2021-0223 Camden and Islington HIV Support Service

<p>Islington Council and Camden Council invite suitable expressions of interest from suppliers for the Camden and Islington HIV Support Service. Current status / Background Following a review of the current services, engagement with providers, prospective providers, stakeholders and service users we have re-designed the service, as set out in the specification. The feedback given throughout the coproduction process has been crucial to the development of the specification in which service users&rsquo; voices have been expressed throughout. The requirement This service will provide high quality HIV support to adults over the age of 18 who are living with or affected by an HIV diagnosis. The service will provide several areas of support including physical and mental health, and equip service users with the knowledge and tools to best manage their diagnosis, relationships and wellbeing. The &lsquo;Core Offer&rsquo; will be comprised of: &bull; Provision of support services covering physical and mental health, wellbeing, information and advice, training and knowledge and signposting. &bull; All services need to be accessible for a wide range of service users and include a combination of online and face-to-face service provision from accessible locations within the boroughs of Camden and Islington. The demands for the service will require a wide range of skills so bidders may wish to form consortia/lead provider models to address this. The Council encourages all types of organisation who meet the qualitative selection criteria including Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) organisations, Social Enterprises or not for profit enterprises, and small to medium enterprises (SME) to tender. The service will work jointly with Camden and Islington Councils, local Voluntary Community Sector services and health partners to provide support to service users. All prospective providers bidders must have experience of providing support services to people living with or affected by an HIV diagnosis. All prospective providers bidding should evidence they can, and will: &bull; Offer one-to-one and group level support for service users with identified needs. &bull; Provide a safe and welcoming environment, free from stigma. &bull; Provide timely access to the service with options for signposting when necessary. &bull; Maintain a stable staffing structure in order to fulfil contractual obligations. &bull; Embed service user feedback and coproduction into service delivery. &bull; Effectively manage partnerships with community based services. Lots This contract will not be divided into lots but parts of the core offer could be delivered in partnership between providers. The service will deliver a HIV Support Service to adults from Camden and Islington, living with and affected by a HIV diagnosis. TUPE [Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations] Potential providers must be aware that TUPE may or may not apply to this service. Further details will be available in the invitation to tender. Contract Period The contract period will be for 36 months from an estimated start date 1 April 2022 with the option to extend for two (2) periods of up to twelve (12) months each (total 60 months). Contract Value The estimated total value of this contract is &pound;825,200 over the maximum 60 months term of the contract. This is based on a value of &pound;165,040 per annum. The contract value covers an equitable service across both boroughs. Award criteria The contract will be awarded to the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations. MEAT for this contract is quality 70% and cost 30%. Further details will be provided in the invitation to tender. Cost 30% Quality 70% Quality made up of: Proposed approach to social value 20% Proposed approach to service user engagement/coproduction 15% Proposed approach to partnership working 15% Proposed approach to service aim and outcomes 10% Proposed approach to the service model and implementation 10% Total 100% Tenderers should be aware that we reserve the right to hold site visits and presentations during the tender process. Site visits and/or presentations and/or interviews will be for verification/clarification purposes of the written submission. We reserve the right to interview leading bidders. Procurement Process This procurement is being conducted in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. The procurement is subject to the light-touch regime under Section 7 Social and Other Specific Services. Under Regulation 76 the Council is free to establish a procedure, provided that procedure is sufficient to ensure compliance with the principles of transparency and equal treatment of economic operators (service providers). All economic operators (service providers) who successfully express an interest will automatically be invited to tender and have access to the tender documents. I) Invitation to Tender - Parts 1 &ndash; 3 &bull; Initial evaluation of responses will include assessment of capacity, capability and minimum requirements to deliver the contract. &bull; Only those who meet the minimum requirements following the assessment of the information provided will have their initial tender evaluated. II) Invitation to Tender - Part 4 - Method Statements and Pricing Schedule &bull; Economic operators (service providers) who submit a tender and meet the minimum requirements for Part 4 Method Statements will have a financial analysis of the pricing schedule. &bull; The council reserves the right to award the contract based on initial tenders. &bull; The council reserves the right to enter into negotiations with all Economic operators (service providers) that meet the minimum requirements. III) Negotiation (if required) &bull; The evaluation panel will negotiate with economic operators (service providers) regarding elements of the initial Method Statements submitted in order to improve the qualitative element of the proposal. &bull; The minimum requirements and award criteria shall not be subject to negotiation. &bull; During negotiations the evaluation panel will ensure equal treatment of all tenderers and will not provide information in a discriminatory manner which may give any tenderer an advantage over any other. &bull; There will be no negotiation on the pricing schedule. However, economic operators (service providers) will be permitted to revise their pricing schedule in the final call for tenders in order to reflect the revised proposal. IV) Final call for tender &bull; No further negotiations will take place once final tenders have been received.&nbsp;</p>
<p>We reserve the right to award the contract on the basis of initial tenders without negotiation where this offers value for money in the opinion of the councils. We reserve the right to not award the contract if it does not offer value for money.</p>