- Features
- The procurement will consist of the following stages:
Stage 1 – Procurement Specific Questionnaire
Bidders must complete and submit the Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) – deadline for submission is 12.00 noon on 15/06/2026.
The PSQ sets out the conditions of participation for this procurement and will consist of:
•Pass/fail questions
•Information only questions
•Scored questions
The PSQ will used to determine each Bidder’s eligibility and suitability to perform the Contract for each Lot.
The top 4 scoring Bidders for each Lot in Stage 1 will be shortlisted to Stage 2 Invitation to Tender.
Stage 2 – Invitation to Tender Stage
The Invitation to Tender (ITT) Stage will be used to evaluate each Bidders detailed proposal to deliver the Contract for each Lot and will consist of:
•Quality evaluation
•Pricing evaluation
Only short listed Bidders are required to complete and submit the ITT document. The ITT document is made available at the PSQ stage for information only and to enable Bidders to gain an understanding of the ITT process should they be short listed.
Please do not complete or submit the ITT document at the PSQ stage.
Stage 3- Formation of Contract
YH has not issued conditions of contract with the tender documents. Instead, Bidders are requested to include their suggested contract terms with their Tenders. These terms should represent a proportionate and balanced approach to the respective contractual risk positions of the Parties. As a minimum, the contract terms must satisfy the following:
•should not contain any terms which would result in either party being in breach of any legal requirements;
•should be coherent and not contain major errors or omissions; and
•should be consistent with the Bidder’s proposals for the delivery of the Services and the relevant Systems.
YH would expect to see all contract terms reflecting a fair balance of risk between the parties. In particular it would expect the following key terms to be included and in a way which apportions risk appropriately between the Parties:
•Scope of services – defining what the Bidder is required to deliver, including software development, system integration, maintenance and support. The scope should provide a clear baseline for disputes about deliverables and should prevent scope creep.
•Service Level Agreements - performance standards should be measurable and cover key areas such as system uptime, response times and resolution times for incidents. They should include clear remedies such as service credits which form a sufficient incentive for good performance.
•Payment provisions - clear fee structure (fixed price, time and materials, schedule of rates), invoicing schedules, payment periods, and consequences of late payment (e.g., interest under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998).
•Intellectual property clause covering who owns the IP created during the contract, including software, code, databases, and documentation. Key issues would include whether IP vests in YH or the Bidder, and whether background IP licences are granted.
•Data protection and security – terms must address compliance with UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018, security obligations, breach notification requirements and restrictions on transfer of data outside the UK.
•Confidentiality – covering definition of what is confidential, what is commercially sensitive, obligations on the receiving party and permitted disclosures.
•Limitation of liability - any caps upon each party's financial exposure, whether by reference to fees paid under the contract or any other measures, should be proportionate to the value of the contract whilst incentivising good performance. Exclusion of certain losses may be provided for (e.g., indirect or consequential loss) but must be clearly defined and which liabilities are carved out from the cap altogether (e.g., death, personal injury, fraud, IP infringement.
•Change control – A change control procedure must set out how changes to the scope, timeline, or price are agreed, documented, and authorised.
•Termination and consequences of termination, including exit and transition provisions.
The submission of contract terms is not scored as part of the tender evaluation. Following evaluation of the Bidders’ tenders, a provisional Preferred Bidder will be selected by YH on the basis of the scored evaluation criteria.
Notwithstanding the selection of a provisional Preferred Bidder, YH does not commit to accept all or any of the contract terms put forward by that Bidder and until contract terms have been agreed there shall be no award of contract. YH reserves the right to enter into a period of dialogue with the provisional Preferred Bidder following the evaluation, so that an acceptable contractual risk position can be reached between the parties. YH will provide the provisional Preferred Bidder with an assessment of its proposed contract terms, indicating the areas which are unacceptable to YH and which need to be the subject of further dialogue.
The provisional Preferred Bidder shall not introduce new or altered terms of contract at this stage in the process. This process of finalising the terms shall not have the effect of materially modifying essential aspects of the tender or of the procurement and must not risk distorting competition.
Following agreement of terms, YH will confirm the position of Preferred Bidder and will issue assessment summaries to each Bidder which submitted an assessed tender and the contract award notice.
If terms cannot be agreed between YH and the Preferred Bidder, YH reserves the right to open dialogue with the next highest scoring Bidder.