NHSE871 Older Persons Mental Wellbeing in Prison Services - North East

North of England Commissioning Support (NECS) worked for and on behalf of NHS England - North East and Yorkshire (Health & Justice) (the Contracting Authority) who wished to commission support services for older patients in prisons.

NECS is a commissioning support service who worked for and on behalf of the Contracting Authority who undertook a procurement to commission support services for older patients within HMP Northumberland, HMP Frankland, HMP Holme House, HMP Durham, HMP Kirklevington Grange and HMP Low Newton. Caveat responses were considered as non-acceptance of this requirement.

The contract term is for an initial period of 3 years commencing on 01 April 2023, with an option to extend for a further 2 years at the discretion of the Contracting Authority and subject to satisfactory contractual and financial performance.

The closing date for submission of tenders was before 12:00 noon on 20 October 2022.

Please see Additional Text regarding the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006.

Previous publication concerning this procedure publication reference 2022/S 000-017485.

NECS utilised an electronic tendering tool to manage this procurement and communicate with potential bidders. Accordingly, there were no hard copy documents issued to potential bidders and all communications with NECS, including bid submissions, were conducted via the In-tend portal at: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/nhsnecsu

It was free to register on the portal and it can be accessed at any time of day providing you have a working internet connection. Should bidders have any queries, or are having problems registering on the portal; they should contact the In-tend helpdesk via:

support@in-tend.com or call 0845 557 8079 / +44 (0) 114 407 0065

The helpdesk is open Monday - Friday between 9am - 5.30pm

Tender documentation was available on the e-tendering site from 20 September 2022.

Objective rules and criteria for participation

Under the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012, Contracting Authorities must consider:

• (a)How what is proposed to be procured might improve the economic, social, and environmental well-being of the area where they exercise their functions; and

• (b)How, in conducting the process of procurement, they might act with a view to securing that improvement. Accordingly, the subject matter of the contract has been scoped to take into account the priorities of the Contracting Authority relating to "economic, social, and environmental well-being".

The basic principles of the Open Procedure were followed for this procurement to test the capacity, capability, and technical competence of bidders in accordance with The Light Touch Rules Regime, Regulations 74 to 77 of The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (SI 2015 No102) (for Health, Social, Education, and certain other Service Contracts).

Additional information: Additional information:

The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 as amended by the Collective Redundancies and Transfer of Undertaking (Protection of Employment) (Amendment) Regulation 2014 (TUPE) may apply to this contract as this is an existing service provision. Bidders were advised to obtain their own legal advice and carry out due diligence including the New Fair Deal non-statutory policy setting out how pensions issues are to be dealt with when staff are compulsorily transferred from the public sector to independent providers delivering public services.