Department for Work and Pensions Transcription Services Framework

Department For Work and Pensions (DWP)
Quarry House, Quarry Hill
Contact point(s): RM3818
For the attention of: DWP Commercial Directorate
LS2 7UA Leeds
United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 3450103503
E-mail: supplier@crowncommercial.gov.uk, eenablement@crowncommercial.gov.uk

Internet address(es):

General address of the contracting authority:https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions

Address of the buyer profile: https://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information can be obtained from: The above mentioned contact point(s)

Specifications and additional documents (including documents for competitive dialogue and a dynamic purchasing system) can be obtained from: The above mentioned contact point(s)

Tenders or requests to participate must be sent to: The above mentioned contact point(s)

Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local sub-divisions

General public services

The Provision of Off-Site Transcription, Typing and Equipment Maintenance Services.

Services
Service category No 27: Other services
Main site or location of works, place of delivery or of performance: UK.

NUTS code UK

The notice involves a public contract

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) (referred to hereafter as the Contracting Authority) is seeking to establish a Contract with a single Contractor for The Provision of Off-Site Transcription, Typing and Equipment Maintenance Services for an initial period of forty-eight (48) months, with an option to extend for up to a further twelve (12) month period by giving the Supplier no less than three (3) months’ advance notice. Any extension will be exercised at the sole discretion of the Contracting Authority.
As part of the delivery of Contracting Authority’s 2020 Vision of being ‘Digital By Default’, the Contracting Authority is committed to delivering innovative, cost effective services to its customers, whilst developing excellent supplier and stakeholder relationships and increasing the use of digital solutions to interact with citizens and stakeholders to deliver its business objectives.
Therefore increased digitalisation of services by 2020, will increase the emphasis on the use of data and analytics to inform the Contracting Authority in moving further towards ‘The Prevent Agenda’. The Contracting Authority is looking for collaboration and flexibility to drive value, benefits and savings through innovation and industry best practice to deliver opportunities to achieve high levels of automation.
The Transcription Typing and Equipment Maintenance Services required to be provided are more particularly described in the Invitation to Tender (‘ITT’) Attachment 4a — Specification (Contract Schedule 1).
The Contracting Authority’s security requirements, stipulate that the service is provided from secure office premises within the UK.
This Transcription service will be primarily be transcription of English to English, with some limited requirement for Welsh to Welsh transcription.
It is important to note that Written Translation of Foreign Languages and Interpreting services are not within the scope of this procurement.

32353000, 50342000, 75230000, 79500000, 79530000, 79540000, 79550000, 79551000, 79552000,79821100

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

This contract is divided into lots: no

Variants will be accepted: no

This Procurement is being managed and facilitated by Crown Commercial Service (CCS) (referred to as the Agent). The Agent is acting on behalf of the Contracting Authority throughout this procurement process.
The Provision of Off-Site Transcription, Typing and Equipment Maintenance Services Contract will be between the successful supplier and the Contracting Authority, not the Agent.
After the Contract has been awarded, the Contracting Authority will manage the strategic and operational Contract Management activities throughout the duration of the Contract.
The Contracting Authority has decided not to divide this requirement into Lots as such division would make the Contract technically difficult to manage as there is a link between the audio transcription, typing and maintenance of the recording equipment in order to give a good quality reproduction of the captured recording.
The service will be required to interface with the Contracting Authority’s IT systems and include the technology necessary to enable mobile Interviews under Caution. This Transcription service will be primarily be transcription of English to English, with some limited requirement for Welsh to Welsh transcription. Further reference can be found in the Invitation to Tender (‘ITT’) Attachment 4a — Specification (Contract Schedule 1).
Estimated value excluding VAT:
Range: between 14 000 000 and 23 600 000 GBP

Options: no

Duration in months: 48 (from the award of the contract)

Participants will be advised if this is necessary during the procurement. Parent company and/or other guarantees of performance and financial liability may be required by Crown Commercial Service if considered appropriate.

No special legal form is required but if a Contract is awarded to a consortium, or Group of Economic Operators, the Contracting Authority will require the Potential Provider to form a legal entity before entering into the Contract.

