Section I: Contracting authority
I.1)Name, addresses and contact point(s)Department of Health
Room 3N15 Quarry House Quarry Hill
LS2 7UE Leeds
UNITED KINGDOM
E-mail:
Internet address(es)
General address of the contracting authority http://www.dh.gov.uk/
Address of the buyer profile http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Aboutus/Procurementandproposals/BMS/index.htm
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)
I.2)Type of the contracting authorityMinistry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local sub-divisions
I.4)Contract award on behalf of other contracting authoritiesThe 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:The Provision of a Whistleblowing Helpline.
II.1.2)Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performanceServices
Service category No 9: Accounting, auditing and bookkeeping services
Main place of performance: UK.
NUTS code
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)The provision of an unbiased confidential help and advice line for NHS and social care staff/workers, support to providers of NHS and social care services who wish to review their whistleblowing policies in line with best practice, and the promotion of whistleblowing in the NHS and social care communities.
The Department of Health reserves the right to discontinue the tendering process at any time and not award the contract.
II.1.6)Common procurement vocabulary (CPV) II.1.7)Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)The contract is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA): yes
II.1.8)LotsThis contract is divided into lots: no
II.1.9)Information about variantsVariants will be accepted: yes
II.2)Quantity or scope of the contract
II.2.1)Total quantity or scopeEstimated total value of purchases for the entire duration of the framework agreement
Estimated value excluding VAT: 480 000,00 GBP
II.2.2)Information about optionsOptions: no
II.2.3)Information about renewalsThis contract is subject to renewal: no
II.3)Duration of the contract or time limit for completionDuration 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 requiredParent company or other guarantees may be required in certain circumstances. See the invitation to tender for further details.
III.1.2)Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions governing themSee the invitation to tender for further details.
III.1.3)Legal form to be taken by the group of economic operators to whom the contract is to be awardedJoint and several liability.
III.1.4)Other particular conditionsThe 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 registersInformation and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: Any supplier may be disqualified who has breached Regulation 23 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006.
III.2.2)Economic and financial ability
III.2.3)Technical capacity
III.2.4)Information about reserved contracts
III.3)Conditions specific to services contracts
III.3.1)Information about a particular professionExecution of the service is reserved to a particular profession: no
III.3.2)Staff responsible for the execution of the serviceLegal 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 procedureRestricted
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 criteriaThe 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 auctionAn electronic auction will be used: no
IV.3)Administrative information
IV.3.1)File reference number attributed by the contracting authority:58217
IV.3.2)Previous publication(s) concerning the same contractno
IV.3.3)Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents or descriptive document
IV.3.4)Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate11.11.2011 - 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 upEnglish.
IV.3.7)Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender
IV.3.8)Conditions for opening tenders
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.1)Information about recurrenceThis is a recurrent procurement: no
VI.2)Information about European Union fundsThe contract is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: no
VI.3)Additional information- The Department of Health reserves the right to discontinue the tendering process and not to award the contract.
- Transparency.
Potential suppliers should note that, in accordance with the Government’s policies on transparency, DH intends to publish the Invitation to Tender (ITT) document, and the text of any Contract awarded, subject to possible redactions at the discretion of DH. The terms of the proposed Contract will also permit a public sector contracting authority, awarding a contract under this Contract, to publish the text of that contract, subject to possible redactions at the discretion of the contracting authority. Further information on transparency can be found at: http://www.ogc.gov.uk/policy_and_standards_framework_transparency.asp
- Note: The following link will take you to the guidance documentation for using the Department’s BMS system (e-tendering portal) http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Aboutus/Procurementandproposals/BMS/index.htm.
Instructions for/Conditions of Participation.
All participants must complete a Tender Response Document available from the BMS Portal.
This procurement exercise will be conducted on the DH eTendering portal at http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Aboutus/Procurementandproposals/BMS/index.htm.
We call this system BMS (Business Management System).
Candidates wishing to be considered for this contract must register their Intend to Bid and download and complete an ITT through the DH eTendering portal (BMS).
Registration is a simple one-step process;
The supplier must register as a company/organisation; then each employee who may undertake a tendering exercise must then register as an individual.
Once this stage is completed, it is then possible to register and bid for this tender.
Note: Standard BMS functionality will only acknowledge one recipient per supplier for each individual tender. If you require the tender to be seen by multiple users we suggest using a centralised e-mail address [].
Log on instructions are as follows:
Stage 1 - New suppliers.
Those who have not previously contracted with DH will first need to ensure that their company details are registered in the system.
a) go to the link above
b) click on ‘new supplier’
c) complete and send the details in the automated e-mail that appears
d) within 3 working days, you will receive an e-mail with your login information; a unique username and password.
Note: Standard BMS functionality requires the registered e-mail address to function as individual’s username.
Post Registration.
Once registered, candidates must express interest as follows.
a) go to the link above
b) select ‘login into e-tendering system’
c) select sourcing home page and enter invitation to tender (itt) number [xxxxx] in search field provided.
d) select radio button and click on quick link to express interest, review documentation and upload your response.
e) you must then publish your reply using the publish button.
For any support in submitting your ITT, please contact the eTendering Help-desk at +44 1132545777.
This helpdesk is available 9:00am to 4:00pm, Monday to Friday.
Please Note: Registration on the DH secure portal is not entering onto a preferred supplier list. Registration is solely to be able to interact with the Department electronically.
VI.4)Procedures for appeal
VI.4.1)Body responsible for appeal procedures
VI.4.2)Lodging of appealsPrecise information on deadline(s) for lodging appeals: The Department of Health will incorporate a standstill period at the point information about the actual award of the contract is communicated to tenderers. That notification will provide full information on the award decision. The standstill period, which will be for a minimum of 10 calendar days, provides time for unsuccessful tenderers to challenge the award decision before the contract is entered into.
The Public Contracts Regulations 2006 (SI2006 No 5) provide for aggrieved parties who have been harmed or are at risk of harm by breach of the rules to take action in the High Court.
VI.4.3)Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained
VI.5)Date of dispatch of this notice:28.9.2011