Southampton City Council - ECO and Green Deal Delivery Scheme.
Contract award notice
Works
Section I: Contracting authority
I.1)Name, addresses and contact point(s)
Southampton City Council
Procurement Services, 1st floor One Guildhall Square
Contact point(s): www.southampton.gov.uk/supplysouthampton
For the attention of: Elina Townsend
SO14 7FP Southampton
UNITED KINGDOM
Telephone: +44 2380832471
E-mail:
Internet address(es):
General address of the contracting authority: www.southampton.gov.uk/supplysouthampton
I.2)Type of the contracting authority
Regional or local authority
I.3)Main activity
General public services
Public order and safety
Environment
Housing and community amenities
Social protection
Recreation, culture and religion
Education
Public order and safety
Environment
Housing and community amenities
Social protection
Recreation, culture and religion
Education
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
Southampton City Council - ECO and Green Deal Delivery Scheme.
II.1.2)Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performance
Works
Realisation, by whatever means of work, corresponding to the requirements specified by the contracting authorities
Main site or location of works, place of delivery or of performance: Southampton and Hampshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire Dorset, Surrey and West Sussex.
Realisation, by whatever means of work, corresponding to the requirements specified by the contracting authorities
Main site or location of works, place of delivery or of performance: Southampton and Hampshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire Dorset, Surrey and West Sussex.
NUTS code UK
II.1.3)Information about a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system (DPS)
II.1.4)Short description of the contract or purchase(s)
Southampton City Council ("SCC") is undertaking a procurement using the negotiated procedure to identify a delivery partner (the "Delivery Partner”) to deliver the Southampton City Council - ECO and Green Deal Delivery Scheme (the "Scheme”). SCC is undertaking this process on behalf of itself and:
(a) Portsmouth City Council (and its statutory successors and organisations created as a result of the re-organisation of organisational changes) who may also use the services of the Delivery Partner; and
(b) any public organisations falling within the geographical remit of Hampshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Surrey and West Sussex including (but not limited to) councils, registered providers, National Health Service organisations, police service, fire service and ambulance service and, in each case, their statutory successors and organisations created as a result of the re-organisation or organisational changes,
each a "Contracting Authority” and together the "Contracting Authorities”.
SCC has undertaken detailed discussions with public organisations including Fareham Borough Council, Gosport Borough Council, Winchester City Council and New Forest District Council about the scope and scale of this Scheme.
The Scheme must be delivered in line with ‘Green Deal' requirements pursuant to the terms of the Energy Act 2011 and any and all other applicable legislative standards or requirements however it is not necessarily limited to Green Deal activities. The Delivery Partner will be required to maximize the level of Energy Company Obligation ("ECO") and its alternates or successors to fund the delivery of Green Deal and other applicable and qualifying energy efficiency and/or energy generation measures. The Scheme may also include:
(a) the provision of sustainable energy, lower carbon energy solutions, renewable energy and energy efficiency measures including those qualifying for other funding such as the Feed in Tariff ("FiT"), Renewable Heat Incentive ("RHI") and/or other funds, grants, tariffs and/or incentives including European structural funds (such as the European Regional Development Fund) or their alternates or successors; and
(b) behavioral change initiatives and energy usage and consumption measurement including, for example, installation of smart metering.
It is SCC's intention that either SCC itself or a subsidiary of SCC or a corporate entity of which SCC is a member or a third party will enter in to contract with the Delivery Partner. The most suitable model will be selected during negotiation.
The appointed Delivery Partner will manage the delivery of ECO, Green Deal and other applicable and qualifying energy efficiency measures to domestic properties and, in particular to social domestic properties but the Scheme may also include private tenure domestic properties and, initially, public non-domestic properties. SCC reserves the right to require a break date which is expected to be at least two (2) years after the commencement date of the services (the "Break Date”). After the Break Date, the Delivery Partner may be able to provide the services to the aforementioned domestic property types and all non-domestic properties (whether or not used or owned by a public authority.
