R4444 Welfare Processing Resilience.
Contract notice
Services
Section I: Contracting authority
I.1)Name, addresses and contact point(s)
Tower Hamlets
Mulberry Place, 5 Clove Crescent
For the attention of: Julie Harmer
E14 2BG London
UNITED KINGDOM
Telephone: +44 2073644044
E-mail:
Internet address(es):
General address of the contracting authority: http://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/
Address of the buyer profile: http://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/
Further information can be obtained from: London Tenders Portal
Internet address: https://www.londontenders.org/procontract/supplier.nsf
Specifications and additional documents (including documents for competitive dialogue and a dynamic purchasing system) can be obtained from: London Tenders Portal
Internet address: https://www.londontenders.org/procontract/supplier.nsf
Tenders or requests to participate must be sent to: London Tenders Portal
Internet address: https://www.londontenders.org/procontract/supplier.nsf
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: yes
Section II: Object of the contract
II.1)Description
II.1.1)Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority:
R4444 Welfare Processing Resilience.
II.1.2)Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performance
Services
Service category No 27: Other services
Main site or location of works, place of delivery or of performance: Tower Hamlets Council
Town Hall
Mulberry Place
5 Clove Crescent
London
E14 2BG
Service category No 27: Other services
Main site or location of works, place of delivery or of performance: Tower Hamlets Council
Town Hall
Mulberry Place
5 Clove Crescent
London
E14 2BG
NUTS code UKI12
II.1.3)Information about a public contract, a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system (DPS)
The notice involves the establishment of a framework agreement
II.1.4)Information on framework agreement
Framework agreement with a single operator
Range: between 300 000 and 12 000 000 GBP
Duration of the framework agreement
Duration in months: 36Estimated total value of purchases for the entire duration of the framework agreement
Estimated value excluding VAT:Range: between 300 000 and 12 000 000 GBP
II.1.5)Short description of the contract or purchase(s)
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets ("The Council”) undertakes this procurement on behalf of itself, and with the expressed interest for future admission, as necessary by each of the named London Borough Councils in Section VI.3) Additional information- at their own discretion, and any Joint Venture (described below) which The Council may determine to establish.
The Council is seeking expressions of interest for the provision of remote processing support services to complete Housing and Council Tax Benefit claims when employed Council staff are already at capacity. The contract will replace reliance upon specialist temporary staff, and will enable timely completion of claims processing. The contract is open to other Local Authorities. This contract will replace the Council's existing contract for offsite Resilience services which expires later this year.
The contract will commence in June 2014. The Contract period is 2 years with an option to extend for a further 1 year.
The Council currently manages a highly effective Housing Benefit service which manages the claims processing function. The resilience contract is a development of this service to deal with variable workloads in the most cost effective way possible. Processing services under the contract will meet the standards of service which the Council will prescribe, through methods including the determination of a detailed Service Specification.
The key requirements of the contract are:
- Processing agreed workloads of claims for Council Tax and Housing Benefits; for Council Tax Support or Council Tax Reduction; for other local welfare payments including Free School Meals, and Local Authority educational grants; Local Authority social care calculations; determinations in respect of Social Fund Payments or similar; and determinations in respect of any other means tested benefit calculations which may be the responsibility of the Council and its partners;
- Processing of claims to pre-agreed standards, both in terms of the quality, and the speed of processing; and
- In agreement with the successful supplier, the completion of such other additional workloads as may be required.
This tender will be run as a restricted procedure, which will include a pre-qualification stage. The award criteria will be published in the tender documents.
The Council, and or some of the participating Councils may at some future date determine to also establish a Joint Venture (JV), or other means by which the Framework may be managed for the mutual benefit of admitted Council partners. No firm commitment is given to this option at this stage, and the determination to exercise the JV or similar shall be in the sole discretion of the Council.
The Council is seeking expressions of interest for the provision of remote processing support services to complete Housing and Council Tax Benefit claims when employed Council staff are already at capacity. The contract will replace reliance upon specialist temporary staff, and will enable timely completion of claims processing. The contract is open to other Local Authorities. This contract will replace the Council's existing contract for offsite Resilience services which expires later this year.
