Nursing and Midwifery Council: Nursing and Midwifery Council Legal Services

UK-London: Legal services.

Section I: Contracting Authority
   I.1)Name, Addresses and Contact Point(s):
      Nursing and Midwifery Council
      23 Portland Place, London, W1B 1PZ, United Kingdom
      Tel. +44 2076815941, Email: Julia.Zhang@nmc-uk.org, URL: www.nmc-uk.org
      Contact: Procurement Department, Attn: Procurement Manager
      Electronic Access URL: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/
      Electronic Submission URL: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/

      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:
      Other: Professional Health Regulator

   I.3) Main activity:
      Health

   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: Nursing and Midwifery Council Legal Services
      II.1.2)Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performance: SERVICES         
         Service Category: 21
         
      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:
      Legal services. Legal advisory services. Legal advisory and information services. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the independent regulator of nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom.The NMC is established and governed by the Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001. It is a charity registered in England and Wales (number 1091434) and in Scotland (number SC038362).The NMC’s charitable objective is to safeguard the health and wellbeing of patients and the public. Its regulatory functions are to:•set and maintain standards of education, training, conduct and performance for nurses and midwives;•maintain a register of nurses and midwives who are permitted to practise in the United Kingdom;•take action where a nurse’s or midwife’s fitness to practise is called into question.The NMC is funded by registration fees paid by nurses and midwives and has an annual turnover of around £65 million. It employs around 600 staff at four locations, three in London and one in Edinburgh.The NMC wishes to appoint providers of legal services for one or more of the following Lots and bidders may bid for one or both Lots.Lot 1 - Regulatory legal servicesLot 2 - General legal servicesThe NMC is intending through this procurement process to enter into contracts with up to 2 firms per Lot, which shall together constitute its panel for the provision of legal services. The NMC does not commit to exclusive use of the resulting panel, but anticipates that the panel will be used for the majority of its external legal services requirements.Work will be allocated to each appointed panel firm by the instructing officer at the NMC depending on the nature of NMC’s requirements and the capabilities of and value offered by the relevant firms. The NMC will not commit to any minimum spend with each panel firm. If your organisation bids for both Lots, please make sure that you complete a questionnaire for each Lot. The answers to the Generic Questions should be the same for BOTH Lots. Please read PQQ Guidance document carefully before you respond to the PQQ. Bidders must: •Complete all questions in the online questionnaire in plain English.•If any of the questions do not apply to your company, please mark them as N/A.•If you do not know the answer please mark as Not known.Please be advised where a maximum word count is requested, please do not exceed the required limit and provide a word count for the answer.
         
      II.1.6)Common Procurement Vocabulary:
         79100000 - Legal services.
         
         79111000 - Legal advisory services.
         
         79140000 - Legal advisory and information services.
         

      II.1.7) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA):
         The contract is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA): No       
      II.1.8)Lots:
         This contract is divided into lots: Yes          
         If yes, tenders should be submitted for: One or more lots

      II.1.9)Information about variants:
         Variants will be accepted: No    
   
   II.2)Quantity Or Scope Of The Contract
      II.2.1)Total quantity or scope:
      The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the independent regulator of nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom.The NMC is established and governed by the Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001. It is a charity registered in England and Wales (number 1091434) and in Scotland (number SC038362).The NMC’s charitable objective is to safeguard the health and wellbeing of patients and the public. Its regulatory functions are to:•set and maintain standards of education, training, conduct and performance for nurses and midwives;•maintain a register of nurses and midwives who are permitted to practise in the United Kingdom;•take action where a nurse’s or midwife’s fitness to practise is called into question.The NMC is funded by registration fees paid by nurses and midwives and has an annual turnover of around £65 million. It employs around 600 staff at four locations, three in London and one in Edinburgh.The NMC wishes to appoint providers of legal services for one or more of the following Lots and bidders may bid for one or both Lots.Lot 1 - Regulatory legal servicesLot 2 - General legal services                  
         Estimated value excluding VAT:
         Range between: 1,000,000 and 3,000,000
         Currency: GBP
               
      
      II.2.2)Options: No          
         II.2.3)Information about renewals:
            This contract is subject to renewal: No          
   II.3)Duration Of The Contract Or Time-Limit For Completion      
         Duration in months: 60 (from the award of the contract)

