Competitive Tendering for Better Outcomes

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Competitive Tenderingfor Better Outcomes
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General purchasing principles

• Under Local Council policy, purchasing/procurement
  departments are responsible for
• Achieving value for money, usually through
  competition.
• Ensuring that they comply with their legal
  obligations and standing orders.
• Ensuring that the roles and responsibilities of
  staff are clearly defined and that there is
  adequate separation of duties.
• Ensuring that processes are transparent and
  proportionate.
• The approach to purchasing local services will be
  based upon the agency's purchasing/procurement
  strategy and the local standing orders.

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EU procurement regime

• The EU Treaty principles of non-discrimination on
  ground of nationality equal treatment
  transparency proportionality and free movement
  of goods and services apply to all public sector
  contracts.
• The regulations have 2 levels a full regime for
  priority services (Part A) and a lighter regime
  for other services (Part B).
• Health and social care services are Part B
  services.
• The regulations only apply if the contract is
  over a threshold amount (updated every 2 years).
  Currently threshold are
• 99,695 for Part A services
• 153,376 for Part B services
• 129,462 for RD services

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EU procurement regime (cont/)

• The main requirements of the regulations are
• Non discriminatory specifications (Parts A B).
• Competition through a tender advertised in the
  Official Journal of the EU (Part A).
• Compliance with minimum timescales for providers
  to respond to adverts, pre-qualification checks
  and tenders (Part A).
• Prescribed criteria for the selection of
  tenderers and contract award (Part A).
• Provision of feedback to unsuccessful suppliers
  and issue of contract award notice within 30 days
  of award (Parts A B). http//simap.eu.int or
  www.ogc.gov.uk

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Competitive tendering

• It is, however, good practice to adhere to the
  principles
• of EU tendering and ensure that the process is
• transparent and proportionate, namely
• The decision to tender accords with the
  commissioning strategy.
• The process complies with local financial
  instructions/regulations and standing orders.
• The market is tested if new services are involved
  or little information is available on the likely
  response from providers.
• Contract opportunities are publicised, especially
  to small and voluntary organisations, with good
  notice.
• That full information is provided to all
  tenderers.
• User or carer involvement in the process is
  agreed.

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Remember - even where the detailed EU procurement
rules do not apply

• Basic principles apply to all public sector
  contracts and tendering processes
• Openness
• Transparency
• Equality
• Probity
• Must not distort competition
• If you are complying with your own rules for high
  value contracts then you are probably 90 of
  the way to EU compliance
• Commissions web pages on policy/legislation
  http//europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/publicpr
  ocurement/index_en.htm

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Test The Market

• Before you decide to tender
• Find out as much as you can about what is out
  there
• Consult with users about current services
• Speak to you neighbours
• Find out the going market prices
• Speak with providers
• Know why you are tendering
• Know your options
• Will it be a TUPE situation?

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Main Changes in the 2006 TUPE Regulations

• The 2006 Regulations introduced
• a widening of the scope of the Regulations to
  cover cases where services are outsourced,
  insourced or assigned by a client to a new
  contractor (described as service provision
  changes)
• - a new duty on the old transferor employer to
  supply information about the transferring
  employees to the new transferee employer (by
  providing what is described
• as employee liability information)
• special provisions making it easier for insolvent
  businesses to be transferred to new employers
• provisions which clarify the ability of employers
  and employees to agree to vary contracts of
  employment in circumstances where a relevant
  transfer occurs
• provisions which clarify the circumstances under
  which it is unfair for employers to dismiss
  employees for reasons connected with a relevant
  transfer.
• The rights and obligations in the 1981
  Regulations remain in place, though the 2006
  Regulations contain revised wording at some
  points to make their meaning clearer, as well as
  reflecting developments in case law since 1981

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Decide to Tender

• Set up a Tender Team
• Involve front line staff from budget holder
• Involve service users or advocates
• Finance set a budget
• Involve Members Committee Reports
• Agree a timetable
• Draw up a Plan
• Prepare Documentation Spec, Contract, Adverts,
  letters
• Evaluation criteria

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Tender Documentation

• Service Specification and Contracts
• Describe the service
• Typical Cases
• Scope
• Statutory Requirements
• Service User input
• Other Agencies
• Outcomes
• LA Responsibilities
• Monitoring and review

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Tender Documentation

• Price Document (do in a different colour, use
  Spreadsheet)
• Your Questionnaire
• Ask how they have used their quality policy,
  health and safety policy
• Accounts management accounts are more useful
• Accounts that pertain the relevant part of the
  business
• Forecast of accounts
• Signed by a qualified accountant

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PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL
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• 1. THE AGENCY
• 1.1 Name of Agency
•      
• 1.2 Head Office Address
•      
• 1.3 Tel No./Fax No.
•            
• 1.4 E-mail address
•      
• 1.5 Name and designation of person responsible
  for completing this application
•      
• 1.6 Tel No./Fax No.
•            
• E-mail address
•      
• 1.8 Name of registered provider
•      
• 1.9 Website address (if applicable)

