Fraud Act 2006;
(e) money laundering within the meaning of section
340(11) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002; or
(i)
an offence in connection with the proceeds of
criminal conduct within the meaning of section 93A,
93B or 93C of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 or article
45, 46 or 47 of the Proceeds of Crime (Northern
Ireland) Order 1996;
(ii)
an offence in connection with the proceeds of
drug trafficking within the meaning of section 49, 50
or 51 of the Drug Trafficking Act 1994;
(f) any other offence within the meaning of Article
45(1) of Directive 2004/18/EC as defined by the
national law of any relevant State.
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Part A – Form C – Grounds for
discretionary rejection
Important Notice
We are entitled to exclude you from consideration if any of the following apply and
reserve the right to do so, but may decide to allow you to proceed further following
consideration of the details provided at our absolute discretion.
If you answer Yes’ to any question in this section it is very unlikely that we will accept
your application, and you should contact us for advice before completing this form. In
the event that any of the following do apply, please set out (in a separate Annex) full
details of the relevant incident and any remedial action taken subsequently. We will
take into account the information you provide when considering whether you will be
able to continue with this exercise.
Please state ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to each question.
Is any of the following true of your organisation?
(a)
being an individual,
is a person in respect of whom a debt relief order has been made
or is bankrupt or has had a receiving order or administration order
or bankruptcy restrictions order or a debt relief restrictions order
made against him or has made any composition or arrangement
with or for the benefit of his creditors or has made any
conveyance or assignment for the benefit of his creditors or
appears unable to pay, or to have no reasonable prospect of being
able to pay, a debt within the meaning of section 268 of the
Insolvency Act 1986, or article 242 of the Insolvency (Northern
Ireland) Order 1989, or in Scotland has granted a trust deed for
creditors or become otherwise apparently insolvent, or is the
subject of a petition presented for sequestration of his estate, or is
the subject of any similar procedure under the law of any other
state;
(b)
being a partnership constituted under Scots law,
has granted a trust deed or become otherwise apparently
insolvent, or is the subject of a petition presented for
sequestration of its estate; or
(c)
being a company or any other entity within the meaning
of section 255 of the Enterprise Act 2002
has passed a resolution or is the subject of an order by the court
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Invitation To Tender Ref: COWR/Can/15-16
for the company's winding up otherwise than for the purpose of
bona fide reconstruction or amalgamation, or has had a receiver,
manager or administrator on behalf of a creditor appointed in
respect of the company's business or any part thereof or is the
subject of the above procedures or is the subject of similar
procedures under the law of any other state;
Has your organisation
(a) been convicted of a criminal offence relating to the conduct of
your business or profession;
(b) committed an act of grave misconduct in the course of your
business or profession;
(c) failed to fulfil obligations relating to the payment of social
security contributions under the law of any part of the United
Kingdom or of the relevant State in which you are established;
(d) failed to fulfil obligations relating to the payment of taxes
under the law of any part of the United Kingdom or of the relevant
State in which you are established;
(e) been guilty of serious misrepresentation in providing any
information required of you under Regulation 23 of the Public
Contracts Regulations 2006 or has not provided such information
in response to a request by the FC; or
(f) and/or any of your contractors had a gangmasters licence
refused or revoked for any reason in the past.
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Invitation To Tender Ref: COWR/Can/15-16
Part B – Financial
Economic and Financial Standing Regulation
Weighting: This is a Pass/Fail Section
B1
What was your turnover in each of
the last two financial years (if you
are a consortium please state
aggregated turnover)?
£………… for year
ended --/--/--
£……… for year
ended --/--/----
B2
Please provide as much as possible of the following set out below:
A statement of your turnover,
profit and loss account and cash
flow for the most recent year of
trading.
A statement of your cash flow
forecast for the current year and a
bank letter outlining the current
cash and credit position.
Alternative means of
demonstrating financial status if
trading for less than a year.
The Forestry Commission reserves the right to ask for clarification on any
financial information provided.
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Invitation To Tender Ref: COWR/Can/15-16
Part C – Health and safety
This section allows us to assess your competency for health and safety. We have
provided some guidance to help you understand the requirements for each area. You
may also find it useful to refer to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website for
some guidance before completing this section. You can find this here:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/.
General health and safety questions
Question
1
Yes
No
Does your organisation have a
written Health and Safety Policy?
Note: if your organisation has less than 5 employees, the Forestry Commission
still requires you to have a written Health and Safety Policy.