   Information About Lots
            
      Lot No: 1
      Title: Lot 1 – Regulatory Legal Services

      1)Short Description:      
      Typical subject matters in relation to which the NMC may require regulatory legal advice and services include:Corporate governance:a.Constitutional and governance matters, including vires;b.Charity law;c.Trustee’s duties.Legislative changes:a.Drafting new and amended legislation in accordance with Parliamentary templates and procedures;b.New UK and EU legislation impacting on the NMC;c.Liaison with government solicitors.Regulatory functions:a.Advice regarding the conduct of applications and cases under the NMC’s legislation;b.Regulatory case law;c.Interpretation and application of the NMC’s legislation;d.Human rights, equality, and privacy legislation, in relation to regulatory functions;e.Compliance with EU legislation.Ad hoc litigation services:The NMC has an in house regulatory legal team that is responsible for the conduct of fitness to practise cases and any litigation arising from them. Ad hoc litigation services may be required from time to time, specifically:a.Judicial reviews;b.County Court, High Court, and Sheriff’s Court registration and fitness to practise appeals;c.Public inquiries;d.Equality Act 2010 claims.The NMC reserves the right to allocate ad hoc litigation services outside of this contract, including to other suppliers.

      2)Common Procurement Vocabulary:
         79100000 - Legal services.
         
      3)Quantity Or Scope: Not Provided
               
      4)Indication About Different Date For Start Of Award Procedures And/Or Duration Of The Contract Not Provided
                        
                  
         5)Additional Information About Lots: Not Provided
               
      Lot No: 2
      Title: Lot 2 – General Legal Services

      1)Short Description:      
      Typical subject matters on which the NMC may require general legal advice include:Property and estatesa.Acquisitions and disposals;b.Leases, licences, and conveyancing;c.Environmental and planning.Employment and pensionsa.Employment law;b.Equal opportunities;c.TUPE;d.Pensions;e.Health and safety;f.Organizational change / change management;g.Outsourcing / contracting out;Corporate, finance, and commerciala.Public procurement (including IT and telecoms procurement)b.Sale and acquisition of services;c.Banking and insurance;d.Investment management.Information governance:a.Freedom of information;b.Data protection.Litigation:a.Personal injury;b.Employment litigation;c.Other civil litigation (such as property disputes or commercial disputes).

      2)Common Procurement Vocabulary:
         79100000 - Legal services.
         
      3)Quantity Or Scope: Not Provided
               
      4)Indication About Different Date For Start Of Award Procedures And/Or Duration Of The Contract Not Provided
                        
                  
         5)Additional Information About Lots: Not Provided
                  
Section III: Legal, Economic, Financial And Technical Information
   III.1)Conditions relating to the contract
      III.1.1)Deposits and guarantees required:
      If it is considered appropriate by the authority, an indemnity, guarantee, bond or other form of appropriate security may be required.
      
      III.1.2)Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions governing them:
      Payments to suppliers will be paid in installments at key dates agreed between the contractual parties linked to satisfactory delivery and performance of that stage of the contract. Payment will be made 30 days from receipt of a correct and authorised and agreed invoice submitted by the supplier.
      
      III.1.3)Legal form to be taken by the group of economic operators to whom the contract is to be awarded:
      The Authority reserves the right to require groupings of economic operators to take a particular legal form or to require a single economic operator to take primary liability for a contract to be performed by a group of economic operators or to require each party to undertake joint and several liability in respect of the entire contract irrespective of the form the grouping takes
      
      III.1.4)Other particular conditions:
         The 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 registers:
         The Authority will apply all the offences listed in Article 45(1) of Directive 2004/18/EC (implemented as Regulation 23(1) of the Public Contract Regulations (PCR) 2006 in the UK) and all of the professional misconducts listed at Article 45(2) of Directive 2004/18/EC (see also Regulation 23(2) in the PCR 2006) to the decision of whether a Candidate is eligible to be invited to tender.
         
         A full list of these criteria are at http://www.delta-esourcing.com/delta/project/reasonsForExclusion.html#pcr
         
         Candidates will be required to answer these questions as part of the qualification process. For candidates who are registered overseas, you will need to declare if you have any offences/misconduct under your own countries laws, where these laws are equivalent to the Regulation 23 lists. Candidates who have been convicted of any of the offences under Article 45(1) are ineligible and will not be selected to bid, unless there are overriding requirements in the general interest for doing so. Candidates who are guilty of any of the offences, circumstances or misconduct under Article 45(2) may be excluded from being selected to bid at the discretion of the Authority.

