Coroners Removal Contract for Berkshire

Reading Borough Council, on behalf of H.M. Coroner for Berkshire, is inviting expressions of interest from suitably qualified contractors with the appropriate facilities, who wish to be considered for the provision of a Coroners Removal Service for Berkshire. The purpose of this tender is to appoint a contractor(s) for the removal of bodies where a death has been referred to H.M. Coroner for Berkshire for further investigation. Reading Borough Council is lead authority for the Coroners Service in Berkshire on behalf of the six unitary authorities of Bracknell Forest Borough Council, Reading Borough Council, Slough Borough Council, West Berkshire Council, Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead and Wokingham Borough Council.

Additional information: The contracting authority considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement, and the contract will be awarded on the basis of the most economically advantageous tender.

The procurement exercise will be conducted in accordance with the information contained in the procurement documents. The contracting authority does not bind itself to enter into any contract as a result of the publication of this notice and will not, under any circumstances, have any liability for any costs any person responding to this notice incurs in any part of the tender process. The services are to be procured under an open procedure and organisations interested in expressing an interest should download the procurement documents which are available on the Council's e-tendering system at: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/readingbc (Project Reference No. RBC 00000040 refers), and complete as instructed. The Portal is free of charge - to register please follow the supplier registration guidance which is available on the Portal.

Contractors wishing to be considered for this tendering opportunity must complete the tender documents and return them electronically via the Council's e-tendering portal. The deadline for return of the tender is Tuesday 5 January 2016 at 12.00 hours. Please note: you must register your interest via the Council's e-tendering portal if you intend to submit a tender. Interested parties must log onto the Council's e-tendering portal at: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/readingbc, to express an interest and download the procurement documents. All communications regarding this procurement exercise will be conducted through the Council's e-tendering portal including requests for clarifications or general enquiries.

The procurement documents will be available for download up until the closing time and date for tender submissions, it is the organisation's responsibility to ensure that they download the documents in ample time to ensure that they can be completed and returned electronically, along with supporting documents, prior to the closing time and date stipulated.

Before completing the tender, potential providers/suppliers should ensure that the e-mail address that has been used to register their organisation will be checked regularly as the Council's e-tendering system will generate automatic notifications to this e-mail address when there are updates, changes or messages sent relating to the project. Potential bidders should also check that their organisation's details are correct and kept up to date.

Technical questions and assistance regarding the use and operation of the Portal should be addressed to the In-Tend Help Desk - e-mail: support@in-tend.co.uk, telephone number +44 8442728810.