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2. THE AGENCY TYPE 2.1 Please (?) as
appropriate Voluntary Agency Private Limited
Company Sole Trader Public Limited
Company Partnership Other (please
specify)

• Registered Charity
• Date of formation or registration of Agency
•      
• 2.3 Registration No. (where Limited Company or
  limited by guarantee)
•      
• 2.4 Registration No. (where Registered Charity)
•      
• 2.5 Are you registered under the Data Protection
  Act, 1998
• Yes No
• 2.5.1 For what systems are you registered
•      
• 2.5.2 Date of registration
•      
• 2.5.3 Registration No.
•      
• 2.6 Has the Agency or any other run by the
  owners/parent organisation ever had
  registration/licence/approval
• refused or cancelled?
• Yes No
• If yes, please give details

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3. THE AGENCY PROFILE

• 3.1 Give a brief overview of the Agencys
  business
• 3.2 If the agency is a member of a group of
  companies or part of a chain of franchise
  offices, give the names and address of the
  ultimate Holding Company and all the other
  subsidiary companies involved.
• 3.3 Would the group or the ultimate holding
  company guarantee your contract performance and
  be prepared to enter into an agreement to this
  effect?
• 3.4 Give full names and addresses of all Owners,
  Managers, Directors or Partners, and of the
  Company
• 3.5 Have you, or in the case of an Agency, Owner,
  Director, Partner, Associate or other senior
  member of staff, been adjudged bankrupt or
  involved in any firm which has been liquidated,
  gone into receivership or been the subject of a
  winding-up order during the last 10 years?
• YES NO If yes, please give details
• 3.6 Have you, or in the case of an Agency, Owner
  Director, Partner, Associate or other senior
  member of staff, been convicted of any offences.
• YES NO If yes, please give details
• 3.7 Has the Agency been served notices or being
  convicted of an offence under any of the
  following or been the subject of any formal
  investigation in relation to
• Care Standards Act 2000Health and Safety at Work
  Act 1974Race Relations Act 1976Sex Discrimination
  Act 1975Human Rights Act 1998Disability
  Discrimination Act

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• If yes to any of the above please provide
  details and the action taken to prevent any
  re-occurrence
• 3.8 Have there been any County Court judgements
  against you, or in the case of an Agency, the
  Owners, Directors, Partners or Associates or
  other senior member of staff in the last five
  years.
• 3.9 Have you/the Agency or any other Agency under
  the direction of the Owners, Directors, Partners
  or Associates ever had a contract terminated
  because of failure to perform to the terms of the
  contract or in the process of having a contract
  terminated?
• 3.10 Are there any outstanding claims or
  litigation against you/the Agency

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• 3.11 Are you, or in the case of an Agency, any
  Owners, Directors, Partners, Associates, Senior
  Members of staff or relatives
• i) Employed by your Council? YES NO
• ii) A Councillor within the County of ? YES NO
• iii) Connected with a County Councillor? YES NO
• If yes, please give details

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• 4. FINANCIAL AND INSURANCE PROFILE
• 4.1 Who is responsible for dealing with the
  Agencys financial matters?
• 4.2 Please provide details of your bank so that
  we can obtain a bankers reference. If you have
  accounts with more than one bank please provide
  similar details for each one on a separate sheet.
  Please complete the authorisation to obtain
  Bankers reference. (Attached Form A1)
• 4.6 Give details of insurances held
• Public Liability
• Employers Liability
• Prof Indemnity
• Motor Insurance

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• Current Contracts
• Referees prior to award
• Lead time following award
• Staff Training and qualifications
• Agency Staff
• Staff Turnover
• QA
• Tick Box List of all relevant Policies
• Declarations and Permissions

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Tender Delivery

• Date and time
• No Exceptions
• Acceptable methods
• Keep Anonymous
• Feedback and Timescales
• Clarification
• Opening
• FOIA - In the absence of special circumstances,
  this invitation to tender, contract conditions,
  specification and any other part of the
  invitation to tender documentation, will be
  regarded as not subject to any exemptions, and
  therefore capable of being disclosed under the
  FOIA

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Evaluation

• How is the tender to be evaluated?
• The basis on how you do this should be spelt out
  in your tender letter e.g.
• 50 on Price
• 25 on Outcomes/QA Evaluation
• 25 on your CSCI report
• Record everything Transparency!
• Explain who will be doing the evaluation and
  feedback will be offered

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• Tendering Case Study
• This case study has two phases. Phase 1 concerns
  the overall process of tendering and Phase 2 a
  particular aspect of the process.
• Phase 1. Tender Timetable
• You have been asked to tender a service for
  children and young people, or a community meals
  service for older adults on behalf of the local
  authority and PCT. Identify all the steps you
  will need to take, in delivering a quality
  tendering process. It should cover all aspects
  of the process to the award of contract. When
  you have identified all of the elements, you must
  then develop a realistic timetable for delivery
  as from today, to be attached to the tender
  letter.
• Phase 2. Tender Checklist
• Prepare a tender checklist, which will enable
  your tender panel to analyse the tenders in a
  consistent way. Each panel member will be
  required to analyse all of the tenders and to
  complete the tender checklist. It will
  therefore, be necessary to identify all of the
  key elements of the specification and
  accompanying letter that you wish the panel to
  consider and determine a way in which the panel
  can record the quality of the tenderers
  responses. On completion of the analysis, panel
  members will then be able to discuss tenders and
  come to a decision.

