Contract notice
Section I: Contracting
authority
I.1) Name and addresses
Scottish Government
4 Atlantic Quay, 70 York St
Glasgow
G2 8EA
UK
Contact person: Sophie Stark
Telephone: +44 412425466
E-mail: sophie.stark@gov.scot
NUTS: UKM
Internet address(es)
Main address: http://www.scotland.gov.uk
Address of the buyer profile: https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/Search_AuthProfile.aspx?ID=AA10482
I.2) Joint procurement
The contract is awarded by a central purchasing body
I.3) Communication
The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge at:
https://www.publictendersscotland.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk
Additional information can be obtained from the abovementioned address
Tenders or requests to participate must be sent electronically to:
https://www.publictendersscotland.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk
Electronic communication requires the use of tools and devices that are not generally available. Unrestricted and full direct access to these tools and devices is possible, free of charge, at:
https://www.publictendersscotland.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk
I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local subdivisions
I.5) Main activity
General public services
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
DCAF-National Kinship Care Advice Service
Reference number: CASE/758852
II.1.2) Main CPV code
85300000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
The Scottish Government has a requirement to place a contract with an external service provider for the provision of a National Kinship Care Advice Service.
The Scottish Government Children and Families Directorate, on behalf of the Care Experience and Whole Family Wellbeing division, wishes to commission a National Kinship Care Service. The purpose of the Service is to provide relevant support, and up to date advice and information, including peer support, specifically tailored to the needs of kinship carers and children and young people living in kinship care. The new service should also provide a platform for bringing kinship care families together and the sharing of practice between local authorities and other agencies.
II.1.5) Estimated total value
Value excluding VAT:
697 500.00
GBP
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
No
II.2) Description
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKM
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
The procurement will follow an Open Procedure.
If there are named subcontractors/technicians upon which the bidder will rely to meet the selection criteria, these named parties must complete and reattach the SPD Supplier Response Form attached to SPD
questions 2C.1.1 (Technicians) and 2D.1.2 (Subcontractors) on PCS-T.
Scottish Government reserves the right to request this information from relevant parties upon whom the
main bidder will not rely to fulfil selection criteria.
4C.4 Bidders must confirm that they will include the standard clause in all contracts used in the delivery of the requirements, ensuring payment of subcontractors at all stages of the supply chain within 30 days and include a point of contact for subcontractors to refer to in the case of payment difficulties. This will require active monitoring of payment performance and provision of evidence and reporting to the Scottish Government on a regular basis. Bidders who fail to answer “Yes” to this question will not have their tender considered further.
4C.7 Light Touch: Bidders will be required to confirm that they will employ environmental management measures that meet the following requirements: Evidence that their organisation has taken steps to build their awareness of the climate change emergency and consideration of how they will respond. This should include details of planned projects and actions to reduce the bidder’s carbon emissions.
4C.10 Bidders will be required to confirm whether they intend to sub-contract and if so, for what proportion of the
contract.
Bidders must confirm that they will pay staff that are involved in the delivery of services under the contract, at least the real Living Wage. Any tenderer who answers "No" to this question will not be subject to further evaluation.
Bidders will be required to complete a Supplier Assurance Questionnaire with a Moderate risk allocated. Suppliers must pass the initial questionnaire or provide a Cyber Implementation Plan.
II.2.5) Award criteria
Criteria below:
Quality criterion: Quality
/ Weighting: 80
Price
/ Weighting:
20
II.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Start:
01/09/2025
End:
31/03/2027
This contract is subject to renewal: Yes
Description of renewals:
One period of 12 months.
II.2.9) Information about the limits on the number of candidates to be invited
II.2.10) Information about variants
Variants will be accepted:
No
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
Yes
Description of options:
There is a 12 month optional period that will be utilised at Scottish Ministers discretion.
II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds:
No
Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information
III.1) Conditions for participation
III.1.2) Economic and financial standing
List and brief description of selection criteria:
Current Ratio of 1.1
The acceptable range for each financial ratio is:
1 April 2020: 31 March 2023
The ratio will be calculated as follows:
total current assets divided by total current liabilities.
Minimum level(s) of standards required:
Employer’s (Compulsory) Liability Insurance = as required by law
Public Liability Insurance = 2,000,000 (2 million) GBP
Professional Risk Indemnity Insurance = 2,000,000 (2 million) GBP
III.2) Conditions related to the contract
III.2.2) Contract performance conditions
It shall be a condition of the Contract that, if required by the Scottish Government, the appointed Service Provider shall deliver a validly
executed Parent Company Guarantee in the form set out in the tender documents.
III.2.3) Information about staff responsible for the performance of the contract
Obligation to indicate the names and professional qualifications of the staff assigned to performing the contract
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Open procedure
IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement:
Yes
IV.2) Administrative information
IV.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure
Notice number in the OJ S:
2025/S 000-002495
IV.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
Date:
06/05/2025
Local time: 12:00
IV.2.4) Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted
EN
IV.2.6) Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender
Duration in months: 6 (from the date stated for receipt of tender)
IV.2.7) Conditions for opening of tenders
Date:
06/05/2025
Local time: 14:00
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.1) Information about recurrence
This is a recurrent procurement:
No
VI.2) Information about electronic workflows
Electronic ordering will be used
Electronic invoicing will be accepted
Electronic payment will be used
VI.3) Additional information
SPD will be scored on a pass/fail basis.
The contract award criteria will be Price 20%/Quality 80 %.
Question Scoring Methodology for Award Criteria outlined in invitation to tender:
0 — Unacceptable. Nil or inadequate response. Fails to demonstrate an ability to meet the requirement.
1 — Poor. Response is partially relevant but generally poor. The response addresses some elements of the
requirement but contains insufficient/limited detail or explanation to demonstrate how the requirement will be
fulfilled.
2 — Acceptable. Response is relevant and acceptable. The response addresses a broad understanding of the
requirement but may lack details on how the requirement will be fulfilled in certain areas.
3 — Good. Response is relevant and good. The response is sufficiently detailed to demonstrate a good
understanding and provides details on how the requirements will be fulfilled.
4 — Excellent. Response is completely relevant and excellent overall.
Bidders must complete the SPD (Scotland) to demonstrate adherence to the Exclusion and Selection Criteria
for this procurement.
The buyer is using PCS-Tender to conduct this ITT exercise. The Project code is 28636. For more information see: http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/info/InfoCentre.aspx?ID=2343
A sub-contract clause has been included in this contract. For more information see: http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/info/InfoCentre.aspx?ID=2363
Community benefits are included in this requirement. For more information see: https://www.gov.scot/policies/public-sector-procurement/community-benefits-in-procurement/
A summary of the expected community benefits has been provided as follows:
The tenderer must provide a Community Benefits proposal that is relevant to the subject matter of this contract and supports the Scottish Ministers’ commitment to contributing to the social, economic & environmental well-being of the people of Scotland, as described in the specification.
Tenderers should not provide details of any existing initiatives they already undertake as part of their day-to-day business and the community benefits proposed must be generated specifically for and as a result of this contract.
Tenderers should outline their intended outcomes, a method statement should be provided on how Tenderers propose to deliver on the proposal. This may be; employment, skills and training requirements which may include but not be limited to providing Community Workshops, Outreach and Education Programmes and Support Groups.
Proposals can be innovative but must be tangible and measurable, so that they can be monitored and reported throughout the contract.
(SC Ref:791516)
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
Sherrif Court House
27 Chamber Street
Edinburgh
UK
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
03/04/2025