The Delivery Partner's role will include:
(a) marketing the programme, engaging customers;
(b) surveying, assessing, refurbishing properties (including design and build activities);
(c) managing supply chain growth and innovation;
(d) delivering employment and training opportunities;
(e) reporting and performance monitoring;
(f) securing funding (including, ECO but may also include, for example, Green Deal finance and other forms of funding provided by third parties) together with related or ancillary services thereto; and
(g) partnering arrangements.
The Delivery Partner will be responsible for securing and managing the funding of measures for the Scheme and, if applicable, ensuring that payment is collected from the customer by the relevant energy company.
The Delivery Partner will be responsible for managing and coordinating ancillary refurbishment and installation activities to relevant properties.
The Delivery Partner will be expected to enter into a contract with each Contracting Authority (where any such Contracting Authority chooses to use the Delivery Partner to deliver ECO, Green Deal or other measures to their area) on substantially the same terms as agreed with SCC (save for any funding related issues).
Structure of the Scheme
SCC is seeking a Delivery Partner who can support our vision by providing strong management skills and bring together the best delivery resources, customer relationship management, funding and performance monitoring functions. The Scheme is intended to be for seven (7) years from the date of the relevant contract with SCC and/or the relevant Contracting Authority with SCC reserving the right to require a Break Date not earlier than the second anniversary of the services commencement date. Any such Break Date may be operated by SCC or the Contracting Authority (as the case may be) in the event that the Delivery Partner has failed to deliver certain agreed targets. The Delivery Partner will be expected to deliver services so as to ensure sustainable quality and value for money for customers, SCC and the other Contracting Authorities that may contract with the Delivery Partner.
Investment into the Scheme should be secured by the Delivery Partner via available funding sources including (but not limited to) ECO. The Delivery Partner will be expected to maximise the level of the ECO funding that may be leveraged in to the Scheme.
In addition to delivering ECO and Green Deal solutions, it is anticipated that the Delivery Partner may also offer:
(a) sustainable energy solutions, lower carbon energy solutions. and renewable energy services including those repaid through FiT, RHI and other or similar funds, grants, tariff or incentive arrangements or their alternates or successors where considered appropriate by SCC (or a Contracting Authority (as the case may be)); and
(b) behavioral change initiatives and energy usage and consumption measurement including, for example, installation of smart metering.
The estimated value of the contract for the Scheme prior to the Break Date in the SCC area is approximately 35,000,000 GBP.
The estimated value of the Scheme prior to any Break Date for Portsmouth City Council (and its area) is at least 17,000,000 GBP.
The Delivery Partner may be expected to find and access funding for the work carried out prior to any Break Date on behalf of the Contracting Authorities either itself or from third parties or through locally or nationally established financing mechanisms.
After expiry of the right to trigger the Break Date
Assuming the Break Date is not triggered, SCC expects the Delivery Partner to continue to provide the required services for up to an additional value of potentially up to 125,000,000 GBP (in relation to social domestic properties, private tenure properties and any non-domestic buildings within SCC's area and includes an estimated capital contribution from SCC) which we anticipate will be for the remainder of the term (approximately five (5) additional years) subject to certain conditions identified during negotiations and subject to SCC's Cabinet approvals.
It is anticipated that the Delivery Partner will be expected to find and access funding for the work carried out and the services provided after expiry of the Break Date either by itself or from third parties or through locally or nationally established financing mechanisms. The Delivery Partner will be required to maximise the level of ECO funding.
The estimated value of the Scheme after the Break Date (being for the remainder of the 7 year term) for Portsmouth City Council (and its area) is at least 50,000,000 GBP.
Interested parties must register with SCC's eSourcing portal and express an interest in the project. SCC's eSourcing portal will be used for the administration of this procurement process details of which are set out in VI.3.
All figures contained within this notice are estimates only and will be subject to the outcome of the procurement.
