East Sussex Business Support Service Contract

‘Business East Sussex’ (BES) – East Sussex Growth Hub Core Service Contract.

United Kingdom-Lewes: Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

2016/S 123-221085

Contract notice

Services

Directive 2004/18/EC

Section I: Contracting authority

I.1)Name, addresses and contact point(s)

East Sussex County Council
County Hall, St Annes Crescent
For the attention of: Phil McCorry
BN7 1UE Lewes
United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 01273335993
E-mail: phil.mccorry@eastsussex.gov.uk

Internet address(es):

General address of the contracting authority: http://www.eastsussex.gov.uk

Address of the buyer profile: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/sesharedservices/aspx/Home

Further information can be obtained from: Economic Development & Skills Team, East Sussex County Council
County Hall, St Anne’s crescent
Contact point(s): Katy Thomas
BN7 1UE Lewes
United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 01273482645
E-mail: katy.thomas@eastsussex.gov.uk
Internet address: www.eastsussex.gov.uk

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)

I.2)Type of the contracting authority

Regional or local authority

I.3)Main activity

General public services

I.4)Contract award on behalf of other contracting authorities

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

Section II: Object of the contract

II.1)Description

II.1.1)Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority:

ESCC NC — ‘Business East Sussex’ (BES) — East Sussex Growth Hub Core Service Contract.

II.1.2)Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performance

Services
Service category No 11: Management consulting services [6] and related services

NUTS code UKJ22

II.1.3)Information about a public contract, a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system (DPS)

The notice involves a public contract

II.1.4)Information on framework agreement

II.1.5)Short description of the contract or purchase(s)

East Sussex County Council is seeking to appoint a single provider to enter into a service contract, for the provision of a business support service under the umbrella of the Business East Sussex (BES) Growth Hub — a sub-hub of the South East Business Hub.
The Core Service will provide a single route via which all East Sussex businesses can access relevant business support through a (mainly) telephone-based signposting and diagnostic service, but also via the Business East Sussex website and face-to-face engagement.
The Contract will run for an initial period from 1.10.2016 to 31.3.2018 (18 months). The Contract may be extended for a further 2 years, subject to satisfactory performance and the availability of funding.

II.1.6)Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)

79000000, 72312000, 72313000, 72314000, 79311000, 79311300, 79311100, 79410000, 79411100, 72224000, 79400000, 79312000, 72312100

II.1.7)Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

The contract is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA): no

II.1.8)Lots

This contract is divided into lots: no

II.1.9)Information about variants

Variants will be accepted: no

II.2)Quantity or scope of the contract

II.2.1)Total quantity or scope:

Estimated value excluding VAT:
Range: between 200 000 and 500 000 GBP

II.2.2)Information about options

Options: no

II.2.3)Information about renewals

II.3)Duration of the contract or time limit for completion

Starting 1.10.2016. Completion 31.3.2018

Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information

III.1)Conditions relating to the contract

III.1.1)Deposits and guarantees required:

III.1.2)Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions governing them:

Payments for the core service will be made upon receipt of an invoice, supported by a breakdown of actual spend, retrospectively on a quarterly basis.

III.1.3)Legal form to be taken by the group of economic operators to whom the contract is to be awarded:

III.1.4)Other particular conditions

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

III.2)Conditions for participation

III.2.1)Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: As detailed in the application pack and supporting information.

III.2.2)Economic and financial ability

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: As detailed in the application pack and supporting information.

III.2.3)Technical capacity

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met:
As detailed in the application pack and supporting information.

III.2.4)Information about reserved contracts

III.3)Conditions specific to services contracts

III.3.1)Information about a particular profession

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

III.3.2)Staff responsible for the execution of the service

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

Section IV: Procedure

IV.1)Type of procedure

IV.1.1)Type of procedure

Open

IV.1.2)Limitations on the number of operators who will be invited to tender or to participate

IV.1.3)Reduction of the number of operators during the negotiation or dialogue

IV.2)Award criteria

IV.2.1)Award criteria

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

IV.2.2)Information about electronic auction

An electronic auction will be used: no

IV.3)Administrative information

IV.3.1)File reference number attributed by the contracting authority:

ESCC – 006547

IV.3.2)Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract

IV.3.3)Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents or descriptive document

Time limit for receipt of requests for documents or for accessing documents: 4.8.2016
Payable documents: no

IV.3.4)Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate

4.8.2016 – 12:00

IV.3.5)Date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates

IV.3.6)Language(s) in which tenders or requests to participate may be drawn up

English.

