South Lanarkshire Council

Council Headquarters, Almada Street

Hamilton

ML3 0AA

UK

E-mail: irene.peacock@southlanarkshire.gov.uk

NUTS: UKM95

Internet address(es)

Main address: http://www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk

Address of the buyer profile: https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/Search_AuthProfile.aspx?ID=AA00410

II.1.1) Title

Reference number: SLC/FC/23/008

II.1.2) Main CPV code

72222300

II.1.3) Type of contract

Services

II.1.4) Short description

The Council wishes to appoint a supplier to provide an Education Managed Service for all Education establishments within South Lanarkshire.

The objective of this procurement exercise is to put in place a fully managed ICT managed service for Education which builds on this position of strength, which continues to offer schools with modern and transformative environments and digital solutions.

II.1.5) Estimated total value

Value excluding VAT: 59 000 000.00  GBP

II.1.6) Information about lots

This contract is divided into lots: No

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:

There are a number of questions / statements that have been included in the Contract Notice and within Stage 1 - SPD which detail the minimum requirements that Bidders must be able to evidence for participation in this tender and ultimately will be required to

evidence prior to any award being made. There are in addition further statements made that simply provide relevant information relating to the tender itself.

These questions and statements form an integral part of the Single Procurement Document (the SPD) which the Council has decided to implement for all tenders in excess of 50000 GBP in value.

SPD Question 2.C.1 Reliance on the capacities of other entities

Bidders are required to complete a full SPD for each of the entities whose capacity they rely upon.

Subcontractors on whose capacity the bidder does not rely.

Bidders who are selected to submit an ITT will be asked whether they intend to subcontract within the ITT (Stage 2) Tender. A shortened version of the SPD covering the exclusion grounds will require to be completed by each Subcontractor so identified and uploaded within the ITT (Stage 2) Technical Envelope.

Exclusion Criteria

Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.

SPD Questions 3A – 3C have been identified as mandatory exclusion grounds and SPD Questions 3D have been identified as discretionary exclusion grounds. All the exclusion grounds will be assessed on a PASS/FAIL basis. For the mandatory exclusion grounds a bid will be excluded where the bidder fails to provide either a positive response or to provide details to the satisfaction of the Council of the self cleansing measures undertaken. .For the discretionary exclusion grounds a bid may be excluded where the bidder fails to provide either a positive response or if the Council is not satisfied as to the self cleansing measures undertaken.

SPD Question 4A.1 Trade Registers

It is a requirement of this tender that if the bidder is UK based they must hold a valid registration with Companies House. Where the bidder is UK based but not registered at Companies House they must be able to verify to the Councils satisfaction that they are trading from the address provided in the tender and under the company name given.

If the bidder is based out-with the UK they must be enrolled in the relevant professional or trade register appropriate to their country as described in Schedule 5 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.

SPD Question 4A.2 Authorisation/Membership

Where it is required, within a bidder’s country of establishment they must confirm which authorisation or memberships of the relevant organisation(s) are required in order to perform this service. Bidders must confirm if they hold the particular authorisation or memberships.

III.1.2) Economic and financial standing

Minimum level(s) of standards required:

SPD Questions 4B.1.1 Economic and Financial Standing

The Council will assess Bidders annual turnover to provide assurance of the capacity of the Bidder to deliver the contract. The minimum required turnover per year is 6,400,000 GBP and the past 3 financial years should be included in the response.

SPD Question 4B.4 Economic and Financial Standing

The Council will use the following ratios to evaluate a bidders financial status:

Profitability – this is taken as profit after tax but before dividends and minority interests. If a company makes a profit then it is a pass for this ratio.

Liquidity – this is calculated as current assets less stock and work in progress, divided by current liabilities. If the answer is greater than or equal to one then it is a pass for this ratio.

Gearing – this is calculated as the total external secured borrowing (short term and long term) divided by shareholder funds expressed as a percentage. If the answer is less than or equal to 100% it is considered a pass for this ratio.

Bidders must provide the name and value of each of the 3 ratios within their response to SPD question 4B.4.

The Council requires bidders to pass 2 out of the 3 financial ratios above.

Where 2 out of the 3 ratios cannot be met, the Council may take the undernoted into consideration when assessing financial viability and the risk to the Council, providing that the Bidder can supply evidence to substantiate any of the mitigating criteria when requested to do so. The following list is not exhaustive and other criteria may be considered where proposed by a bidder as mitigating factors:

Would the bidder have passed the checks if prior year accounts had been used?

