External Legal Provider to Advise on Debt Recovery Services
Legal services for the recovery of debts owed to Camden Council.
United Kingdom-London: Legal services
2019/S 070-165400
Contract notice
Services
Directive 2014/24/EU
Section I: Contracting authority
I.1)Name and addresses
n/a
5 Pancras Square
London
N1C 4AG
United Kingdom
Contact person: Stephen Spencer
Telephone: +44 2079744444
E-mail: stephen.spencer@camden.gov.uk
NUTS code: UKI
Address of the buyer profile: https://uk.eu-supply.com/ctm/Company/CompanyInformation/Index/28
I.2)Information about joint procurement
I.3)Communication
I.4)Type of the contracting authority
I.5)Main activity
Section II: Object
II.1.1)Title:
Provision of an External Legal Provider to Advise on Debt Recovery Services
II.1.2)Main CPV code
II.1.3)Type of contract
II.1.4)Short description:
Legal services for the recovery of debts owed to Camden Council. The service will provided to the Credit Control and Leaseholder departments within the Council.
II.1.5)Estimated total value
II.1.6)Information about lots
II.2.2)Additional CPV code(s)
II.2.3)Place of performance
Offices of the London borough of Camden.
II.2.4)Description of the procurement:
The service will provided to the Credit Control and Leaseholder departments within the Council.
The service will provide advice on the following debt types:
— sundry debtors,
— adult social care,
— housing benefit overpayments,
— Leaseholders Services,
— former tenants arrears,
— current tenants arrears,
— commercial and residential rent,
— management and recovery of costs from deceased estates,
— housing investigations.
The provider will also be required to provide specialist legal advice in complex cases and provide training and training materials to staff within the Council.
The expiry date of the current contract is 8.7.2019 and the new service and contract will commence from 9.7.2019.
To ensure there is continuity of service, the 2-step approach outlined below has been agreed by the Council:
Step 1:
Should the incumbent provider be successful in the tendering process, the new service and contract will commence on 9.7.2019, as I.T. requirements will remain unchanged. The initial contract term will be 9.7.2019 to 31.3.2022. If the contract extension is applied, the contract expiry date will be 31.3.2024.
Step 2:
If a new provider is appointed, the Council has taken the decision to extend the current arrangement with the incumbent provider for up to nine (9) months from 9.7.2019 to 31.3.2020, and all current debts will remain with the incumbent provider.
During this period, the new provider will ensure that all I.T. related requirements have been fully tested and implemented by 31.12.2019. This process will enable the new provider to be prepared to receive instruction from the Council to recover all new debts and provide advice from 1.4.2020 to 31.3.2023. If the contract extension is agreed, the new provider will provide the service until the contract expiry date of 31.3.2025.
To confirm, the above approach is required to align the service in line with the financial year. The Council will ensure that debt recovery services for the LB of Camden will commence from 01 April.
The procurement process will follow an open procedure using the one-stage approach. The selection and award documents will be submitted and should be returned together as part of the tender pack.
After the deadline for returned electronic submissions has expired, the evaluation process of the selection stage will be undertaken.
Tenderers who are successful from the selection stage will be invited into the award stage and their submissions will be evaluated.
After final moderation of the tender responses, the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) will be recommended to perform the service; however, we reserve the right not to award using MEAT approach should it provide undue risk to the Authority.
Unsuccessful providers will be informed of the outcome via the messaging system on EU Supply and the 10 voluntary standstill period will commence.
A panel of Council Officers will evaluate all aspects of the final tender submission.
After the standstill period has expired, the successful provider will be confirmed in writing and the contract award notice will be issued and entered on contracts finder.
Minimum thresholds have also been included within the quality award criteria. Organisations who do not achieve the minimum threshold score will not have their responses assessed further and the organisation will be excluded from the process.
Please see tender documents in EU supply (www.eu-supply.com).
II.2.5)Award criteria
II.2.6)Estimated value
II.2.7)Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
II.2.10)Information about variants
II.2.11)Information about options
II.2.13)Information about European Union funds
II.2.14)Additional information
The Invitation to Tender (ITT), contract terms and conditions, form of tender, specification and pricing schedule and other supporting information has been attached to EU Supply for bidders to complete.
Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information
III.1.1)Suitability to pursue the professional activity, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers
Selection criteria as stated in the procurement tender documents.
III.1.2)Economic and financial standing
III.1.3)Technical and professional ability
III.2.2)Contract performance conditions:
Selection and award criteria as stated in the procurement tender documents in EU Supply (www.eu-supply.com)
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1.1)Type of procedure
IV.1.8)Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
IV.2.2)Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
IV.2.4)Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted:
IV.2.6)Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender
IV.2.7)Conditions for opening of tenders
Offices of London Borough of Camden.
All tender submissions will be opened electronically by Council Officers via EU Supply. Tender responses will not be opened before the expiration of the deadline. The deadline is 14:00 on 7.5.2019.
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.1)Information about recurrence
VI.2)Information about electronic workflows
VI.3)Additional information:
The expiry date of the current contract is 8.7.2019 and the new service and contract will commence from 9.7.2019.
To ensure there is continuity of service, the 2-step approach outlined below has been agreed by the Council:
Step 1: should the incumbent provider be successful in the tendering process, the new service and contract will commence on 9.7.2019, as I.T. requirements will remain unchanged. The initial contract term will be 9.7.2019 to 31.3.2022. If the contract extension is applied, the contract expiry date will be 31.3.2024.
Step 2: if a new provider is appointed, the Council has taken the decision to extend the current arrangement with the incumbent provider for up to nine (9) months from 9.7.2019 to 31.3.2020, and all current debts will remain with the incumbent provider.
During this period, the new provider will ensure that all I.T. related requirements have been fully tested and implemented by 31.12.2019. This process will enable the new provider to be prepared to receive instruction from the Council to recover all new debts and provide advice from 1.4.2020 to 31.3.2023. If the contract extension is agreed, the new provider will provide the service until the contract expiry date of 31.3.2025.
To confirm, the above approach is required to align the service in line with the financial year. The Council will ensure that debt recovery services for the LB of Camden will commence from 01 April.
Please see tender documents in EU supply (www.eu-supply.com).
A panel of Council Officers will evaluate the tender presentations as set out in the tender documentation. The quality/price split is 50 / 50 %.
VI.4.1)Review body
70 Whitehall
London
SW1A 2AS
United Kingdom
VI.4.2)Body responsible for mediation procedures
70 Fleet Street
London
EC4Y 1EU
United Kingdom
VI.4.3)Review procedure
As set out in the contract for services
VI.4.4)Service from which information about the review procedure may be obtained
70 Whitehall
London
SW1A 2AS
United Kingdom
VI.5)Date of dispatch of this notice: