- Features
- Stage 1: Conditions of Participation
1.1 Stage 1 commenced with the issuing of aTender Notice and the publication of theprocurement documents relating to thisCompetition.
1.2 The procurement documents include aProcurement Specific Questionnaire which allBidders are required to complete and return inaccordance with paragraph 4.7 (timetable for thecompetition) of Volume 1 of the ITT documentationand the instructions within this Invitation.
1.3 Bidders that wish to participate in thisCompetition are responsible for ensuring that theCentral Digital Platform contains complete,accurate and up-to-date information in accordancewith the relevant requirements set out in theProcurement Regulations 2024. Bidders must notifythe Authority immediately if they are unable toand/or provide accurate and up-to-date informationvia the Central Digital Platform.
1.4 As part of Stage 1, Bidders must submit acompleted Financial Viability Risk Assessment Tool(FVRAT). In addition, and in accordance withparagraph 4.3.4 of this Volume 1, it is the Bidder'sresponsibility throughout the Competition to disclose to The Authority any change incircumstances which results in a change to theclassification of the Bidder's baseline riskassessment, such as a degradation of balancesheet, cash flow, or structural stability, asestablished in the FVRAT and submitted as part ofthe Bidder's response to the PSQ. If a change incircumstances occurs, Bidders are required tosubmit a completed updated FVRAT template to theAuthority within five (5) working days. The Authoritywill only provide responses to ClarificationQuestions (CQs) relating to the PSQ and COPduring the period set out in 4.7 (timetable for thecompetition) of Volume 1 of the ITT documentation.
1.5 The Authority will use this stage to confirm thatneither the Bidder, nor any connected persons, (asdefined within paragraph 45 of Schedule 6 of theAct), associated persons relied on to meet theConditions of Participation, or intended sub-contractors are on the Cabinet Office debarmentlist. To the extent that any such entities are includedon the debarment list by virtue of a mandatoryexclusion ground, the Authority will exclude theBidder from participating in the Competition inaccordance with its obligations under the Act.
1.6 In addition, the Authority will consider whetherany Bidder (including its connected persons),associated persons relied on to meet theConditions of Participation, or intended sub-contractors are "excluded" or "excludable" withinthe meaning of section 57 of the Act. Beforedetermining whether a Bidder is excluded orexcludable, the Authority will provide the Bidderreasonable opportunity to make representationsand provide evidence to demonstrate whether theexclusion grounds apply If the Bidder is excluded orexcludable only by virtue of an associated personor intended sub-contractor, the Authority will notifythe Bidder of its intention to exclude the Bidder andprovide reasonable opportunity to replace theassociated person or sub-contractor. If, as aconsequence of this process, the Authorityexcludes the Bidder from participating in theCompetition or is aware of an associated person orsub-contract having been replaced, it will givenotice within 30 days of its decision to the
Procurement Review Unit (PRU) in accordance withsection 59 of the Act.
1.7 The Authority will undertake a review of thecompleted PSQs received from Bidders, byreference to information held on the Central DigitalPlatform. Responses to the PSQ will be assessedin accordance with the corresponding evaluationmethodology as described in more detail in the PSQ.
1.8 Stage 1 will conclude with Bidders beingnotified in writing of whether or not they have beensuccessfully shortlisted to participate in Stage 2 ofthe Competition.
1.9 Any Bidders not invited to Stage 2 will beprovided with a written explanation of the reasonswhy they have not been shortlisted.
1.10 In the event of a change in circumstancesduring the Competition that has (or could have)affected the information submitted previously in aBidder's response to the PSQ, the Bidder mustinform the Authority promptly of such changes andthe Authority reserves the right to re-assess anyresponse to the PSQ accordingly.
1.11 Bidders are required to make declarations aspart of Stage 1 which will continue to have effectthroughout the Competition. In accordance withRegulation 6 of the Procurement Regulations 2024,the Authority will obtain confirmation from theBidders that any updated or corrected core supplierinformation has been shared with the Authority andhas also been uploaded to the Central DigitalPlatform.