Were any of the poor appraisal outcomes "marginal"?

Does the bidder operate in a market which, traditionally, requires lower liquidity or higher debt finance?

Does the bidder have sufficient reserves to sustain losses for a number of years?

Does the bidder have a healthy cashflow?

Is the bidder profitable enough to finance the interest on its debt?

Is most of the bidder's debt owed to group companies?

Is the bidder's debt due to be repaid over a number of years, and affordable?

Have the bidder's results been adversely affected by "one off costs" and / or "one off accounting treatments"?

Do the bidder's auditors (where applicable) consider it to be a "going concern"?

Will the bidder provide a Parent Company Guarantee?

Is the bidder the single supplier/source of the Goods/Works/Services in the marketplace?

The Council will request submission of and assess the bidders financial accounts, and may use financial verification systems to validate the information provided.

SPD Question 4B.5 Insurance

The bidder must confirm that they have or will commit to obtain prior to the commencement of the contract, the following levels of Insurance Cover:

Employer’s Liability Insurance covering the death of or bodily injuries to employees of the bidder arising out of and in the course of their employment in connection with this contract to the level of 10000000 GBP in respect of each claim, without limit to the number of claims.

Public Liability Insurance covering the death of or bodily injury to a person (not an employee of the bidder) or loss of or damage to property resulting from an action or failure to take action by the bidder to the level of 5000000 GBP in respect of each claim, without limit to the number of claims.

Professional Indemnity Insurance covering the failure of the bidder to use the skill and care normally used by professionals providing the services described in this tender to the level of 5000000 GBP in respect of each claim, without limit to the number of claims.

III.1.3) Technical and professional ability

Minimum level(s) of standards required:

SPD 4C.1 Technical and Professional Ability (Scored Question in SPD, Technical Envelope)

Bidders should demonstrate in their response to question 4C.1.2 that they have held contracts (preferably public sector authority) of a similar nature, size and value to those mentioned in the Specification, within the last 3 years. A mimimum of 3 examples and a maximum of 5 should be provided.

SPD Question 4C.6 Technical and Professional Ability (Qualifications)

The bidder as a company will hold the following educational or professional qualifications:

- Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007. All individuals who will be engaged in the delivery of the contract must be appropriately vetted;

-Security Standards / Accreditation, all bidders will be expected to hold Information Security Standards / accreditation up to and including ISO/IEC 27001:2013 in conjunction with Cyber Essentials Plus. Bidders not meeting this criteria must complete the Cloud Hosting Security Principles document.

SPD Question 4C.10 Technical and Professional Ability (Sub-Contracting)

Bidders will be required to confirm within the ITT (Stage 2, Technical Envelope) whether they intend to subcontract and, if so, for what proportion of the contract

SPD Question 4D.1 Quality Assurance Schemes – Optional Statement

It is a requirement of this tender that the bidder recommended for award holds the following Quality Assurance scheme membership: ISO9001 or can meet the criteria stated in the procurement documents.

SPD Question 4D.2 Environmental Management Standards – Optional Statement

It is a requirement of this tender that the bidder recommended for award holds the following environmental standard/accreditation or can meet the criteria stated in the procurement documents.

III.2.2) Contract performance conditions

As stated 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

IV.1.1) Type of procedure

Competitive procedure with negotiation

IV.1.4) Information about reduction of the number of solutions or tenders during negotiation or dialogue

Recourse to staged procedure to gradually reduce the number of solutions to be discussed or tenders to be negotiated

IV.1.5) Information about negotiation

The contracting authority reserves the right to award the contract on the basis of the initial tenders without conducting negotiations

IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes

IV.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure

Notice number in the OJ S:

2023/S 000-011498

IV.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate

Date: 31/01/2024

Local time: 12:00

IV.2.3) Estimated date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates

Date: 15/03/2024

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)

VI.4.1) Review body

VI.4.3) Review procedure

Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures:

Please note, the alternative review body to the local Sheriff Court detailed in VI.4.1 is:

Court of Session

Parliament House

Parliament Square

Edinburgh

EH1 1RQ

+44 1312252595

supreme.courts@scotcourts.gov.u