2
Please provide details of the health and safety training you provide to
employees, relevant to this contract. If you do not provide any training, please
tell us why this is not necessary. From your answer we will decide whether the
training is appropriate or required for this contract. . Your responses should
include:
•
basic statement on safety awareness;
•
organisational structure;
•
processes you have to make sure staff are up to date on health and
safety requirements; and
•
details of how you monitor this.
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Invitation To Tender Ref: COWR/Can/15-16
Competence and qualifications
3
Do the employees, contractors and, or, sub-contractors who will deliver the
event service if successful hold the following qualifications or certification for
the following? Add or delete as appropriate.
Food Safety to ruling legislative requirement
Health and safety (including COSHH, First Aid
at Work)
Service delivery/customer care
Electrical installations
Yes
No
Accident records and reporting
4
Please provide evidence that you have a process to record accidents.
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Invitation To Tender Ref: COWR/Can/15-16
Part D – Details of insurance policies
Weighting: This is a Pass/Fail Section
You must either confirm that you have these levels of insurance in place for
each and every claim rather than on an aggregate basis or, alternatively,
undertake that should you be awarded the Licence that such levels of
insurance will be available to you and that you undertake to maintain these
levels of insurance for the duration of the Licence.
Insurance Policy
Indemnity Value (£)
Employers Liability (This is a
legal requirement. There are
a small number of
exceptions. Please refer to
HSE Guidance HSE 40
Employers Liability
Compulsory Insurance Act
1969)
Min £5m per claim
Public Liability
Min £5m per claim
Yes
No
Will secure
if successful
If you do not undertake to secure the stated levels of insurance, we will not
consider your submission.
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Invitation To Tender Ref: COWR/Can/15-16
Part E - Specific Questions
Question
E
Your offer, capability and experience
E1
Business plan
Weight
%
Please provide an outline Business Plan specifically for the Cannock
Outdoor Wedding Receptions business opportunity.
In your Business Plan we recommend you provide information on the
areas listed below. In assessing your responses we will be judging:
a. how your answer fulfils our expectations
b. how you meet the requirements of the Equality Act 2010, and
c. how you will meet all the requirements set out in any required
licences, permits, relevant planning or other necessary
consents.
Staffing: Detail your proposed staffing structure for the whole
process of delivering the events from booking, set up, overnight
security and take down.
Customer satisfaction: Detail your plans for achieving high levels
of customer satisfaction.
Innovation: Use this section to explain any plans you have for
business innovation for example special events, new partnerships.
Working relationships: describe how you will work with the
Forestry Commission and other site partners and detail any support
you would require from either.
Environmental – outline your environmental policy and your
approach to reducing your environmental impact both locally (ie
ground in wet weather) and globally in terms of sustainability.
Health and Safety at events – Detail how your plans will meet
require standards for event management including the Purple Guide.
E2
Experience
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40%
Invitation To Tender Ref: COWR/Can/15-16
Please provide details of your event/wedding reception/celebration
management experience including relevant examples of your work in
the past five years. Where you refer to event/wedding
reception/celebration management work carried out on behalf of a
particular organisation, include this organisation as one of your
referees. Where there are gaps in levels of professional experience in
event/wedding reception/celebration management, please indicate
what these are and explain how you will overcome these
shortcomings. Where possible please provide testimonials from
previous customers.
E3
Experience
Provide details of the experience of the key personnel who will be
involved in delivering this contract – you should provide a brief
outline of their qualifications and experience in event/wedding
reception/celebration management
E4
10%
Capacity
Demonstrate that you have the capacity and resource to meet the
requirements of this Licence, and that you will continue to do so
throughout the Licence period.
E5
20%
10%
Capacity
Do you have, or are you in the process of bidding for, any other
significant business opportunities that could impact on your capacity
to deliver the requirements of this Licence at Cannock.
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10%
Invitation To Tender Ref: COWR/Can/15-16
If yes, provide an outline of the measures you will use to make sure
that you can still deliver this contract and to specification.
E6
Quality
Provide details of the processes you use to monitor, evaluate and
maintain quality of service.
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10%
Invitation To Tender Ref: COWR/Can/15-16
Part F – Referees
Weighting: This is a Pass/Fail Section
Please provide details of three referees from either the public or private
sector; these should be relevant to our requirement. The referee should be
prepared to speak to the Forestry Commission to confirm your past
experience and business track record.
Note that where possible referees should not be linked to the FC and that we
may contact your referees without telling you again.
F1
Referee 1
Organisation name:
Contact name, phone number
and email
Brief description (max 150
words) describing your
business relationship to this
referee.
F1
Referee 2
Organisation name:
Contact name, phone number
and email
Brief description (max 150
words) describing your
business relationship to this
referee.
