Cervical Cytology and HPV Laboratory Screening Service (CCSLS)

North of England Commissioning Support (NECS) is managing this procurement process for and on behalf of:

NHS England Yorkshire and the Humber (Y&H) and

NHS England Lancashire & Greater Manchester (L&GM) (the Contracting Authorities).

The basic principles of the Open procurement route were followed for this procurement to test the capacity, capability, and technical competence of Tenderers in accordance with The Public Contracts Regulations 2006 (as amended). Regulation 120 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 provides for a temporary exemption and saving for certain NHS procurements. Regulation 120 provides that nothing in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 affects any contract award procedure that relates to the procurement of health care services for the purposes of the NHS within the meaning and scope of the National Health Service (Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition) (No. 2) Regulations 2013(b) that is commenced before 18th April 2016 and any subsequent contract awarded as a result of such a procedure. The current Part B regime of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 (as amended) and NHS (Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition) (No. 2) Regulations 2013(b) will continue to apply to the commissioning of this service.

The Contracting Authorities have commissioned under separate Lots:

Cervical Cytology Screening (including HPV testing) Laboratory Service for South Yorkshire & Bassetlaw (Lot 1)

Cervical Cytology and HPV Laboratory Scr...ired information for both lots.

Potential Tenderers were to note: That the Contracting Authroities anticipated that the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 as amended by the Collective Redundancies and Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 (TUPE) may have applied for this contract. Potential Tenderers were advised to form their own view on whether TUPE applies, obtaining their own legal advice and carrying out due diligence.

"Under the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 the 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 it exercises its functions, and
• (b)how, in conducting the process of procurement, it might act with a view to securing that improvement

Accordingly, the subject matter of the contract had been scoped to take into account the priorities of the Contracting Authorities relating to economic, social, and environmental well-being".

NECS utilised an electronic tendering system to manage this procurement and communicate with tenderers. Accordingly, there were no hard copy documents issued to tenderers and all communications with NECS, including tender submission, were conducted via the portal hosted by (In-Tend), the managed service provider for the NECS electronic tendering system.

The closing time and date for tender returns was 12 Noon on 29 July 2015.