(a) Portsmouth City Council (and its statutory successors and organisations created as a result of the re-organisation of organisational changes) who may also use the services of the Delivery Partner; and
(b) any public organisations falling within the geographical remit of Hampshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Surrey and West Sussex including (but not limited to) councils, registered providers, National Health Service organisations, police service, fire service and ambulance service and, in each case, their statutory successors and organisations created as a result of the re-organisation or organisational changes,
each a "Contracting Authority” and together the "Contracting Authorities”.
SCC has undertaken detailed discussions with public organisations including Fareham Borough Council, Gosport Borough Council, Winchester City Council and New Forest District Council about the scope and scale of this Scheme.
The Scheme must be delivered in line with ‘Green Deal' requirements pursuant to the terms of the Energy Act 2011 and any and all other applicable legislative standards or requirements however it is not necessarily limited to Green Deal activities. The Delivery Partner will be required to maximize the level of Energy Company Obligation ("ECO") and its alternates or successors to fund the delivery of Green Deal and other applicable and qualifying energy efficiency and/or energy generation measures. The Scheme may also include:
(a) the provision of sustainable energy, lower carbon energy solutions, renewable energy and energy efficiency measures including those qualifying for other funding such as the Feed in Tariff ("FiT"), Renewable Heat Incentive ("RHI") and/or other funds, grants, tariffs and/or incentives including European structural funds (such as the European Regional Development Fund) or their alternates or successors; and
(b) behavioral change initiatives and energy usage and consumption measurement including, for example, installation of smart metering.
It is SCC's intention that either SCC itself or a subsidiary of SCC or a corporate entity of which SCC is a member or a third party will enter in to contract with the Delivery Partner. The most suitable model will be selected during negotiation.
The appointed Delivery Partner will manage the delivery of ECO, Green Deal and other applicable and qualifying energy efficiency measures to domestic properties and, in particular to social domestic properties but the Scheme may also include private tenure domestic properties and, initially, public non-domestic properties. SCC reserves the right to require a break date which is expected to be at least two (2) years after the commencement date of the services (the "Break Date”). After the Break Date, the Delivery Partner may be able to provide the services to the aforementioned domestic property types and all non-domestic properties (whether or not used or owned by a public authority.
The Delivery Partner's role will include:
(a) marketing the programme, engaging customers;
(b) surveying, assessing, refurbishing properties (including design and build activities);
(c) managing supply chain growth and innovation;
(d) delivering employment and training opportunities;
(e) reporting and performance monitoring;
(f) securing funding (including, ECO but may also include, for example, Green Deal finance and other forms of funding provided by third parties) together with related or ancillary services thereto; and
(g) partnering arrangements.
The Delivery Partner will be responsible for securing and managing the funding of measures for the Scheme and, if applicable, ensuring that payment is collected from the customer by the relevant energy company.
The Delivery Partner will be responsible for managing and coordinating ancillary refurbishment and installation activities to relevant properties.
The Delivery Partner will be expected to enter into a contract with each Contracting Authority (where any such Contracting Authority chooses to use the Delivery Partner to deliver ECO, Green Deal or other measures to their area) on substantially the same terms as agreed with SCC (save for any funding related issues).
Structure of the Scheme
SCC is seeking a Delivery Partner who can support our vision by providing strong management skills and bring together the best delivery resources, customer relationship management, funding and performance monitoring functions. The Scheme is intended to be for seven (7) years from the date of the relevant contract with SCC and/or the relevant Contracting Authority with SCC reserving the right to require a Break Date not earlier than the second anniversary of the services commencement date. Any such Break Date may be operated by SCC or the Contracting Authority (as the case may be) in the event that the Delivery Partner has failed to deliver certain agreed targets. The Delivery Partner will be expected to deliver services so as to ensure sustainable quality and value for money for customers, SCC and the other Contracting Authorities that may contract with the Delivery Partner.
Investment into the Scheme should be secured by the Delivery Partner via available funding sources including (but not limited to) ECO. The Delivery Partner will be expected to maximise the level of the ECO funding that may be leveraged in to the Scheme.
