HMRC: 15-PSCR-1072-European Fast Stream Foreign Language Development-OJEU-Open

UK-Manchester: Education and training services.

Section I: Contracting Authority
   I.1)Name, Addresses and Contact Point(s):
      HM Revenue & Customs
      5th Floor West, Ralli Quays, 3 Stanley Street, Salford, Manchester, M60 9LA, United Kingdom
      Tel. +44 3000587701, Fax. +44 1618270270, Email: james.gadsby@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk, URL: www.hmrc.gov.uk
      Contact: Please refer to section VI.3 (Additional Information) which clarifies the procedure regarding access to submission of tender documentation, Attn: James Gadsby

      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:
      Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local sub-divisions

   I.3) Main activity:
      Other: Direct and Indirect Taxes

   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: 15-PSCR-1072-European Fast Stream Foreign Language Development-OJEU-Open
      II.1.2)Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performance: SERVICES         
         Service Category: 24

         Region Codes: UK - UNITED KINGDOM         
      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:
      Education and training services. Coaching services. Higher education services. Adult-education services at university level. Training services. Specialist training services. The service requirement is for language training to prepare members of the UK Civil Service European Fast Stream (EFS) for the technical and language requirements of the annual Graduate entry (AD5/7) competition (the "concours") for permanent employment in the European Union institutions and to assist with the development of an effectively bilingual cohort of EU experts across the Civil Service.
         
      II.1.6)Common Procurement Vocabulary:
         80000000 - Education and training services.
         
         79998000 - Coaching services.
         
         80300000 - Higher education services.
         
         80430000 - Adult-education services at university level.
         
         80500000 - Training services.
         
         80510000 - Specialist training services.
         

      II.1.7) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA):
         The contract is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA): Yes       
      II.1.8)Lots:
         This contract is divided into lots: No
      II.1.9)Information about variants:
         Variants will be accepted: Yes    
   
   II.2)Quantity Or Scope Of The Contract
      II.2.1)Total quantity or scope:
      Estimated value range includes initial 36 month contract term plus potential separate extensions of 12 months, making 48 months in total.                  
         Estimated value excluding VAT:
         Range between: 400,000 and 600,000
         Currency: GBP
               
      
      II.2.2)Options: Yes
         If yes, description of these options: A single extension period of 12 months       
      If known, Provisional timetable for recourse to these options:
                  
         Duration in months: 36 (from the award of the contract)
                            
         II.2.3)Information about renewals:
            This contract is subject to renewal: Yes
                  
         Number of possible renewals: 1
                           
      If known, in the case of renewable supplies or service contracts, estimated time-frame for subsequent contracts:
         Duration in months: 12
         
   II.3)Duration Of The Contract Or Time-Limit For Completion      
         Duration in months: 36 (from the award of the contract)

   Information About Lots
               
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:
      HMRC operates an Enterprise Resource Planning (electronic trading/ordering) system and has a PurchaseOrder Mandatory Policy. Successful tenderers will be required to provide information so that they can be adopted onto the system. Payment will be made by BACS within 30 days of receipt of a valid invoice.
      
      III.1.3)Legal form to be taken by the group of economic operators to whom the contract is to be awarded:
      Joint and several liability. No special legal form is required, but each supplier will be required to become jointlyand severally liable for the contract before acceptance.
      
      III.1.4)Other particular conditions:
         The performance of the contract is subject to particular conditions:Yes       
      If Yes, description of particular conditions:
      Any contract or framework agreement awarded will be subject to theAuthority's Conditions of Contract.      
   III.2)Conditions For Participation
      III.2.1)Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers:

      As stated in Section VI.3),HMRC is using an e-sourcing (eTendering) tool or application for this procurement. Tenders will normally not be fully considered or evaluated unless Tenderers have first demonstrated that they have the necessary personal standing and are eligible and suitable to be awarded a public contract. Tenderers will therefore be required to provide a statement within an online 'selection questionnaire' as to whether any of the circumstances (relating to mandatory and discretionary grounds for exclusion) described in Regulation 23 of the Public ContractsRegulations 2006 apply. Revenue compliance will be considered and checks will be undertaken throughout the tendering exercise, using, as applicable, information from HMRC's own records. UK applicants will be required to provide their tax reference numbers: i.e. Value Added Tax registration number, PAYE collection reference and Corporation Tax or Self-Assessment reference, as applicable. Overseas or non-UK Tenderers will be required to submit a certificate of tax compliance obtained from the country in which they are resident for tax purposes.If a company is a subsidiary, a member of a group or a consortium, the above details may also be required in respect of the parent company, other group members or each consortium member as appropriate. Information may also be required in respect of sub-contractors who will prospectively be performing core or major elements of the requirement.      
      III.2.2)Economic and financial capacity
         Economic and financial capacity - means of proof required:         
         
         Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if requirements are met:
         As stated in Section VI.3), HMRC is using an e-sourcing (eTendering) tool or application for this procurement.Tenders will normally not be fully considered or evaluated unless Tenderers have first demonstrated via an online 'selection questionnaire' that they have the necessary economic or financial capacity to perform the contract. Actual requirements will vary depending on the particular requirement or contractual opportunity, but, as a minimum, the questionnaire will request the following information:
1) audited accounts (to include balance sheet and statement of profit and loss) and/or similar financialstatements or information;
2) statement of turnover in respect of the required goods and/or service only; and
3) details of Public Liability and Employers Liability Insurance (as applicable) and other relevant insurances.
If a company is a subsidiary, a member of a group or a consortium, the above details may also be required in respect of the parent company, other group members or each consortium member as appropriate.
      
      III.2.3)Technical capacity
         Technical capacity - means of proof required         
         
         Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if requirements are met:
         As stated in Section VI.3, HMRC is using an e-sourcing (eTendering) tool or application for this procurement. Tenders will normally not be fully considered or evaluated unless Tenderers have first demonstrated via an online “selection questionnaire” that they have the necessary technical capacity to perform the contract. Actual requirements will vary depending on the particular requirement or contractual opportunity, but, as a minimum, the questionnaire will request the following information: 1) details of the principal business areas(s) in which the company is engaged and its structure, site locations and facilities; 2) evidence of previous relevant experience in the last 3 years, demonstrating capacity and ability to provide the required goods and/or services, inclusive of dates, size/value of contract and customer address/contact names for reference purposes; 3) details of quality systems in place, including (if applicable) details and copy certification relating to formal accreditation held, such as BS, ISO or equivalent; 4) information relating to compliance with Health & Safety, Equalities and Environmental legislation; and 5) a list of professional associations or trade bodies to which the organisation or individuals in the organisation belong. If a company is a subsidiary, a member of a group or a consortium, the above details may also be required in respect of the parent company, other group members or each consortium member as appropriate.         
         Minimum Level(s) of standards possibly required:
         Demonstration of expert knowledge of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment (CEFR)      
      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: No
Section IV: Procedure
   IV.1)Type Of Procedure
      IV.1.1)Type of procedure: Open
   
   IV.2)Award Criteria
      IV.2.1)Award criteria:      
         Lowest price

      IV.2.2)Information about electronic auction:
         An electronic auction will be used: Yes       
            If yes, additional information about electronic auction
            HMRC reserves the right to use an electronic auction.

   IV.3)Administrative Information
      IV.3.1)File reference number attributed by the contracting authority: 15-PSCR-1072-European Fast Stream Foreign Language Development-OJEU-Open      
      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: 26/08/2015
         Time: 17:00      
      IV.3.6)Language(s) in which tenders or requests to participate may be drawn up:         English
         
      IV.3.7)Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender
         Duration in month(s): 3
      
      IV.3.8)Conditions for opening tenders
         Persons authorised to be present at the opening of tenders: Yes
            HMRC will be using an e-sourcing(e-tendering) tool/application for this procurement. This prevents any information provided by the applicant or tenderer from being viewed by the Authority until the e-sourcing event is closed. The e-sourcing (e-tendering) application will display the closing date and time for this particular tendering exercise within the event. The close time will be the earliest point at which the HMRC nominated or a tender defined evaluation team member will be able to open and view the tender responses. Therefore, the opening time for tenders will coincide with the close date and time for the event and all tenders will become visible to the HMRC nominated or event defined tender evaluation team in any place that provides access to the e-sourcing tool/application at that time.


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. HMRC is conducting this tendering exercise under the OJEU Open procedure and is using an eSourcing (eTendering) tool or application. (Information about the e-Sourcing application, and about supplying to HMRC in general, is available on the HMRC website: www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/supplying.htm) Economic operators who require access to the online tender documentation must send an e-mail to e.procurement@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk anytime up to, but no later than 17:00 on 20.8.2015. This email should contain:
(a) the contract reference shown in Section IV.3.1) (File Reference);
(b) a contact email address;
(c) a contact name; and
(d) the company name and contact telephone number.
Economic operators who have complied with the foregoing will receive details of how to access the online Tender documentation. (If an e-mail response from HMRC is not received within one working day of your request, re-contact e.procurement@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk (after first checking your spam in-box) notifying non-receipt and confirming when the request was first made). Online Tender documentation must be fully completed (and any requested associated hard-copy documents received by HMRC) no later than 17:00 on 27.8.2015. Tender documentation not submitted in the required form (or containing the requested information) may be rejected. (When requesting access to the online Tender documentation, please notify the Authority if you have any accessibility issues (disabilities) which may prevent you from providing a high quality response using the eSourcing application. This will then allow HMRC to agree with you an appropriate format for you to view and respond to the requirements). Please note that Schedule A Specification forms part of the Draft Contract attached to the eSourcing tool in the RFx attachments section. All communications shall be in English. Tenders, when invited, and all supporting documentation must be priced in Sterling and all payments under the contract will be in Sterling. Any contractor agreement resulting from the Invitation to Tender will be considered as a contract made in England according to English Law and subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts. The Awarding Authority does not bind itself to accept any tender and reserves the right to accept any part of the tender unless the tenderer expressly stipulates to the contrary. Please note the requirements regarding clarification questions contained in the Instructions to Tenderers, part of the online tender documentation. Please note that the 5% weighting relating to Technical Merit - Security and Business Continuity and Social, Environmental and Innovative Characteristics is split equally across two sections of the tender, so 2.5% for Technical Merit - Security and Business Continuity and 2.5% for Social, Environmental and Innovative Characteristics
To view this notice, please click here:
https://www.delta-esourcing.com/delta/viewNotice.html?noticeId=152712330
GO-2015727-PRO-6849238 TKR-2015727-PRO-6849237
   
   VI.4)Procedures For Appeal
      VI.4.1)Body responsible for appeal procedures:
      See VI.4.2)

      VI.4.2)Lodging of appeals: HMRC will incorporate a minimum 10 calendar day standstill period at the time the award of the contract is communicated to tenderers. This period allows unsuccessful tenderers to seek further debriefing from the contracting authority before the contract is enteredinto. Such additional information should be requested from the address at I.1). Where a contract has not been entered into, the Court may order the setting aside of the award decision or order the Authority to amendany document and may award damages. If the contract has been entered into, the Court may only award damages.   
   
      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: 27/07/2015

ANNEX A