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 requirement are met; Participants will be assessed in accordance with Chapter 2, Section 5 of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 (implementing Title II, Chapter III, Section 3, Sub-section I of Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council), on the basis of information provided in response to an Invitation to Tender (‘ITT’).
This procurement will be managed electronically via the Agents e-Sourcing Suite. To participate in this procurement, Potential Providers must first be registered on the e-Sourcing Suite.
If you have not yet registered on the eSourcing Suite, this can be done online athttps://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk by following the link ‘Register for CCS eSourcing’. Please note that, to register, you must have a valid DUNS number (as provided by Dun and Bradstreet) for the organisation which you are registering, who will be entering into a Contract, if invited to do so. Full instructions for registration and use of the system can be found athttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/become-a-crown-commercial-service-supplier/becoming-a-supplier-through-the-crown-commercial-service-what-you-need-to-know

Once you have registered on the eSourcing Suite, a registered user can express an interest for a specific procurement. This is done by emailing ExpressionOfInterest@crowncommercial.gov.uk

Your email must clearly state: the name and reference for the procurement you wish to register for as set out in IV.3.1; the name of the registered Potential Provider; and the name and contact details for the registered individual sending the email. The Agent will process the email and then enable the Potential Provider to access the procurement online via the e-Sourcing Suite. The registered user will receive a notification email to alert them once this has been done.
As a user of the e-Sourcing Suite you will have access to the eSourcing Suite email messaging service which facilitates all messages sent to you and from you in relation to any specific RFX event. Please note it is your responsibility to access these messages on a regular basis to ensure you have sight of all relevant information.

For technical assistance on use of the e-Sourcing Suite please contact Crown Commercial Service Support Desk email: eEnablement@crowncommercial.gov.uk.

A full copy of the ITT documentation for this procurement will be available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge via the Agents website from the date of this contract notice publication athttp://ccs-agreements.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/procurement-pipeline

Tenders must be returned by the time and date specified in IV.3.4.

The Service arises from a Contract and will involve the Potential Provider holding material that has been assigned a protective marking under the Government Security Classifications Scheme (April 2014) of Official-Sensitive. It is a condition of this Contract that this material must be protected. Baseline protection controls are defined in ISO27001:2013 and further defined by the Security Policy Framework https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-security.

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: Potential Providers will be assessed in accordance with the Invitation to Tender (‘ITT’).

The ITT can be accessed at: https://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk using the instructions detailed in III.2.1

The Agent may take into account any of the following information:
(a) A copy of audited accounts for the most recent 2 years, if available; and/or
(b) A statement of the turnover, profit and loss account, current liabilities and assets, and cash flow for the most recent year of trading for the organisation;
(c) Appropriate statement from your bank of cash of flow forecast for the current year and a bank letter outlining the current cash and credit position or, where appropriate, evidence of relevant Professional Risk Indemnity insurance;
(d) the presentation of balance-sheets or extracts from the balance-sheets, where publication of the balance-sheet is required under the law of the country in which the economic operator is established;
(e) a statement of the undertaking’s overall turnover and, where appropriate, of turnover in the area covered by the contract for a maximum of the last 3 financial years available, depending on the date on which the undertaking was set up or the economic operator started trading, as far as the information on these turnovers is available;
(f) alternative means of demonstrating financial status if any of the above are not available (e.g. forecast of turnover for the current year and a statement of funding provided by the owners and/or the bank, charity accruals accounts.
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required: As set out in the ITT.

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met:

The ITT can be accessed at https://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk using the instructions detailed in III.2.1.

