Advocacy Tender for Isle of Wight Council

Isle of Wight Council
County Hall, High Street
For the attention of: Mrs Vanessa Squibb
PO30 1UD Newport
UNITED KINGDOM
Telephone: +44 198382-1000/6346
E-mail: vanessa.squibb@iow.gov.uk

Internet address(es):

General address of the contracting authority: http://www.iwight.com

Address of the buyer profile: http://www.iwight.com/procurement

Electronic access to information: https://procontract.due-north.com/Advert?advertId=a88b21e9-4f6b-e511-80f3-000c29c9ba21

Electronic submission of tenders and requests to participate: https://procontract.due-north.com/Advert?advertId=a88b21e9-4f6b-e511-80f3-000c29c9ba21

Further information can be obtained from: Isle of Wight Council
County Hall, High Street
For the attention of: Mrs Vanessa Squibb
PO30 1UD Newport
UNITED KINGDOM
Telephone: +44 198382-1000/6346
E-mail: vanessa.squibb@iow.gov.uk

Specifications and additional documents (including documents for competitive dialogue and a dynamic purchasing system) can be obtained from: Isle of Wight Council
County Hall, High Street
For the attention of: Mrs Vanessa Squibb
PO30 1UD Newport
UNITED KINGDOM
Telephone: +44 198382-1000/6346
E-mail: vanessa.squibb@iow.gov.uk

Tenders or requests to participate must be sent to: Isle of Wight Council
County Hall, High Street
For the attention of: Mrs Vanessa Squibb
PO30 1UD Newport
UNITED KINGDOM
Telephone: +44 198382-1000/6346
E-mail: vanessa.squibb@iow.gov.uk

Regional or local authority

General public services

The contracting authority is purchasing on behalf of other contracting authorities: no

Provision of advocacy, independent visitors and return from missing from care interview service.

Services
Service category No 25: Health and social services

NUTS code UKJ34

The notice involves a public contract

The Isle of Wight Council invites Tenders from suitably qualified providers for the provision of Advocacy, Independent Visitors and return from missing from care interview service. The contract is to run from 1st February 2016 for a period of 3 years with the option to extend for a further period of up to 2 years at the sole discretion of the Council.
The Council is looking for an organisation to provide the following services:
— An effective Advocacy Services for children and young people making a complaint under the duty of the Children Act 1989. To provide an advocacy service to vulnerable children at risk of significant harm including representation at Child Protection case conferences.
— Independent visitors for children looked after by a local authority under the duty of the Children and Young Person’s Act 2008. To provide an Independent Visitor scheme to children in care.
— Independent return interviews for children missing from care in adherence with the statutory guidance on children who run away or go missing from home or care dated January 2014. To provide independent return interviews for children missing from care.
— To provide independent and confidential information, advice, representation, advocacy and support for Children in Care (C.I.C) and Care Leavers aged between 5 and 24 years and to Children in Need (CIN) supported by the Isle of Wight Council. To support them through the complaints and representations process and to help them to participate in decision making and other processes that affects their lives.
The expected allocated budget for these services is in the range of 40 000 GBP to 60 000 GBP per annum. The decision has been taken to disclose the range of annual budget for the services and ask that tenderers demonstrate how they can deliver the services within this range. The Council is unable to consider any submission that does not come within this figure; however, tenderers are able to submit under the allocated budget range.
The closing date for receipt of Tenders is 14:00 hrs on 9.11.2015.

85311300, 85312300, 85312400

The contract is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA): yes

Variants will be accepted: no

The Isle of Wight Council invites Tenders from suitably qualified providers for the provision of Advocacy, Independent Visitors and return from missing from care interview service. The contract is to run from 1st February 2016 for a period of 3 years with the option to extend for a further period of up to 2 years at the sole discretion of the Council.
The Council is looking for an organisation to provide the following services:
— An effective Advocacy Services for children and young people making a complaint under the duty of the Children Act 1989. To provide an advocacy service to vulnerable children at risk of significant harm including representation at Child Protection case conferences.
— Independent visitors for children looked after by a local authority under the duty of the Children and Young Person’s Act 2008. To provide an Independent Visitor scheme to children in care.
— Independent return interviews for children missing from care in adherence with the statutory guidance on children who run away or go missing from home or care dated January 2014. To provide independent return interviews for children missing from care.
— To provide independent and confidential information, advice, representation, advocacy and support for Children in Care (C.I.C) and Care Leavers aged between 5 and 24 years and to Children in Need (CIN) supported by the Isle of Wight Council. To support them through the complaints and representations process and to help them to participate in decision making and other processes that affects their lives.
The expected allocated budget for these services is in the range of £40,000 to £60,000 per annum. The decision has been taken to disclose the range of annual budget for the services and ask that tenderers demonstrate how they can deliver the services within this range. The Council is unable to consider any submission that does not come within this figure; however, tenderers are able to submit under the allocated budget range.
The closing date for receipt of Tenders is 14:00 hrs on 9.11.2015.
Estimated value excluding VAT:
Range: between 200 000 and 300 000 GBP

Options: yes
Description of these options: Option to extend for a further period of up to two years at the sole discretion of the Council.
Provisional timetable for recourse to these options:
in days: 0 (from the award of the contract)

This contract is subject to renewal: no

Starting 1.2.2016. Completion 31.1.2021

A performance bond and/or a parent company guarantee may be required. Further information will be provided within the tender document.