In addition to delivering ECO and Green Deal solutions, it is anticipated that the Delivery Partner may also offer:
(a) sustainable energy solutions, lower carbon energy solutions. and renewable energy services including those repaid through FiT, RHI and other or similar funds, grants, tariff or incentive arrangements or their alternates or successors where considered appropriate by SCC (or a Contracting Authority (as the case may be)); and
(b) behavioral change initiatives and energy usage and consumption measurement including, for example, installation of smart metering.
The estimated value of the contract for the Scheme prior to the Break Date in the SCC area is approximately 35,000,000 GBP.
The estimated value of the Scheme prior to any Break Date for Portsmouth City Council (and its area) is at least 17,000,000 GBP.
The Delivery Partner may be expected to find and access funding for the work carried out prior to any Break Date on behalf of the Contracting Authorities either itself or from third parties or through locally or nationally established financing mechanisms.
After expiry of the right to trigger the Break Date
Assuming the Break Date is not triggered, SCC expects the Delivery Partner to continue to provide the required services for up to an additional value of potentially up to 125,000,000 GBP (in relation to social domestic properties, private tenure properties and any non-domestic buildings within SCC's area and includes an estimated capital contribution from SCC) which we anticipate will be for the remainder of the term (approximately five (5) additional years) subject to certain conditions identified during negotiations and subject to SCC's Cabinet approvals.
It is anticipated that the Delivery Partner will be expected to find and access funding for the work carried out and the services provided after expiry of the Break Date either by itself or from third parties or through locally or nationally established financing mechanisms. The Delivery Partner will be required to maximise the level of ECO funding.
The estimated value of the Scheme after the Break Date (being for the remainder of the 7 year term) for Portsmouth City Council (and its area) is at least 50,000,000 GBP.
Interested parties must register with SCC's eSourcing portal and express an interest in the project. SCC's eSourcing portal will be used for the administration of this procurement process details of which are set out in VI.3.
All figures contained within this notice are estimates only and will be subject to the outcome of the procurement.
II.1.5)Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)
45320000, 44115210, 80500000, 09332000, 09310000, 45330000, 09331000, 50000000, 38421100, 50411000, 90700000, 72212440, 72212443, 72212445, 45321000, 45430000, 79400000, 71314300, 44115220, 72222300, 71315300, 72212480, 39715000, 72000000, 09323000, 38551000, 42160000, 72510000, 71314200, 45440000, 42500000, 09330000, 39370000, 45420000, 42122000, 71314000, 45421130, 45400000, 65000000, 44600000, 39715200, 71800000, 71315400, 39717200, 45230000, 79342000, 72232000, 09320000, 45250000, 44111520, 72322000, 44160000, 72500000, 72253000, 66000000, 45451000
II.1.6)Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The contract is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA): no
II.2)Total final value of contract(s)
II.2.1)Total final value of contract(s)
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1)Type of procedure
IV.1.1)Type of procedure
Negotiated with a call for competition
IV.2)Award criteria
IV.2.1)Award criteria
IV.2.2)Information about electronic auction
An electronic auction has been used: no
IV.3)Administrative information
IV.3.1)File reference number attributed by the contracting authority
EC09/01/2090
IV.3.2)Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract
Notice number in the OJEU: 2013/S 101-172702 of 24.5.2013
Section V: Award of contract
Contract No: EC09/01/2090 Lot title: Southampton City Council - ECO and Green Delivery SchemeV.1)Date of contract award decision:
5.11.2013
V.2)Information about offers
Number of offers received: 2
V.3)Name and address of economic operator in favour of whom the contract award decision has been taken
MITIE Property Services (UK) Limited
1650 Parkway, Solent Business Park
PO15 7AH Fareham
UNITED KINGDOM
V.4)Information on value of contract
V.5)Information about subcontracting
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.1)Information about European Union funds
The contract is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: no
VI.2)Additional information:
During the term of the Scheme, SCC will require the Delivery Partner to:
- project manage the delivery of the Scheme so as to ensure that all necessary activities are successfully delivered;
- deliver the Scheme in such a way that it can access finance as required;
- provide design and build installations including to large scale, multi property refurbishments with limited and/or agreed timeframes;
- minimise the start up costs needing to be met by SCC and/or the customers of the Scheme;
- warrant the physical delivery and operation of the Scheme to the satisfaction of SCC to ensure that:
- SCC's risks are minimised; and
- sources of finance, if required, are available for the Scheme;
- work with SCC to establish immediate and long term governance arrangements that optimise the delivery and financing needs of the Scheme and manage SCC's risks appropriately;
- market and deliver customers to the Scheme;
- arrange for an accredited surveyor to identify which energy efficiency measures are appropriate for each property or group of properties and property owner or occupier to meet the "golden rule”;
- arrange for an accredited surveyor to identify which renewable energy measures are appropriate for each property or group of properties;
- agree the package of measures that will be delivered with the property owner, the payments needed to pay for the installation (if any) and maintenance of these and the pay-back period, and formalising this arrangement through a contract between the Delivery Partner and the property owner;
- secure the ECO subsidies (including for hard to treat properties and fuel poor customers) in line with applicable legislation and formalise this through a contract between the energy suppliers and the Delivery Partner;
- Support the delivery of other relevant measures that deliver sustainable outcomes in the properties concerned (including water efficiency);
- manage the delivery of the measures and ensure that all works and/or services are compliant with all legislation (including but not limited to) the Consumer Credit Act and the Energy Act 2011;
- manage the on-going maintenance of the measures to ensure on-going performance as required in the product warranties; and/or the signed Green Deal plans;
- (where relevant) manage the process receipt of Green Deal plan repayments from the energy suppliers;
- (where relevant) manage the receipt of identified payments from relevant third parties and repayment of the relevant amounts to SCC;
- collect payments relating to any measures not falling under the Green Deal;
- deliver social and economic benefits through targeted training and recruitment and grow the low carbon economy;
- (where relevant) provide a loans administration service;
- (where relevant) interfacing with any financing and/or loans administration vehicle established at a national level; and
- (where relevant) interfacing with the ECO brokerage platform; and
- evaluate, measure and monitor CO2 savings.
The Delivery Partner will be required to enter into contract with the relevant Contracting Authority to deliver substantially the same services listed above.
The Delivery Partner will also be required to work with SCC and any Contracting Authority (as the case may be) to evaluate the success of the Scheme prior to any Break Date and as SCC and/or a Contracting Authority may reasonably require to discharge statutory duties (including (but not limited to) complying with any Home Energy Conservation Act requirements).
Please note that all references to Southampton City Council below, excluding registration instructions, also include and apply to the parties named at section II.I.5 of this Contract Notice.
How to Express Interest in this Tender:
PQQ to access the content - Click the Express Interest button at the top of the page - This will move the PQQ into your My PQQs page. (This is a secure area reserved for your projects only) - You can now access any attachments by clicking the Settings and/or Buyer Attachments in the Actions box.
3. Responding to the tender - You can now choose to Create Response or Decline to Respond (please give a reason if rejecting) - You can now use the Messages function to communicate with the buyer and seek any clarification - Note the deadline for completion, then follow the onscreen instructions to complete the PQQ - There may be a mixture of online & offline actions for you to perform (there is detailed online help available) You must then publish your reply using the Submit Response button at the top of the page. If you require any further assistance please consult the online help, or contact the eTendering help desk.
Freedom of Information - Applicants are advised that SCC is subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 ('The Act'). If an applicant considers that any of the information supplied as part of this procurement procedure should not be disclosed because of its commercial sensitivity, confidentiality or otherwise, they must, when providing this information, clearly identify the specific information they do not wish to be disclosed, and clearly specify the reasons for its sensitivity.
SCC shall take such statements into consideration in the event that it receives a request pursuant to the Act which relates to the information provided by the interested party. Please note, it is not sufficient to include a statement of confidentiality encompassing all the information provided in the response. SCC shall not be responsible for any costs, charges or expenses incurred by applicants or tenderers, and accepts no liability for any costs, charges or expenses, irrespective of the outcome of the competition, or if the competition is cancelled or postponed.
