Minimum standards and qualification required
1.Tendering Terms
o CCDG reserves the right to reject or disqualify a Tenderer where:
¿ the tender is submitted late, is completed incorrectly, is incomplete or fails to meet the CCDG's submission requirements.
¿ the Tenderer is guilty of serious misrepresentation in relation to its application and / or the process; and / or
¿ the Tenderer contravenes any of the terms and conditions of this tender; and/or
¿ there is a change in identity (including where applicable the make up of consortia), control, financial standing or other factor impacting on the evaluation process affecting the Tenderer; and/or
¿ where the pricing of a tender is abnormally low
o The disqualification of a Tenderer will not prejudice any other civil remedies available to CCDG and will not prejudice any criminal liabilities that such conduct by a Tenderer may attract.
o CCDG further reserves the right to:
¿ cancel the tender process at any stage for any reason;
¿ require a Tenderer to clarify their submission in writing or by means of a clarification meeting and / or provide additional information. (Failure to respond adequately may result in the disqualification of a Tenderer);
¿ amend the terms and conditions of the tender process; and/or
¿ award only part of the contract.
o CCDG reserves the right to withdraw from the tendering process at any stage or to vary the scope of the Products required and CCDG shall not be liable to any Tenderer as a result of this action. In the event that the tender process is cancelled no part of the tender submitted shall be returned to the Tenderer.
o Tenderers acknowledge and agree by their submission that their tender remains open for acceptance by CCDG for six months from the closing date for receipt of tenders.
o Communication
o All contact must be made through Will Piper who will facilitate appropriate contact with other relevant persons. Contact should be made by email to Will.piper@careerswales.com.
o Tenderers must not in any way canvass or solicit information from any other employee of CCDG or its agents and / or advisers.
o Clarification
o Should any Tenderer wish to raise any questions or obtain any further information not contained in the tender or not otherwise publicly available all questions / requests must be submitted to Will Piper before 5pm on 01/03/2016 to the email address set out in section 1.6
o If a question or request for clarification or further information is not made by the date referred to in section 1.8, CCDG reserves the right not to respond but may, at its own discretion, endeavour to respond to the Tenderer and provide the Tenderer with any additional information to which CCDG has access, but CCDG shall not be obliged to comply with any such request and does not accept any liability or responsibility for failure to provide any such information.
o CCDG will endeavour to respond to queries within seven working days and will advise Tenderers if a longer response time is required due to the nature of the query.
o Tenderers are encouraged to identify issues on which they would like clarification as early as possible in the tendering process and must raise a clarification if any aspect of this tender is not clear to the Tenderer.
o Right to Amend
o CCDG reserves the right to issue supplementary documentation at any time during the process in order to clarify any issue or amend any aspect of the tender. All such further documentation issued by CCDG during the tendering process shall be deemed to form part of the tender and shall supersede any part of the tender to the extent indicated. CCDG may exercise the option to extend the tender period and postpone the tender return date, in the event that subsequent documentation is issued or for any other reason.
o Confidentiality
o Save as specified below, CCDG and its advisors will keep confidential the tenders and any other information supplied by Tenderers during the tendering process and will use best endeavours to prevent any disclosures by their officers and employees.
o Tenderers must be aware that at key stages in the project CCDG may be obliged to disclose detailed information relating to Tenders to relevant monitoring authorities and to make the key project documents available for private inspection by such authorities.
o Whilst CCDG will be reasonable as regards the protection of commercially sensitive information, it can only do so in the light of the latest published guidance on this area.
o Freedom of Information and Environmental Information Statement
o CCDG is subject to The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“Act”) and The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (“EIR”).
o As part of CCDG’s duties under the Act or EIR, it may be required to disclose information concerning the procurement process or the Contract to anyone who makes a request.
o If the Tenderer considers that any of the information provided in their tender is commercially sensitive (meaning it could reasonably cause prejudice to the Tenderer if disclosed to a third party) then it should be clearly marked as "Not for disclosure to third parties” together with valid reasons in support of the information as being exempt from disclosure under the Act and the EIR.