      In accordance with Articles 45 and 46 of Directive 2004/18/EC and Regulation 23 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006, as set out in the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire available from the address in section I.1      
      III.2.2)Economic and financial capacity
         Economic and financial capacity - means of proof required:         
         (a) appropriate statements from banks or, where appropriate, evidence of relevant professional risk indemnity insurance;
         (b) the presentation of balance-sheets or extracts from the balance-sheets, where publication of the balance-sheet is required under the law of the country in which the economic operator is established;
         (c) a statement of the undertaking's overall turnover and, where appropriate, of turnover in the area covered by the contract for a maximum of the last three financial years available, depending on the date on which the undertaking was set up or the economic operator started trading, as far as the information on these turnovers is available.
         
         Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if requirements are met:
         In accordance with Article 47 of Directive 2004/18/EC and Regulation 24 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006, as set out in the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire available from the address specified in Section I.1.”         
         Minimum Level(s) of standards possibly required:
         As set out in the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire
      
      III.2.3)Technical capacity
         Technical capacity - means of proof required         
         (a) a list of the works carried out over the past five years, accompanied by certificates of satisfactory execution for the most important works. These certificates shall indicate the value, date and site of the works and shall specify whether they were carried out according to the rules of the trade and properly completed. Where appropriate, the competent authority shall submit these certificates to the contracting authority direct;
         (b) a list of the principal deliveries effected or the main services provided in the past three years, with the sums, dates and recipients, whether public or private, involved. Evidence of delivery and services provided shall be given: - where the recipient was a contracting authority, in the form of certificates issued or countersigned by the competent authority, - where the recipient was a private purchaser, by the purchaser's certification or, failing this, simply by a declaration by the economic operator;
         (c) an indication of the technicians or technical bodies involved, whether or not belonging directly to the economic operator's undertaking, especially those responsible for quality control and, in the case of public works contracts, those upon whom the contractor can call in order to carry out the work;
         (d) a description of the technical facilities and measures used by the supplier or service provider for ensuring quality and the undertaking's study and research facilities;
         (e) where the products or services to be supplied are complex or, exceptionally, are required for a special purpose, a check carried out by the contracting authorities or on their behalf by a competent official body of the country in which the supplier or service provider is established, subject to that body's agreement, on the production capacities of the supplier or the technical capacity of the service provider and, if necessary, on the means of study and research which are available to it and the quality control measures it will operate;
         (f) the educational and professional qualifications of the service provider or contractor and/or those of the undertaking's managerial staff and, in particular, those of the person or persons responsible for providing the services or managing the work;
         (g) for public works contracts and public services contracts, and only in appropriate cases, an indication of the environmental management measures that the economic operator will be able to apply when performing the contract;
         (h) a statement of the average annual manpower of the service provider or contractor and the number of managerial staff for the last three years;
         (i) a statement of the tools, plant or technical equipment available to the service provider or contractor for carrying out the contract;
         (j) an indication of the proportion of the contract which the services provider intends possibly to subcontract;
         
         Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if requirements are met:
         In accordance with Article 48 of Directive 2004/18/EC and Regulation 25 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006, as set out in the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire.         
         Minimum Level(s) of standards possibly required:
         As set out in the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire      
      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: No       
      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: Yes
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:
                        Envisaged minimum number: 1 and maximum number: 6   
   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: RT344      
      IV.3.2)Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract: No

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



         Payable documents: No       
      
      IV.3.4)Time-limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
         Date: 13/10/2014
         Time: 13:00      
      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: No
   VI.2)Information about European Union funds:
      The contract is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No       
   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.To receive the PQQ, bidders must register on Delta eSourcing portal. Bidders must login and complete the questionnaire online (https://www.delta-esourcing.com/).To respond to Lot 1 - Regulatory legal services, please click here: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/8A8WZ93673;To respond to Lot 2 - General legal services, please click here: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/588SZ7493M
To view this notice, please click here:
https://www.delta-esourcing.com/delta/viewNotice.html?noticeId=111933991
GO-2014912-PRO-5999691 TKR-2014912-PRO-5999690
   
   VI.4)Procedures For Appeal
      VI.4.1)Body responsible for appeal procedures:
      Nursing and Midwifery Council
      23 Portland Place, London, W1B 1PZ, United Kingdom
      Tel. +44 2076815941

      Body responsible for mediation procedures:
               Nursing and Midwifery Council
         23 Portland Place, London, W1B 1PZ, United Kingdom
         Tel. +44 2076815941

      VI.4.2)Lodging of appeals: Not Provided   
   
      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: 12/09/2014

ANNEX A