Whilst every effort has been made to consider the full scope of the requirement, SCC does not guarantee the volume of supplies/services/works required resulting from this tender or that it will accept any tender on completion of the tender exercise.
SCC reserves the right not to award all or any part of this contract.
All dates and time periods specified in this notice are only provisional and SCC reserves the right to amend at its sole discretion.
When executing the contract within the United Kingdom, the successful supplier will be required to comply with the recommendations of the Code of Practice for Employment, published by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission.
Suppliers will also be required to comply with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
Further information on SCC's requirements on the aforementioned will be included in the invitation to tender documents.
The Contracting Authority may be subject to governmental codes of practice or guidance relating to a transparency agenda, including the policy of publishing contracts and all other documents relating to public procurement activity, e.g. The Code of Recommended Practice for Local Authorities on Data Transparency (September 2011).
Accordingly, and notwithstanding any other provision within this notice, it should be noted that the Contracting Authority will publish any documents relating to the procurement and subsequent contract award resulting from this notice (but with any information which is exempt from disclosure in accordance with the provisions of the FOIA redacted) in accordance with the aforementioned transparency agenda.
Expressions of interest must be by way of completion and return of a PQQ and an outline solution in response to the ISOS (in accordance with the instructions and requirements set out in the PQQ and associated tender documents) by the date and time specified in Section IV.3.4.
SCC reserves the right not to accept Variant Bids at the invitation to negotiate stage.
- project manage the delivery of the Scheme so as to ensure that all necessary activities are successfully delivered;
- deliver the Scheme in such a way that it can access finance as required;
- provide design and build installations including to large scale, multi property refurbishments with limited and/or agreed timeframes;
- minimise the start up costs needing to be met by SCC and/or the customers of the Scheme;
- warrant the physical delivery and operation of the Scheme to the satisfaction of SCC to ensure that:
- SCC's risks are minimised; and
- sources of finance, if required, are available for the Scheme;
- work with SCC to establish immediate and long term governance arrangements that optimise the delivery and financing needs of the Scheme and manage SCC's risks appropriately;
- market and deliver customers to the Scheme;
- arrange for an accredited surveyor to identify which energy efficiency measures are appropriate for each property or group of properties and property owner or occupier to meet the "golden rule”;
- arrange for an accredited surveyor to identify which renewable energy measures are appropriate for each property or group of properties;
- agree the package of measures that will be delivered with the property owner, the payments needed to pay for the installation (if any) and maintenance of these and the pay-back period, and formalising this arrangement through a contract between the Delivery Partner and the property owner;
- secure the ECO subsidies (including for hard to treat properties and fuel poor customers) in line with applicable legislation and formalise this through a contract between the energy suppliers and the Delivery Partner;
- Support the delivery of other relevant measures that deliver sustainable outcomes in the properties concerned (including water efficiency);
- manage the delivery of the measures and ensure that all works and/or services are compliant with all legislation (including but not limited to) the Consumer Credit Act and the Energy Act 2011;
- manage the on-going maintenance of the measures to ensure on-going performance as required in the product warranties; and/or the signed Green Deal plans;
- (where relevant) manage the process receipt of Green Deal plan repayments from the energy suppliers;
- (where relevant) manage the receipt of identified payments from relevant third parties and repayment of the relevant amounts to SCC;
- collect payments relating to any measures not falling under the Green Deal;
- deliver social and economic benefits through targeted training and recruitment and grow the low carbon economy;
- (where relevant) provide a loans administration service;
- (where relevant) interfacing with any financing and/or loans administration vehicle established at a national level; and
- (where relevant) interfacing with the ECO brokerage platform; and
- evaluate, measure and monitor CO2 savings.
The Delivery Partner will be required to enter into contract with the relevant Contracting Authority to deliver substantially the same services listed above.
The Delivery Partner will also be required to work with SCC and any Contracting Authority (as the case may be) to evaluate the success of the Scheme prior to any Break Date and as SCC and/or a Contracting Authority may reasonably require to discharge statutory duties (including (but not limited to) complying with any Home Energy Conservation Act requirements).