o CCDG will endeavour to consult with the Tenderer and have regard to comments and any objections before it releases any information to a third party under the Act or the EIR. However CCDG shall be entitled to determine in its absolute discretion whether any information is exempt from the Act and/or the EIR, or is to be disclosed in response to a request of information. CCDG must make its decision on disclosure in accordance with the provisions of the Act or the EIR and can only withhold information if it is covered by an exemption from disclosure under the Act or the EIR.
o No re-submissions
o Tenderers are reminded of the requirement that their submissions represent the views of all members of the Tenderer consortium (if any) and their subcontractors and Tenderers will not be allowed to resubmit key areas of their proposals at later stages of the tender process.
o Canvassing and non-collusion
o Except as specifically authorised by CCDG, Tenderers shall not approach any other Tenderer or member of CCDG’s staff with a view to seeking information in respect of any part of their submission or proposals or attempting to support or enhance their prospects of their tender being selected.
o Any collusion between Tenderers, combining of Tenderers or transfer of any equity partner, development manager, advisor or subcontractor from one Tenderer to another may lead to the exclusion of the Tenderers involved at the discretion of CCDG.
o Tenderers are required to return the Form Of Tender, Certificate of Non-canvassing and Non-collusive Tendering as set out in Appendices 1, 2 and 3 .
o Publicity
o No publicity regarding the project or the award of the contract will be permitted unless and until CCDG have given express written consent to the relevant communication. In particular, no statements should be made to the press or other similar organisations regarding the nature of any tender, its contents or any proposals relating thereto without prior written consent.
o Costs
o All Tenderers are solely responsible for their costs and expenses incurred in connection with the preparation and submission of their tender and the tendering process. Under no circumstances will CCDG, or any of its advisers, be liable for any costs or expenses borne by the Tenderer or any of its consortium members, subcontractors or advisers in this process or for any economic loss or other loss of profit incurred by any Tenderer in relation to the project.
o Compliance with Legislation
o Tenderers are deemed to understand fully the processes that CCDG is required to follow under relevant European and UK legislation, particularly in relation to The Public Contracts Regulations 2006 (as amended).
o Compliance with all relevant legislation is required both in the contract award procedure and during the term of any resultant contract
o Jurisdiction and governing laws
o All aspects of the tendering process shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales as applied in Wales and each Tenderer submits to the jurisdiction of the English and Welsh courts.
o Disclaimer
o None of CCDG, its advisors, or directors, officers, members, partners, employees, other staff, agents or advisers of any such person:
¿ makes any representation or warranty (express or implied) as to the accuracy, reasonableness or completeness of the information in the tender. Any persons considering making a decision to enter into contractual relationships with CCDG following receipt of the tender should make their own investigations and their own independent assessment of CCDG and its requirement for the Products and should seek their own professional financial and legal advice; or
¿ accepts any responsibility for the information in the tender or for its fairness, accuracy or completeness, nor shall any of them be liable for any loss or damage (other than in respect of fraudulent misrepresentation) arising as a result of reliance on such information or any subsequent communication. Only the express terms of any written contract relating to the subject matter of this tender as and when it is executed shall have any contractual effect in connection with the matters to which it relates. Any such contract will be governed by English and Welsh law.
o Nothing in the tender or other contract documents is or should be relied upon as a promise or representation as to CCDG's ultimate decisions in relation to this project.
o No oral acceptance by CCDG of any offer or outline submissions within an offer shall be valid or binding on CCDG.
o In order to further ensure a fair and competitive process, CCDG requires that all actual or potential conflicts of interest are disclosed, identified and resolved to CCDG ’s satisfaction prior to the submission of Tenders or immediately notified to CCDG in the event that any actual or potential conflict of interest comes to the Tenderer’s attention following the submission of a Tender. In such circumstances CCDG may require further information from Tenderers but reserve the right to disqualify a Tenderer from further involvement.
CCDG reserves the right to exclude Tenderers from the procurement process should actual or potential conflicts of interest be found by CCDG to confer an unfair competitive advantage on one or more Tenderers or to otherwise undermine a fair and competitive procurement process and, following consultation with the Tenderer, such actual or potential conflicts are not resolved to the satisfaction of CCDG.
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