Payment shall be made in accordance with the payment provisions in the contract.

The Council reserves the right to require bidders to take legal form, or to require one party to take primary liability or to require that each party takes joint and several liability. Further information will be provided within the tender document.

The performance of the contract is subject to particular conditions: no

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: Bidders will be required to complete a Tenderer Questionnaire which the Council will use to evaluate and short list potential providers. The Council will assess their economic and financial standing, technical capacity and ability to ensure they meet the Council’s minimum requirements.

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: As per the Tenderer Questionnaire, including submission of 2 years audited accounts, compliance with the Council’s insurance requirements, confirmation that none of the exclusionary conditions in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 applies to the potential provider and confirmation of any pending or threatened legal proceedings against the potential provider.

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met:
1. Organisation Details — For information only,
2. Financial Information — Pass/Fail,
3. Insurance — Pass/Fail,
4. 1 Business Activities Main activities — 10 %,
4.2 Business Activities Capabilities — 10 % 10 %,
5.1 Disclosure and baring service — Pass/Fail,
5.2 Disclosure and baring service — 5 %,
5.3 Safer recruitment — Pass/Fail, 5.4 Safeguarding — 5 %,
5.5 Safeguarding — Pass/Fail,
5.6 Professional Standards — 5 %,
5.7 Quality Assurance — 5 %,
5.8 Data protection — Pass/Fail,
6. Business Practices — Equality and diversity — Pass/Fail,
7.1 — 7.7 Health and Safety — Pass/Fail,
7.8 Health and safety — 5 %, Requirement Specific Questions
8.1 Experience of providing advocacy to children and young people — 15 %,
8.2 Experience of providing independent visiting to children and young people — 15 %,
8.3 Experience of providing return from missing from care interviews to children and young people in care — 15 %,
9 References — 10 %,
10. Professional and Business Standing — Pass/Fail,
11. Disputes -Pass/Fail.
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required:
The minimum competency threshold is 65 %. Any potential provider who passes all of the pass/fail questions and achieves a score of 65 % or above will be taken through to Stage 2 of the evaluations (Price and Quality).

Execution of the service is reserved to a particular profession: no

Legal persons should indicate the names and professional qualifications of the staff responsible for the execution of the service: no

Open

Recourse to staged procedure to gradually reduce the number of solutions to be discussed or tenders to be negotiated no

The most economically advantageous tender in terms of the criteria stated in the specifications, in the invitation to tender or to negotiate or in the descriptive document

An electronic auction will be used: no

Time limit for receipt of requests for documents or for accessing documents: 9.11.2015 – 14:00
Payable documents: no

9.11.2015 – 14:00

English.

in days: 120 (from the date stated for receipt of tender)

Persons authorised to be present at the opening of tenders: no

This is a recurrent procurement: no

The contract is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: no

The Freedom of Information Act (FOI) 2000 which came into force on 1.1.2005 applies to the Council. If any tenderer considers that any information supplied by them is either commercially sensitive or confidential in nature, this should be highlighted and the reasons for its sensitivity specified. A schedule is provided within ITT where potential providers can record and submit this information to the Council. In such cases the relevant material will, in response to FOI requests, be examined in light of exemptions provided for in this act. If you do not get a response within 24 hours of initially requesting the documentation, it is the tenderers responsibility to re contact the Isle of Wight Council to obtain the documents. The contract shall be made in English and according to English Law and subject to the jurisdiction of the English Courts. Any values listed II.2.1 of this contract notice are indicative and are given for the whole contract period including the possible extension. The duration given in II.3 includes all possible extensions. It is the tenderers responsibility to ensure that they request the documents in ample time to ensure that they can be completed and returned, along with all supporting documentation called for, prior to the closing time and date. The Council reserves the right not to make any award and reserves the right to accept all or part of any tender. To download the Invitation to Tender Pack, all interested providers must register their company on the South East Business Portal (if you have not already done so). This can be done by following the link below: https://procontract.due-north.com/register. The registration process is free, simple and full instructions on how to do this are available on the South East Business Portal. Once your registration is confirmed, you will receive a username and password via email. When you log on for the first time you will be prompted to change your password. Please note however that if your company has already been registered, your application will be rejected to avoid duplication and additional service users will need to be set up on the existing account. There is no cost to you for registering your company. This contract opportunity can be searched by using reference number DN16472. This is a non-mandatory OJEU Contract Notice. The Services constitute Schedule 3 services for the purposes of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 and the procurement is not therefore fully regulated by the Regulations. Neither a reference during or after this procurement process to the Regulations or the use of language or terminology common to the Regulations shall require the Council to conduct a fully regulated procurement in accordance with the Regulations. This notice is being placed for advertising purposes only.

Precise information on deadline(s) for lodging appeals: Precise information on deadline(s) for lodging appeals: The award of the contract will incorporate a voluntary minimum 10 calendar day standstill period at the point information on the award of the contract is communicated to all tenderers. Unsuccessful tenderers will be provided, as standard, with a full debrief in writing before the contract is entered into.

5.10.2015