1.12 The Authority reserves the right to adjust theproposed weightings assigned to each evaluationquestion, and their associated cost elements aspart of the PQP calculation, prior to thecommencement of Stage 2. In particular, Digital,Over-Heads and Pass-through costs are currentlybeing reviewed for this Competition but will still formpart of the evaluation and will be considered whenassessing bid price against the AffordabilityThreshold. Volume 2 and related documents,including but limited to Annexes Q - Financial Response Template, Annex R - Cost AssumptionsQuestionnaire and Annex S - Financial ResponseInstructions will be updated following completion ofthe COP stage.
1.13 Bidders will be notified of any changes madeto the approach to these areas of cost, which couldinclude removing some of these cost elements fromthe PQP calculation. In addition, the weighting ofQ1.3b - Digital, is currently being reviewed with aview to removing the weighting and redistributingthe weighting across other questions.
2) Stage 2: Invitation to Submit a Tender
2.1 Stage 2 will commence once the Authority hasnotified Bidders whether or not they have beensuccessfully shortlisted to participate in the nextstage of the Competition, following the evaluation ofPSQ responses.
2.2 During Stage 2, the Authority will engage indialogue sessions with each Bidder for the purposeof enabling Bidders to confirm their understandingof key aspects of the Competition and in particular,the Evaluation Questions. To that end, each Bidderwill be provided with an equal opportunity to attenddialogue sessions with the Authority to discuss thecore requirements of the Competition, and toenable Bidders to develop and improve the contentthat will be submitted as part of their Tenders.
2.3 The indicative period for the dialogue stage ofthe Competition is set out in the timetable atparagraph 4.7 of Volume 1 of the ITTdocumentation. The dialogue stage shall bestructured as follows:
2.4 Week 1: this week will commence with an in-person Competition vision session hosted by theAuthority (location and timings to be confirmed), aswell as a group and individual Bidder site visit toHMP Rye Hill. Further information on how toexpress interest in attending the vision session andthe site visit will be issued via Jaggaer following theconclusion of Stage 1.
2.5 Weeks 2-9: during these weeks, the Authoritywill host a programme of [mandatory] training sessions (sessions delivered to support bidderswith development of their Profiling and FRT aspectsof their bid response), with each week dedicated toa different subject matter relevant to the formulationof Bids. In advance of these weeks, Bidders will beinvited to express preferences regarding topics theywish to discuss with Authority subject matterexperts (SMEs). Each Bidder will have theopportunity to discuss the core requirements ofeach Evaluation Criterion with Authority SMEs indedicated 1-to-1 sessions. If it is determined that atopic requested by one Bidder would be beneficialto all Bidders, the MoJ will encourage all Bidders toconsider this topic to promote fair treatment.Bidders are reminded of their responsibility toprepare any materials and/or questions fordiscussion to support the development andimprovement of their Tenders. The Authority willalso make available additional topic-focused sitevisits during this period, for example each bidderwill receive a Facilities Management focused visit atHMP Rye Hill, with relevant FM data being sharedto Bidders in advance. Further details, includingtopics and timings, will be issued via Jaggaer.
2.6 Week 10: this is a contingency week and shallonly be utilised where Bidders require furtherdiscussion with the Authority.
2.7 Please note, the Authority is not able toguarantee Bidders' preferred timeslots for any ofthe activities described in paragraphs 4.4.3.1 to4.4.3.3.
2.8 Please note, the activities described inparagraphs 4.4.3.1 to 4.4.3.3 are indicative onlyand may be subject to change
2.9 The Authority will only provide responses toInvitation CQs during the period set out in thetimetable for the competition at paragraph 4.7 ofVolume 1 of the ITT documentation.
2.10 Following the conclusion of the dialogueperiod, the Authority will publish the ITT for thepurpose of inviting Bidders to submit their Tenders.
2.11 Tenders must be submitted in accordance withthe requirements described, and in the format
specified, as set out in Volume 2 of the ITTdocumentation, together with any furtherinstructions that may be issued via the Authority's e-Sourcing platform, Jaggaer, from time to time.
2.12 The Authority will evaluate all Tenders in orderto identify the Bidder which has submitted the mostadvantageous tender in accordance with theAssessment Methodology and Response Criteriaset out in the Tender Notice and the ITT.
3) Stage Three - Preferred Bidder Stage (Furtherdetail can be found in the ITT volume 1documentation)
4) Stage Four - Award Stage (Further detail can befound in the ITT volume 1 documentation)