The contract will commence in June 2014. The Contract period is 2 years with an option to extend for a further 1 year.
The Council currently manages a highly effective Housing Benefit service which manages the claims processing function. The resilience contract is a development of this service to deal with variable workloads in the most cost effective way possible. Processing services under the contract will meet the standards of service which the Council will prescribe, through methods including the determination of a detailed Service Specification.
The key requirements of the contract are:
- Processing agreed workloads of claims for Council Tax and Housing Benefits; for Council Tax Support or Council Tax Reduction; for other local welfare payments including Free School Meals, and Local Authority educational grants; Local Authority social care calculations; determinations in respect of Social Fund Payments or similar; and determinations in respect of any other means tested benefit calculations which may be the responsibility of the Council and its partners;
- Processing of claims to pre-agreed standards, both in terms of the quality, and the speed of processing; and
- In agreement with the successful supplier, the completion of such other additional workloads as may be required.
This tender will be run as a restricted procedure, which will include a pre-qualification stage. The award criteria will be published in the tender documents.
The Council, and or some of the participating Councils may at some future date determine to also establish a Joint Venture (JV), or other means by which the Framework may be managed for the mutual benefit of admitted Council partners. No firm commitment is given to this option at this stage, and the determination to exercise the JV or similar shall be in the sole discretion of the Council.
II.1.6)Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)
75310000, 75112000
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: yes
II.2)Quantity or scope of the contract
II.2.1)Total quantity or scope:
The lower estimate shown is estimated based on low use by the Council alone, while the higher range takes account of all named Council partners named under this notice.
Estimated value excluding VAT:
Range: between 300 000 and 12 000 000 GBP
Estimated value excluding VAT:
Range: between 300 000 and 12 000 000 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
Duration in months: 36 (from the award of the contract)
Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information
III.1)Conditions relating to the contract
III.1.1)Deposits and guarantees required:
The contracting authority reserves the right to require a parent company guarantee, performance bond or other appropriate security. Details will be provided in the tender documents.
III.1.2)Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions governing them:
Tenders must be in GBP and all payments under the contract shall be made in GBP.
III.1.3)Legal form to be taken by the group of economic operators to whom the contract is to be awarded:
The contracting authority will require a contract with one legal entity. In the event of a consortium bid, the contracting authority will only enter into a contract with a suitable prime contractor.
III.1.4)Other particular conditions
The performance of the contract is subject to particular conditions: yes
Description of particular conditions: To be contained in the Invitation to Tender.
Description of particular conditions: To be contained in the Invitation to Tender.
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: Any supplier may be disqualified who:
(a) is bankrupt or is being wound up, where his affairs are being administered by the court, where he has entered into an arrangement with creditors, where he has suspended business activities or is in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure under national laws and regulations;
(b) is the subject of proceedings for a declaration of bankruptcy, for an order compulsory winding up the administration by the court or of an arrangement with creditors or of any other similar proceedings under national laws and regulations;
(c) has been convicted by a judgment which has the force of res judicata in accordance with the legal provisions of the country of any offence concerning his professional conduct;
(d) has been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means which the contract authorities can demonstrate;
(e) has not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which he is established or with those of the country of the contracting authority;
(f) has not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which he is established or with those of the country of the contracting authority;
(g) is guilty of serious misrepresentation in supplying the information required under this Section or has not supplied such information;
(h) has been the subject of a conviction for participation in a criminal organization, as defined in Article 2(1) of Council Joint Action 98/733/JHA;
(i) has been the subject of a conviction for corruption, as defined in Article 3 of the Council Act of 26 May 1972 and Article 3(1) of Council Joint Action 98/742/JHA3 respectively;
(j) has been the subject of a conviction for fraud within the meaning of Article 1 of the Convention relating to the protection of the financial interests of the European Communities;
(k) has been the subject of a conviction for money laundering, as defined in Article 1 of Council Directive 91/308/EEC of 10 June 1991 on prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering.
Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if requirements are met:
The Authority will apply all the offences listed in Article 45(1) of Directive 2004/18/EC (implemented as Regulation 23(1) of the Public Contract
Regulations (PCR) 2006 in the UK) and all of the professional misconducts listed at Article 45(2) of Directive2004/18/EC (see also Regulation 23(2) in
the PCR 2006) to the decision of whether a Candidate is eligible to be invited to tender.
Candidates will be required to answer these questions as part of the qualification process. For candidates who are registered overseas, you will need to declare if you have any offences/misconduct under your own countries laws, where these laws are equivalent to the Regulation 23 lists.
Candidates who have been convicted of any of the offences under Article 45(1) are ineligible and will not be selected to bid, unless there are overriding requirements in the general interest for doing so.
Candidates who are guilty of any of the offences, circumstances or misconduct under Article 45(2) may be excluded from being selected to bid at the
discretion of the Authority.
(a) is bankrupt or is being wound up, where his affairs are being administered by the court, where he has entered into an arrangement with creditors, where he has suspended business activities or is in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure under national laws and regulations;
(b) is the subject of proceedings for a declaration of bankruptcy, for an order compulsory winding up the administration by the court or of an arrangement with creditors or of any other similar proceedings under national laws and regulations;
(c) has been convicted by a judgment which has the force of res judicata in accordance with the legal provisions of the country of any offence concerning his professional conduct;
(d) has been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means which the contract authorities can demonstrate;
(e) has not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which he is established or with those of the country of the contracting authority;
(f) has not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which he is established or with those of the country of the contracting authority;
(g) is guilty of serious misrepresentation in supplying the information required under this Section or has not supplied such information;
(h) has been the subject of a conviction for participation in a criminal organization, as defined in Article 2(1) of Council Joint Action 98/733/JHA;
(i) has been the subject of a conviction for corruption, as defined in Article 3 of the Council Act of 26 May 1972 and Article 3(1) of Council Joint Action 98/742/JHA3 respectively;
(j) has been the subject of a conviction for fraud within the meaning of Article 1 of the Convention relating to the protection of the financial interests of the European Communities;
(k) has been the subject of a conviction for money laundering, as defined in Article 1 of Council Directive 91/308/EEC of 10 June 1991 on prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering.
Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if requirements are met:
The Authority will apply all the offences listed in Article 45(1) of Directive 2004/18/EC (implemented as Regulation 23(1) of the Public Contract
Regulations (PCR) 2006 in the UK) and all of the professional misconducts listed at Article 45(2) of Directive2004/18/EC (see also Regulation 23(2) in
the PCR 2006) to the decision of whether a Candidate is eligible to be invited to tender.
Candidates will be required to answer these questions as part of the qualification process. For candidates who are registered overseas, you will need to declare if you have any offences/misconduct under your own countries laws, where these laws are equivalent to the Regulation 23 lists.
Candidates who have been convicted of any of the offences under Article 45(1) are ineligible and will not be selected to bid, unless there are overriding requirements in the general interest for doing so.
Candidates who are guilty of any of the offences, circumstances or misconduct under Article 45(2) may be excluded from being selected to bid at the
discretion of the Authority.
III.2.2)Economic and financial ability
Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: (a) appropriate statements from banks or, where appropriate, evidence of relevant professional risk indemnity insurance;
(b) 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;
(c) 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 three 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 of these turnovers is available.
Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if requirements are met:
A supplier will be automatically deselected if their annual turnover fails to meet the minimum threshold as contained in the Pre-Qualification
Questionnaire. In this case or a consortia, the annual turnover shall apply to the prime contractor.
(b) 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;
(c) 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 three 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 of these turnovers is available.
Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if requirements are met:
A supplier will be automatically deselected if their annual turnover fails to meet the minimum threshold as contained in the Pre-Qualification
Questionnaire. In this case or a consortia, the annual turnover shall apply to the prime contractor.