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Competitive tendering (cont/...)

• The documentation strikes a balance between
  enabling tenders to be objectively evaluated and
  making too many demands on providers.
• The decision making process is transparent using
  key criteria of financial stability, technical
  competence and evidence of internal quality
  control.
• Tenders are evaluated on an equal footing.
• Feedback is given to unsuccessful tenderers.
• That, when post-tender negotiations are necessary
  with a chosen provider, parameters are set before
  negotiations commence about affordability and how
  far the specification can be altered before it
  needs to be opened up again to other providers.

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Standard tendering approaches

• Open tendering
• Invitation to tender (ITT) is advertised and the
  interested parties can submit their bids.
• Limited tendering
• A short list of providers who have been
  pre-vetted, usually using a pre-tender/qualificati
  on questionnaire or PQQ, are invited to tender.
• Negotiated tendering
• Direct negotiation with a single or a few select
  providers.

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Tendering process flow
Identification of service need
Write service specification
Invite potential providers to tender
Issue tender documents

• Define the tender evaluation and selection
  criteria
• Prepare tender pack

Include providers and users
Negotiate with selected provider(s)
Approval
Receive bids
Evaluate bids
Cabinet/Board approval needed?
Rules govern receipt and opening of bids

• Use evaluation and selection criteria and
  evidence decisions
• Best value MEAT - VFM?

Standing orders
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Alternative tendering approaches

• Design contests
• On-line auctions E -Tendering
• Framework agreements
• Framework terms and conditions are agreed are
  contracts are called off when needed
• Limited to 4 years unless an exception justified
• Framework can cover 1 or more providers
• A further mini-competition between agreed
  providers can be used
• Competitive dialogue
• Use for complex contracts where a dialogue
  between providers and purchasers is necessary to
  identify the solution(s) to best meet needs.

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Tendering process

• Tendering for the provision of the service
  accords with the Commissioning Strategy.
• Budget allocation and length of contract / SLA
  authorised. Outline contract / SLA agreed with
  procurement and legal departments.
• TUPE implications have been considered and
  appropriate advice sought.
• Specification for service agreed by all
  stakeholders and achieves balance between
  enabling objective evaluation and making too many
  demands on tenderers.
• Type of tendering process considered and agreed.
• Market is tested for interest and
  capacity/capability of providers.
• Tender timetable is established, including date
  for the opening of tenders. Preparatory actions
  on timetable taken including in-house
  arrangements for the opening of tenders, tender
  evaluation panel organised etc.

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Tendering process

• Assessment criteria developed.
• Tender documentation is made ready to be sent to
  potential service providers and conforms with
  procurement regulations.
• Advertisement is placed for Expression of
  interest
• Long list down to a short list keep records
• Arrangements made to respond equally and fairly
  to all tender enquiries. Help line and seminars
  for tenderers.
• Tenders opened
• Tender panel evaluates all tenders and
  short-lists or selects provider
• All tenderers informed of outcome of
  short-listing/selection process. Short-listed
  tenderers invited to interview/presentation,
  non-short-listed candidates given feedback
• Interview/presentation of short-listed
  candidates, and provider selected
• Post-tender negotiations held to fine tune
  arrangements
• Contract awarded

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E-Tendering

• Why should I use e-tendering?
• Business benefits
• ? Reduced tender cycle-time
• ? Fast and accurate pre-qualification and
  evaluation, which enables the automatic rejection
  of
• suppliers that fail to meet the tender
  specification
• ? Faster response to questions and points of
  clarification during the tender period
• ? Reduction in the labour intensive tasks of
  receipt, recording and distribution of tender
• submissions
• ? Reduction of the paper trail on tendering
  exercises, reducing costs to both councils and
• suppliers
• ? Improved audit trail increasing integrity and
  transparency of the tendering process
• ? Improved quality of tender specification and
  supplier response
• ? Provision of quality management information
• ? Compliance with OJEU is made easier (Electronic
  Notice)

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Kent Experience on E-Tendering

• E-tendering

Purchase of social care provision is via the
e-tendering website on a quarterly
basis. Providers register their details on line,
log on to the e-tendering website and access the
tender documents relevant to the service they
wish to tender for. Providers submit completed
tenders electronically to a secure database. Once
submitted, providers cannot retrieve their tender
and KCC cannot access submitted tenders until the
opening date.
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Benefits to KCC

• Evaluations and awards process are carried out
  online.
• Award and non award letters automatically
  generated.
• Reports allow comparisons to be made of similar
  sized homes.
• E-tendering process saves a huge amount of
  resources.
• Achieves significant cost efficiencies (based on
  costs including staff time, postage and
  printing).

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Benefits to Providers

• Eradicates the necessity for paper-based tender
  documents.
• View Specification and Terms and Conditions
  online.
• Quick and easy tender process.
• A helpline and email box are set up for the
  period that the tender is open to answer queries
  from providers.