Hertfordshire County Council: The Provision of an Employee Assistance Programme

UK-Hertford: Guidance and counselling services.

Section I: Contracting Authority
   I.1)Name, Addresses and Contact Point(s):
      Hertfordshire County Council
      Hertfordshire County Council, Strategic Procurement Group, County Hall, Pegs Lane, Hertford, SG13 8DE, United Kingdom
      Tel. +44 1707292464, Fax. +44 1992588497, Email: chris.notley@hertfordshire.gov.uk, URL: http://hertscc.g2b.info, URL: http://supplyhertfordshire.g2b.info/hpf/ following the instructions given in VI.3 (Additional Information)
      Attn: Christine Notley

      Further information can be obtained at: As Above       
      Specifications and additional documents: As Above       
      Tenders or requests to participate must be sent to: As Above       
   
   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: No

Section II: Object Of The Contract: SERVICES
   II.1)Description
      II.1.1)Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority: The Provision of an Employee Assistance Programme
      II.1.2)Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performance: SERVICES         
         Service Category: 25

         Region Codes: UKH23 - Hertfordshire         
      II.1.3) Information about a public contract, a framework or a dynamic purchasing system:The notice involves a public contract                                                       
      
      II.1.5)Short description of the contract or purchase:
      Guidance and counselling services. Physical well-being services. Counselling services. Wellness services.
         
      II.1.6)Common Procurement Vocabulary:
         85312300 - Guidance and counselling services.
         
         98330000 - Physical well-being services.
         
         85312320 - Counselling services.
         
         98334000 - Wellness services.
         

      II.1.7) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA):
         The contract is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA): Not Provided      
      II.1.8)Lots:
         This contract is divided into lots: Not Provided
      II.1.9)Information about variants:
         Variants will be accepted: Not Provided   
   
   II.2)Quantity Or Scope Of The Contract
      II.2.1)Total quantity or scope:
      As part of the Council’s commitment to partnership working it is possible that during the contract period other local authorities or other public sector bodies within Hertfordshire may wish to utilise the service under this contract, together with 2 of the Council’s associated organisations Herts for Learning Ltd (HFL) and Hertfordshire Catering Limited (HCL). No fixed list of organisations is set out within the tender and no guarantee can be given as to the exact amount of business which may result from this tender exercise. However, the Contractor will be expected to provide the service to any local authority or other public sector body within the county of Hertfordshire that is authorised by the Council. Any organisation that utilises this contract shall do so under the terms and conditions of this contract.

This contract shall have a contract period of three (3) years with the option to extend on an annual basis for up to a maximum of a further two (2) years at the sole discretion of the Council. The estimated total value of the Contract stated below is for the core contract period and does not include the value of any extension period. Further details of the requirement are available on the following link: http://supplyhertfordshire.g2b.info/hpf/         
         Estimated value excluding VAT: 300,000
         Currency: GBP
                        
      
      II.2.2)Options: Not Provided         
         II.2.3)Information about renewals:
            This contract is subject to renewal: Not Provided         
   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:
      Not Provided
      
      III.1.2)Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions governing them:
      Not Provided
      
      III.1.3)Legal form to be taken by the group of economic operators to whom the contract is to be awarded:
      Not Provided
      
      III.1.4)Other particular conditions:
         The performance of the contract is subject to particular conditions: Not Provided      
   III.2)Conditions For Participation
      III.2.1)Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers:
      Not Provided      
      III.2.2)Economic and financial capacity
         Economic and financial capacity - means of proof required:         
         Not Provided
      
      III.2.3)Technical capacity
         Technical capacity - means of proof required         
         Not Provided      
      III.2.4)Information about reserved contracts: Not Provided   
   III.3)Conditions Specific To Service Contracts
      III.3.1)Information about a particular profession:
         Execution of the service is reserved to a particular profession: Not Provided      
      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: Not Provided
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:
                Not Provided
   
   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: HCC Contract Reference Number: HCC1407336. Tender Access Code: N8Y43B378M      
      IV.3.2)Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract: No

      IV.3.3)Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents or descriptive document:


         Not Provided      
      
      IV.3.4)Time-limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
         Date: 25/08/2014
         Time: 12:00      
      IV.3.5)Date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates: Not Provided      
      IV.3.6)Language(s) in which tenders or requests to participate may be drawn up:         English
         


Section VI: Complementary Information

   VI.1)This Is A Recurrent Procurement: Not Provided
   VI.2)Information about European Union funds:
      The contract is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: Not Provided      
   VI.3)Additional Information: The contracting authority considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement, and the contract will be awarded on the basis of the most economically advantageous tender.

PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY AS IT PROVIDES FULL INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO APPLY FOR THIS REQUIREMENT Hertfordshire County Council has moved to a new way of e-Tendering and worked closely with its Districts and Partners to create a joint procurement website called Supply Hertfordshire. This website is supported by BiP Solutions who provide a system called Delta which is the background platform to Supply Hertfordshire.The Pre-Qualification Process This tender is a two stage process and you will only be invited to tender if you have successfully passed through the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) stage. If you wish to be considered as a tenderer you must complete and submit a completed PQQ via 12 noon on Monday 25th August 2014. PQQs cannot be uploaded after the closing date/time.

Step 1: Registering with Supply Hertfordshire:
To participate in this tender you will need to go into http://supplyhertfordshire.g2b.info/hpf/ and register, thereafter you will be issued with a USERNAME and PASSWORD. (If you have already registered with Delta or Supply Hertfordshire, please follow the link above where you can log on using your existing username and password. If you have registered and have forgotten your Username and Password, please click on the forgotten password link below the log in box.) Please keep this USERNAME and PASSWORD secure, and do not pass it to any third parties.

Step 2: Completing your PQQ: To complete the PQQ for this Tender you will need to go into the Response Manager area and enter the Access Code N8Y43B378M . You will then need to download the relevant PQQ and complete. Any supporting documents should be cross-referenced to the relevant question and detailed in Appendix A of the PQQ. If the Council requires further information concerning your application form, your organisation will be contacted. However, please provide full details and answer all questions, as the Council reserves the right not to ask applicants for any further information or clarification.

Step 3: Uploading Your Completed PQQ Once you have completed your PQQ for this Tender exercise you must then “upload” your completed response into the Tenderbox (Access Code N8Y43B378M). Please make sure you have submitted your completed PQQ to the correct Access Code, the Council will not be held accountable for any errors made by a tenderer in submitting your completed PQQ. If you are experiencing problems, then please contact the Delta helpdesk via email at helpdesk@delta-esourcing.com or call 0845 270 7050 (option 4) Monday to Friday 8:30am – 5:30pm for further assistance.
To view this notice, please click here:
https://www.delta-esourcing.com/delta/viewNotice.html?noticeId=107026125
GO-2014723-PRO-5836321 TKR-2014723-PRO-5836320
   
   VI.4)Procedures For Appeal
      VI.4.1)Body responsible for appeal procedures:
      See VI.4.2

      Body responsible for mediation procedures:
               See VI.4.2

      VI.4.2)Lodging of appeals: Hertfordshire County Council will incorporate a minimum 10 calendar day standstill period at the point information on the award of the contract is communicated to tenderers to allow unsuccessful tenderers to raise any complaints before the contract is entered into.

If a complaint between the Council and the tenderer regarding the award of a contract has not been successfully resolved, relevant provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 (as amended) will apply. The aggrieved party is advised to seek independent legal advice in relation to remedies they can pursue under the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 (as amended).   
   
      VI.4.3)Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained:
            Not Provided

   VI.5) Date Of Dispatch Of This Notice: 23/07/2014

ANNEX A