Potential Providers will be assessed in accordance with Section 5 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 implementing the Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, on the basis of the information provided in response to the ITT.
The Agent may take into account the following information:
a) Two (2) suitable contract examples, from the public or private sector, where similar requirements to those sought under this Procurement have been performed. Contracts should have been performed during the past three (3) years. Customer contacts must be warned they may be contacted by Crown Commercial Service, to verify the accuracy of the information provided at any time;
b) Certificate in the form attached to the ITT (titled ‘Certificate of Past Performance’) from those to whom services were provided; or
c) If any such Certification cannot be obtained, you must self-certify performance using the form set out in Attachment 2b Certificate of Past Performance as well as stating the reasons why it is Self-Certified on the form.
If any Certification does not state that the Services have been provided satisfactorily in accordance with the terms of the contract in question, you must provide additional information to demonstrate that any reason why there were not so provided, will not reoccur in the performance of the Contract.
In relation to the Services to be provided under this Contract, Potential Providers must confirm (in the Participation Requirements and Selection Questionnaire which is Attachment 2 of the ITT) if they have, or will have in place, by the Commencement Date:
1) A certificate in the form set out in Certificate of Past Performance, from those to whom you have described in b and c above.
2) You/and your Sub-Contractors are able to comply with the minimum Security Aspects contained in Contract Terms — Security Aspects, Requirements and Plan.
3) You/and your Sub-Contractors are able to comply with the minimum Environmental Aspects contained in Contract Terms — Sustainable Development.
4) You/and your Sub-Contractors are able to comply with the minimum Quality aspects contained in Contract Terms and — Specification.
5) You/and your Sub-Contractors are able to fully comply with the Data Protection Act 1998.
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required:
As stated in the ITT.

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

The most economically advantageous tender in terms of the criteria stated below

1. Quality. Weighting 60

2. Price. Weighting 40

3. Refer ITT for Additional Information. Weighting 0

An electronic auction will be used: yes
Additional information about electronic auction: Details about the eAuction can be found in the ITT.

RM3818

Prior information notice

Notice number in the OJEU: 2016/S 206-373732 of 25.10.2016

Payable documents: no

24.4.2017 – 15:00

English.

in days: 180 (from the date stated for receipt of tender)

Date: 24.4.2017 – 15:01

Place:

Electronically, via web-based portal.

This is a recurrent procurement: no

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

The information relevant to this procurement required to be provided to Potential Providers under the Contract Notice template pursuant to Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council has been included in this Contract Notice.
For the avoidance of doubt, all times are UK local time.

Potential Providers should note that, in accordance with the UK Governments’ policies on transparency, the Agent intends to publish the Invitation to Tender (ITT) document and the text of any Contract awarded, subject to possible redactions at the discretion of the Agent. Further information about transparency can be found at http://ccs.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/aboutgovernmentprocurementservice/transparencyandaccountability/transparencyprocurement.

The Agent expressly reserves the right:
(i) not to award any contract as a result of the procurement process commenced by publication of this notice; and
(ii) to make whatever changes it may see fit to the content and structure of the tendering competition; and in no circumstances will the Contracting Authority or Agent be liable for any costs incurred by the candidates.
If the Contracting Authority decides to enter into a Contract with the successful supplier, this does not mean that there is any guarantee of subsequent contracts being awarded.
Any expenditure, work or effort undertaken prior to contract award is accordingly a matter solely for the commercial judgement of Potential Providers.
The value provided in Section II.2.1 is only an estimate. The Contracting Authority does not provide any guarantee in respect of the levels of Services which the Contracting Authority shall require the Supplier to provide during the Contract Period.
The Authority considers the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) (as amended) will apply to this Contract on the basis that there is an organised grouping of employees dedicated to providing these services under the current incumbent arrangements. It is the responsibility of Potential Providers to take their own advice and consider whether TUPE is likely to apply in the particular circumstances and to act accordingly.

Use of the Contract will be open to other DWP business areas and other Central Government Departments may potentially utilise the Service as required where they have specific secure off site requirements. These other Central Government Departments can be seen in the following linkhttps://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/uksectoraccounts/datasets/publicsectorclassificationguide— Feb 2017 and any periodic updates thereafter.

The Agent will incorporate a minimum ten (10) calendar day standstill period at the point information on the award of the contract is communicated to tenderers. The Public Contract Regulations 2015 provide for aggrieved parties who have been harmed or are at risk of harm by a breach of the rules to take action in the High Court (England, Wales and Northern Ireland). Any such action must be brought within the time limits specified in the Regulations.

15.3.2017