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Invitation To Tender Ref: COWR/Can/15-16
F1
Referee 3
Organisation name:
Contact name, phone number
and email
Brief description (max 150
words) describing your
business relationship to this
referee.
If you cannot provide at least one
example, please briefly explain why
(100 words max)
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Invitation To Tender Ref: COWR/Can/15-16
Part G - Terms and conditions of Licence
Weighting: This is a Pass/Fail Section
Weighting: This is a Pass/Fail Section
Once this tender is awarded, the successful bidder and the FC will enter into the
Licence that has been provided as part of the tender documentation.
The FC will not enter into any negotiations on the terms of the Licence and bidders are
therefore required to confirm their agreement to the form of the Licence – failure to do
so may lead to the disqualification of the bidder from the process. (Please see section 2
of this ITT for further information).
Yes
G1
No
Do you accept the FC’s Licence for
Cannock Outdoor Wedding
Receptions?
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Invitation To Tender Ref: COWR/Can/15-16
Part H – Declaration [DO NOT AMEND]
Weighting: This is a Pass/Fail Section
I the undersigned, hereby tender and offer to provide the Licence which is more
particularly referred to in the Invitation to Tender supplied to me for the purpose of
tendering for the provision of the Licence and upon the terms thereof.
I declare that to the best of my knowledge the answers submitted in this ITT are
correct. I confirm and undertake that if any of such information becomes untrue or
misleading that I shall notify the FC immediately and update such information as
required. I understand that the information will be used in the process to assess my
organisation’s suitability to be awarded the Licence and I am signing on behalf of my
organisation. I understand that the Forestry Commission may reject this ITT if there is
a failure to answer all relevant questions fully or if I provide false or misleading
information.
I also understand that it is a criminal offence, punishable by imprisonment, to give or
offer any gift or consideration whatsoever as an inducement or reward to any servant
of a public body. I also understand that any such action will result in rejection of our
application to take part in the tender procedure and empower the FC to cancel any
contract currently in force.
I understand and agree that if our tender is successful that the bidder will hold or
purchase insurances as required by the ITT. I understand and agree that any change
in the identity or control of the bidder or the principal relationships within the bidder
after the bidder has submitted the ITT shall be notified to the FC as soon as possible.
The FC reserves the right to disqualify the bidder from the selection and short-listing
process in these circumstances or if the bidder becomes ineligible in any other way.
I understand that the FC reserves the right to accept or refuse this tender whether it
is lower, the same, or higher than any other tender.
I confirm that the bidder has not collaborated with any other bidder.
I hereby certify that I have not canvassed any Director, employee, representative or
adviser of the FC in connection with the proposed award of the Licence by the FC, and
that no person employed by us or acting on our behalf, or advising us, has done any
such act. I further hereby undertake that I will not canvass any Director, employee,
representative or adviser of the FC in connection with the award of the Licence and
that no person employed by us or acting on our behalf, or advising us, will do any
such act.
The essence of selective tendering for the Licence is that the FC shall receive bona
fide competitive tenders from all bidders. In recognition of this principle, I certify that
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Invitation To Tender Ref: COWR/Can/15-16
this is a bona fide offer, intended to be competitive and that I have not fixed or
adjusted the amount of the offer in accordance with any agreement or arrangement
with any other person (except any sub- contractor identified in this offer).
I also certify that I have not done, and undertake that I will not do, at any time any of
the following acts:
(a)
(b)
(c)
communicate to a person other than the FC, the amount or
approximate amount of our proposed offer except where the
disclosure in confidence of the approximate value of the Tender was
essential to obtain insurance premium quotations required for the
preparation of the tender; or
enter into any agreement or agreements with any other person that
they shall refrain from tendering or as to the amount of any offer
submitted by them; or
offer or agree to pay or give or actually pay or give any sum of
money, inducement or valuable consideration, directly or indirectly, to
any person for doing or having done or having caused to be done in
relation to any other offer or proposed offer, any act or omission.
I agree that the FC may, in its consideration of the offer and in any subsequent
actions, rely upon the statements made in this Declaration.
I undertake in the event of acceptance of our tender submission to execute the
Licence within 25 business days of such acceptance (or otherwise as agreed with the
FC).
I confirm that the undersigned are authorised to commit the bidder to the contractual
obligations contained in the Invitation to Tender and the Licence.
Name: ................................................................................................................
Date: .................................................................................................................
Signature: ..........................................................................................................
Capacity or Title: .................................................................................................
For and on behalf of: ...........................................................................................
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