HCC Nov 2020 - PPME for the Supply and Delivery of School Milk

Hertfordshire County Council (the "Council") is carrying out pre-procurement market engagement in relation to the requirement for The Supply and Delivery of School Milk.

The Coucil supports the government's directive for all schools to provide access to school milk for pupils. The pupils at schools in Hertfordshire currently consume 3 million 189ml size recyclable poly bottles of milk per annum across the nursery and primary schools. As part of the school food plan all maintained primary, infant and junior schools are legally required to make milk available for drinking by the pupils during school hours.

School milk, on the present Contract, is currently supplied to 85% of schools across Hertfordshire in 189ml recyclable poly bottles with biodegradable straws. The current Contract expires on 31st August 2021 and the Council will be looking for a new Contract to start on 1st September 2021. The annual spend is currently approximately £800k pa. This spend includes a small value for staff room and kitchen milk which is also supplied on the current Contract. The present Contract is managed by Hertfordshire Catering Limited (HCL).

The challenges ahead include the possible effects of 'Brexit' on the EU subsidy received for infant and junior milk.

The Council and HCL will consider the feedback received in the returned PPME questionnaires to help inform their options and further decision making. For the avoidance of doubt, this stage of the project is not part of a formal procurement process and the Council is not committing, at this stage, to carrying out such a process.

Participation or non-participation in the PPME shall not prevent any supplier participating in a potential future procurement, nor is it intended that any information supplied as part of the PPME shall place any supplier at an advantage in a potential procurement process. Participation in the PPME will be at each organisation's own cost. No expense in responding to this PPME will be reimbursed by the Council.

Additional information: Is a Recurrent Procurement Type? : No https://in-tendhost.co.uk/supplyhertfordshire/aspx/ To access the PPME document please ensure you are registered on http://www.supplyhertfordshire.uk

Full details of the PPME Industry Open Day event can be found in the PPME Document.

Is a Recurrent Procurement Type? : No

Full details on this Pre-Procurement Market Engagement (PPME) exercise can be found in the PPME documentation. To access the PPME documentation please visit www.supplyhertfordshire.uk and follow the on-screen guidance.

To participate in this PPME, organisations must submit their completed Supplier Questionnaire, together with any supporting documents, through the In-Tend system by the return deadline of 12.00 Noon on Monday 30th November 2020.

Please make sure that you have submitted your Supplier Questionnaire following the instructions above. The Council will not be held accountable for any errors made by an organisation in submitting their Supplier Questionnaire.

If you are experiencing problems In-Tend offer a help section which includes a dedicated UK support desk which can be contacted via email: support@in-tend.co.uk or Telephone: +44 1144070065 for any website/technical questions, Monday to Friday, 8:30-17:00.

Is a Recurrent Procurement Type? : Yes