IV.3.7)Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender

in days: 90 (from the date stated for receipt of tender)

IV.3.8)Conditions for opening of tenders

Section VI: Complementary information

VI.1)Information about recurrence

This is a recurrent procurement: no

VI.2)Information about European Union funds

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

VI.3)Additional information

The Council intends to use an e-Tendering system in this procurement exercise.
Suppliers instructions on how to express interest in this tender:
1. Register your company on the SEShared Services e-Sourcing portal (this is only required once):
— Browse to the e-Sourcing portal:

https://in-tendhost.co.uk/sesharedservices/aspx/Home

and click the link to register. For assistance in registering please click on the ‘help/guidance documents’ tab
— Enter your correct business company and user details, business classification codes and company categories information.
— Once completed click on ‘Register My Company’.
— You will shortly receive an email confirming your username and password details (please keep this secure).
2. Express an interest in the tender:
— Login to the portal with your username/password,
— Click on Tenders tab and go to ‘My Tenders/Current’,
— Search for the ‘ESCC Business East Sussex (BES) East Sussex Growth Hub Core Service Contract’ project and then click on ‘View Details’,
— From the Tender Management screen click the “express interest” button in the bottom right hand corner of the page,
— This will then allow you access to the ITT documents.
3. Responding to the tender:
— You can now choose to “Opt In” or “Opt Out” (please give a reason if opting out),
— You can now use the ‘Correspondence’ function to communicate with the Council and seek any clarifications,
— Note the deadline for completion and then follow the onscreen instructions to complete the Tender Submission,
— There may be a mixture of online and offline actions for you to perform (there is detailed online help available). You must then publish your reply using the ‘submit return button at the bottom of the Tender page.
If you require any further assistance please consult the online help, or contact the e-Tendering help desk.
East Sussex County Council reserves the right not to award any or part of this contract, postpone or terminate the procurement process (or any part of it) or change the procedure used to procure the contract at any time without liability on its part.
No contract will be created between the Council and any Bidder until a contract is executed between the Council and the successful bidder. The Council is not liable for any costs (including third party costs, fees or expenses) incurred by those expressing an interest in or bidding for this opportunity and no implied contract is created.
Tenders and all supporting documentation must be priced in sterling and written in English. Any agreements entered into will be governed by English law and subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.
The Council, as the largest employer in the County, is committed to helping businesses and local learning providers ensure that local people are equipped with the skills that the East Sussex economy needs, now and in the future.
We also want to make sure that our most vulnerable groups (Looked After Children, Care leavers, NEET young people, unemployed adults and vulnerable adults) have access to the Services provided under the contract, be it work experience, apprenticeships, new jobs, employer led careers advice or Corporate Social Responsibility skills initiatives.
We support this work through ESCC’s policy on Employment and Skills through procurement which ensures that all of our contracts include employment and skills measures and through our Employability and Skills Strategy, which aims to provide a strategic steer for skills provision within the Council.
For this tender, the Council will be applying a set of tender response and contract performance requirements under the title of ‘Employment and Skills Framework.’
Invitation to Tender Requirements
As part of their response to this ITT, tenderers are required to prepare and submit an Outline Employment and Skills Delivery Plan (ESDP) which includes a table and a Method Statement (Document No 7 in the application pack and supporting information).
Following contract award, the successful Bidder is required to develop the Outline ESDP into a detailed plan to be agreed with the Council.
The Council will provide assistance to the contractor during this process.
The Council is keen to ensure the appropriate quality and level of local knowledge is procured, as these are vital for the successful delivery of this type of project. We shall, therefore, use a Quality: Price ratio of 85:15.

VI.4)Procedures for appeal

VI.4.1)Body responsible for appeal procedures

East Sussex County Council
County Hall, St Anne’s Crescent
BN7 1UE Lewes
United Kingdom
E-mail: phil.mccorry@eastsussex.gov.uk
Telephone: +44 01273335993

VI.4.2)Lodging of appeals

Precise information on deadline(s) for lodging appeals: In accordance with Regulation 32 (Information about the contract award procedures and the application of a standstill period prior to contract award) and Regulation 47 (Enforcement of Obligations) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006.

VI.4.3)Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained

VI.5)Date of dispatch of this notice:

24.6.2016

Requirement for Cataloguing Freelancer

DBS Application Service – Invitation to Quote

Customer Service Excellence Accreditation Requirement

Enterprise Training Contract