Please note that all references to Southampton City Council below, excluding registration instructions, also include and apply to the parties named at section II.I.5 of this Contract Notice.
How to Express Interest in this Tender:
1. Register your company on the eSourcing portal (this is only required once) - Browse to the eSourcing Portal: http://southampton.gov.uk/supplysouthampton and click the link to register - Accept the User Agreement and click continue - Enter your correct business and user details - Note the username you chose and click Save when complete - You will shortly receive an email with your unique password (keep this secure)
2. Express an Interest in the tender - Login to the portal with the username/password - Click the PQQs Open To All Suppliers link. (These are Pre-Qualification Questionnaires open to any registered supplier) - Click on the relevantPQQ to access the content - Click the Express Interest button at the top of the page - This will move the PQQ into your My PQQs page. (This is a secure area reserved for your projects only) - You can now access any attachments by clicking the Settings and/or Buyer Attachments in the Actions box.
3. Responding to the tender - You can now choose to Create Response or Decline to Respond (please give a reason if rejecting) - You can now use the Messages function to communicate with the buyer and seek any clarification - Note the deadline for completion, then follow the onscreen instructions to complete the PQQ - There may be a mixture of online & offline actions for you to perform (there is detailed online help available) You must then publish your reply using the Submit Response button at the top of the page. If you require any further assistance please consult the online help, or contact the eTendering help desk.
Freedom of Information - Applicants are advised that SCC is subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 ('The Act'). If an applicant considers that any of the information supplied as part of this procurement procedure should not be disclosed because of its commercial sensitivity, confidentiality or otherwise, they must, when providing this information, clearly identify the specific information they do not wish to be disclosed, and clearly specify the reasons for its sensitivity.
SCC shall take such statements into consideration in the event that it receives a request pursuant to the Act which relates to the information provided by the interested party. Please note, it is not sufficient to include a statement of confidentiality encompassing all the information provided in the response. SCC shall not be responsible for any costs, charges or expenses incurred by applicants or tenderers, and accepts no liability for any costs, charges or expenses, irrespective of the outcome of the competition, or if the competition is cancelled or postponed.
Whilst every effort has been made to consider the full scope of the requirement, SCC does not guarantee the volume of supplies/services/works required resulting from this tender or that it will accept any tender on completion of the tender exercise.
SCC reserves the right not to award all or any part of this contract.
All dates and time periods specified in this notice are only provisional and SCC reserves the right to amend at its sole discretion.
When executing the contract within the United Kingdom, the successful supplier will be required to comply with the recommendations of the Code of Practice for Employment, published by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission.
Suppliers will also be required to comply with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
Further information on SCC's requirements on the aforementioned will be included in the invitation to tender documents.
The Contracting Authority may be subject to governmental codes of practice or guidance relating to a transparency agenda, including the policy of publishing contracts and all other documents relating to public procurement activity, e.g. The Code of Recommended Practice for Local Authorities on Data Transparency (September 2011).
Accordingly, and notwithstanding any other provision within this notice, it should be noted that the Contracting Authority will publish any documents relating to the procurement and subsequent contract award resulting from this notice (but with any information which is exempt from disclosure in accordance with the provisions of the FOIA redacted) in accordance with the aforementioned transparency agenda.
Expressions of interest must be by way of completion and return of a PQQ and an outline solution in response to the ISOS (in accordance with the instructions and requirements set out in the PQQ and associated tender documents) by the date and time specified in Section IV.3.4.
SCC reserves the right not to accept Variant Bids at the invitation to negotiate stage.
VI.3)Procedures for appeal
VI.3.1)Body responsible for appeal procedures
VI.3.2)Lodging of appeals
Precise information on deadline(s) for lodging appeals: In accordance with Regulation 32 (Information about contract award procedures), Regulation 32A (standstill period), Regulation 47 and Regulations 47D to 47N (inclusive) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 (as amended).
VI.3.3)Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained
VI.4)Date of dispatch of this notice:
18.12.2013