Contract notice
Section I: Contracting
authority
I.1) Name and addresses
General Optical Council
10 Old Bailey
London
EC4M 7NG
UK
Contact person: Vineeta Desai
Telephone: +44 2078710411
E-mail: vdesai@optical.org
NUTS: UKI31
Internet address(es)
Main address: www.optical.org
Address of the buyer profile: https://www.mytenders.co.uk/search/Search_AuthProfile.aspx?ID=AA14321
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://optical.org/en/about-us/get-involved/tenders/
Additional information can be obtained from the abovementioned address
Tenders or requests to participate must be sent electronically to:
www.mytenders.co.uk
I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
I.5) Main activity
Other: Healthcare Regulator
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
Legal Support Services (Fitness to Practise)
II.1.2) Main CPV code
79100000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
The requirements of the service are:
Conduct of investigative work on the GOC’s behalf in relation to fitness to practise allegations relating to registered opticians and optical businesses
Preparation for, and presentation, of the GOC’s case at substantive Fitness to Practise Committee hearings
Occasional preparation for, and presentation of the GOC’s case at non-substantive hearings (interim order applications/reviews/extensions, substantive order reviews) and Registration Appeal Committee hearings
Provision of advice relating to the conduct of individual investigations into the fitness to practise of GOC registrants, and relating to interpretation of GOC legislation and rules
Provision of training to Committee members, Case Examiners and GOC staff.
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
No
II.2) Description
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKI
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
The requirements of the service are:
- Conduct of investigative work on the GOC’s behalf in relation to fitness to practise allegations relating to registered opticians and optical businesses
- Preparation for, and presentation, of the GOC’s case at substantive Fitness to Practise Committee hearings
- Occasional preparation for, and presentation of the GOC’s case at non-substantive hearings (interim order applications/reviews/extensions, substantive order reviews) and Registration Appeal Committee hearings
- Provision of advice relating to the conduct of individual investigations into the fitness to practise of GOC registrants, and relating to interpretation of GOC legislation and rules
- Provision of training to Committee members, Case Examiners and GOC staff.
II.2.5) Award criteria
Price is not the only award criterion and all criteria are stated only in the procurement documents
II.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Start:
01/04/2025
End:
31/03/2028
This contract is subject to renewal: Yes
Description of renewals:
Three year contract from 1 April 2025 with an option to extend for one year
II.2.9) Information about the limits on the number of candidates to be invited
Envisaged minimum number: 5
II.2.10) Information about variants
Variants will be accepted:
No
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
No
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.1.1) Suitability to pursue the professional activity, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers
List and brief description of conditions:
Selection criteria as stated in the procurement documents
III.1.2) Economic and financial standing
Selection criteria as stated in the procurement documents
III.1.3) Technical and professional ability
Selection criteria as stated in the procurement documents
III.2) Conditions related to the contract
III.2.1) Information about a particular profession
Participation is reserved to a particular profession: Yes
Reference to the relevant law, regulation or administrative provision:
The service is a legal service.
Applicants must be able to demonstrate that they (or their organisation/team) possess the appropriate legal qualifications/authorisation to permit them to provide legal services.
III.2.2) Contract performance conditions
The service is governed by the Opticians Act 1989 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1989/44/contents) and by the Legal Services Act
2007 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2007/29/contents)
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
Restricted 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:
2022/S 164-164710
IV.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
Date:
02/09/2024
Local time: 17:00
IV.2.3) Estimated date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates
Date:
13/09/2024
IV.2.4) Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted
EN
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.1) Information about recurrence
This is a recurrent procurement:
Yes
Estimated timing for further notices to be published:
Future recurrence of this procurement is unlikely to happen before October 2027
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
NOTE: To register your interest in this notice and obtain any additional information please visit the myTenders Web Site at https://www.mytenders.co.uk/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=232450.
The buyer has indicated that it will accept electronic responses to this notice via the Postbox facility. A user guide is available at https://www.mytenders.co.uk/sitehelp/help_guides.aspx.
Suppliers are advised to allow adequate time for uploading documents and to dispatch the electronic response well in advance of the closing time to avoid any last minute problems.
(MT Ref:232450)
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
Public Procurement Review Service
Cabinet Office
London
UK
Telephone: +44 3450103503
E-mail: publicprocurementreview@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Internet address(es)
URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-procurement-review-service-scope-and-remit
VI.4.4) Service from which information about the review procedure may be obtained
Public Procurement Review Service
Cabinet Office
London
UK
Telephone: +44 3450103503
E-mail: publicprocurementreview@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
01/08/2024