Secure Escort Services for Children and Young People

The provision for the Secure Escorts of Children and Young People will require the escort provider to manage the transport of sentenced and remanded children and young people aged 10-17 years across England and Wales that are placed in Secure Training Centre (STC) or a Secure Children's Home (SCH). The secure movement of children and young people between various premises is principally between approx 366 Youth or Magistrates Courts, approx 91 Crown Courts, 3 Secure Training Centres and 9 Secure Children's Homes. Provision must ensure the care and management of children and young people during the escort task including care in the court cell areas at Magistrate or Crown Courts.

The MoJ would like to explore potential contracting options further with market providers and key stakeholders within the industry.

As part of establishing the provision, consideration will be given to:

• Contract construct (contract or framework agreement) — How services could be procured — Division of services into lots* — Contract duration — Performance mechanisms.

The MoJ anticipates that its spend on these services is likely to be approximately 2 500 000 GBP p.a, however these figures will vary depending on the contract option, demand for service and the contract term.

• The MoJ is committed to supporting the government's drive to open up competition and increase opportunities for Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) suppliers and to give secure escort providers access to SMEs' creativity and innovation. The MoJ would encourage all SMEs who are interested in participating in this procurement to register their interest. The purpose of this Notice is to: (i) Inform the market of a prospective contract opportunity in connection with the procurement for the supply of Secure Escort Services for Children and Young people; and (ii) request information that may be relevant to the procurement strategy that may be adopted by the MoJ.

The next stage of the process is to seek further input from potential providers through a Secure Escorts Services Questionnaire. Following the response to the questionnaire, the MoJ may look to hold One to One meetings or a Market Engagement day.

In the first instance suppliers should respond to this notice by registering their interest. Deadline for registering interest is the 15.7.2015.

The form of response should be limited to the provision of a single point of contact. A briefing pack and questionnaire will be sent to all parties that have expressed an interest. In order to express your interest, please address an e-mail to the Secure Escorts Services for Children and Young People re-tender team at priority_programme@justice.gsi.gov.uk The subject of your e-mail should be:- Secure Escort Services EOI.

The services are likely to be procured using ‘light touch regime’ in accordance with Regulations 74 — 76 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.

PLEASE NOTE the main CPV code for this procurement is 75231220: Prisoner Escort Services.