III.2.3)Technical capacity
Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met:
Information contained in the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire.
Information contained in the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire.
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: yes
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1)Type of procedure
IV.1.1)Type of procedure
Restricted
IV.1.2)Limitations on the number of operators who will be invited to tender or to participate
Envisaged minimum number 5: and maximum number 7
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:
R4444 Welfare Processing Resilience
IV.3.2)Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract
no
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: 17.2.2014 - 12:00
Payable documents: no
Payable documents: no
IV.3.4)Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
17.2.2014 - 12:00
IV.3.5)Date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates
1.3.2014
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 contract duration is expected to be 24 months plus a possible extension for a further 12 month period.
The contracting authority is purchasing on behalf of the following contracting authorities:
London Borough of Harrow,
Civic Centre,
Milton Road,
London
HA1 2XY
United Kingdom
London Borough of Newham,
Newham Dockside,
1000 Dockside Road,
London
E16 2QU
United Kingdom
London borough of Sutton,
Civic Offices,
St. Nicholas Way,
Sutton,
SM1 1EA
United Kingdom
Royal Borough of Greenwich,
Revenues and Benefits Services,
The Woolwich Centre,
35 Wellington Street,
London,
SE18 6HQ
United Kingdom
London Borough of Enfield,
PO Box 63,
Civic Centre,
Silver Street,
Enfield,
EN1 3XW
United Kingdom
London Borough of Waltham Forest,
Room 212,
Town Hall,
Forest Road,
London,
E17 4JF
United Kingdom
London Borough of Hackney
Hackney Service Centre,
1 Hillman Street,
London,
E8 1DY
United Kingdom
London Borough of Havering
Town Hall,
Main Road
Romford
RM1 3BB
United Kingdom
London Borough of Croydon
Bernard Wetheril House,
8 Mint Walk,
Croydon,
CR0 1EA
United Kingdom
London Borough of Bexley
Erith Town Hall,
Walnut Tree Road,
Erith,
Kent,
DA8 1TL
United Kingdom
The contracting authority is purchasing on behalf of the following contracting authorities:
London Borough of Harrow,
Civic Centre,
Milton Road,
London
HA1 2XY
United Kingdom
London Borough of Newham,
Newham Dockside,
1000 Dockside Road,
London
E16 2QU
United Kingdom
London borough of Sutton,
Civic Offices,
St. Nicholas Way,
Sutton,
SM1 1EA
United Kingdom
Royal Borough of Greenwich,
Revenues and Benefits Services,
The Woolwich Centre,
35 Wellington Street,
London,
SE18 6HQ
United Kingdom
London Borough of Enfield,
PO Box 63,
Civic Centre,
Silver Street,
Enfield,
EN1 3XW
United Kingdom
London Borough of Waltham Forest,
Room 212,
Town Hall,
Forest Road,
London,
E17 4JF
United Kingdom
London Borough of Hackney
Hackney Service Centre,
1 Hillman Street,
London,
E8 1DY
United Kingdom
London Borough of Havering
Town Hall,
Main Road
Romford
RM1 3BB
United Kingdom
London Borough of Croydon
Bernard Wetheril House,
8 Mint Walk,
Croydon,
CR0 1EA
United Kingdom
London Borough of Bexley
Erith Town Hall,
Walnut Tree Road,
Erith,
Kent,
DA8 1TL
United Kingdom
VI.4)Procedures for appeal
VI.4.1)Body responsible for appeal procedures
Tower Hamlets Council
Town Hall Mulberry Place 5 Clove Crescent
E14 2BG London
UNITED KINGDOM
Body responsible for mediation procedures
Tower Hamlets Council
Town Hall Mulberry Place 5 Clove Crescent
E14 2BG London
UNITED KINGDOM
VI.4.2)Lodging of appeals
VI.4.3)Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained
Tower Hamlets Council
Town Hall Mulberry Place 5 Clove Crescent
E14 2BG London
UNITED KINGDOM
VI.5)Date of dispatch of this notice:
10.1.2014