Contract notice
Section I: Contracting
authority
I.1) Name and addresses
Home Office
London
UK
E-mail: sts24selt@homeoffice.gov.uk
NUTS: UK
Internet address(es)
Main address: www.gov.uk/home-office
I.3) Communication
Access to the procurement documents is restricted. Further information can be obtained at:
https://homeoffice.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html
Additional information can be obtained from the abovementioned address
Tenders or requests to participate must be sent electronically to:
https://homeoffice.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html
Tenders or requests to participate must be sent to the abovementioned address
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
Tender for a concession agreement to provide Secure English Language Testing services
Reference number: C19512
II.1.2) Main CPV code
75131100
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
The Home Office seeks to award concession Agreements for operators to become approved providers in the UK (Lot 1) and the Rest of the World (Lot 2) ("ROW") of a Secure English Language Test (SELT), aligned to the Council of Europe Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). These tests will be used to prove English language abilities for UK visa or citizenship applications that require an applicant to prove their knowledge of English. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/prove-your-english-language-abilities-with-a-secure-english-language-test-selt
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
Yes
Tenders may be submitted for all lots
Maximum number of lots that may be awarded to one tenderer: 2
The contracting authority reserves the right to award contracts combining the following lots or groups of lots:
Lot 1 (UK) and Lot 2 (ROW)
II.2) Description
Lot No: 1
II.2.1) Title
UK Lot
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
75131100
80000000
80580000
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UK
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, acting through the Home Office's UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), is the Authority which seeks to award concession Agreements for operators to become approved providers in the UK (Lot 1) of a Secure English Language Test (SELT) aligned to the Council of Europe Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
Home Office immigration policy establishes an English language requirement that customers may be required to evidence for UK visa or citizenship applications.
The SELT assesses a customer's competency in speaking and listening and dependent on the route of entry, reading and writing English, between levels A1 to C1 of the CERF. Tests are taken under UKVI-prescribed secure conditions where secure relates to:
1. Processes to verify the identity of the customer;
2. Ensuring that it is only the validated customer who takes the test and does so under exam conditions with an appropriately trained invigilator to eliminate the ability to cheat;
3. Ensuring results are not released until the provider has completed additional verification checks to ensure that collusion and fraud have not taken place; and
4. Ongoing audits, both internal and via external independent auditors, of the physical test points, processes and delivery systems in order to ensure that the security and integrity protocols are being strictly adhered to.
Approximately 133,000 2-facet (speaking and listening) and 30,000 4-facet (reading, writing, speaking and listening) tests were taken in the UK in the period April 2022 to March 2023 inclusive.
The Authority plans to award a maximum of two UK concession Agreements but reserves the right to award to fewer.
Additional information on the service can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/prove-your-english-language-abilities-with-a-secure-english-language-test-selt
II.2.5) Award criteria
Price is not the only award criterion and all criteria are stated only in the procurement documents
II.2.6) Estimated value
Value excluding VAT:
165 000 000.00
GBP
II.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Duration in months: 36
This contract is subject to renewal: Yes
Description of renewals:
The concession Agreement will run for 36 months with an option to extend for a further 12 months and a further 12 months after that
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:
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
Lot No: 2
II.2.1) Title
Rest of the World ("ROW")
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
75131100
80000000
80580000
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
AE
BD
CN
FR
GH
HK
IN
KE
KW
LK
NG
NP
PH
PK
QA
SA
TH
TR
TW
ZA
ZW
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, acting through the Home Office's UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), is the Authority which seeks to award concession Agreements for operators to become approved providers in the Rest of the World excluding the UK (Lot 2) of a Secure English Language Test (SELT) aligned to the Council of Europe Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
Home Office immigration policy establishes an English language requirement that customers may be required to evidence for UK visa or citizenship applications.
The SELT assesses a customer's competency in speaking and listening and dependent on the route of entry, reading and writing English, between levels A1 to C1 of the CERF. Tests are taken under UKVI-prescribed secure conditions where secure relates to:
1. Processes to verify the identity of the customer;
2. Ensuring that it is only the validated customer who takes the test and does so under exam conditions with an appropriately trained invigilator to eliminate the ability to cheat;
3. Ensuring results are not released until the provider has completed additional verification checks to ensure that collusion and fraud have not taken place; and
4. Ongoing audits, both internal and via external independent auditors, of the physical test points, processes and delivery systems in order to ensure that the security and integrity protocols are being strictly adhered to.
Approximately 58,000 2-facet (speaking and listening) and 495,000 4-facet (reading, writing, speaking and listening) tests were taken across 143 countries (excluding the UK) in the period April 2022 to March 2023 inclusive.
For this tender the requirement spans 144 countries. Only the top 90% by volume for the period April 2022 to March 2023 are sown in the NUTS code field.
The Authority plans to award a maximum of four ROW concession Agreements but reserves the right to award to fewer.
Additional information on the service can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/prove-your-english-language-abilities-with-a-secure-english-language-test-selt
II.2.5) Award criteria
Price is not the only award criterion and all criteria are stated only in the procurement documents
II.2.6) Estimated value
Value excluding VAT:
562 000 000.00
GBP
II.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Duration in months: 36
This contract is subject to renewal: Yes
Description of renewals:
The concession Agreement will run for 36 months with an option to extend for a further 12 months and a further 12 months after that
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:
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:
Please refer to the ITT instruction to bidder pack on the Home Office eSourcing tool https://homeoffice.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html
III.2) Conditions related to 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.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
Date:
19/04/2024
Local time: 12:00
IV.2.4) Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted
EN
IV.2.7) Conditions for opening of tenders
Date:
19/04/2024
Local time: 13:00
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.1) Information about recurrence
This is a recurrent procurement:
No
VI.3) Additional information
This procurement will be managed electronically via the Home Office’s eSourcing Portal (JAGGAER). To participate in this procurement, participants must first be registered on the eSourcing Portal. https://homeoffice.app.jaggaer.com/
If you have not yet registered on the eSourcing Portal, this can be done online at https://homeoffice.app.jaggaer.com Please note that, to register, you must have a valid DUNS number (as provided by Dun and Bradstreet) for the organisation which you are registering, who will be entering into
a contract if invited to do so.
Registering to use the Jaggaer portal also does NOT provide access to the ITT. Once you have registered on the eSourcing Portal, a registered user can express an interest for a specific procurement. This is done by emailing sts24selt@homeoffice.gov.uk.
Your email must clearly state the following to allow the buyer to locate your details on the Jaggaer system and enable your access to the tender:
1. That you wish to register for " Secure English Language Test Concession Agreement Tender C19512";
2. The supplier name that you have used to register on Jaggaer; and
3. The name and contact details used on Jaggaer for the registered individual sending the email.
The eMail will be processed and then the buyer will enable the supplier to access a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) via the eSourcing Portal. The registered user will receive a notification email to alert them once this has been done.
Once the registered user has completed and returned the NDA via the eSourcing Portal the buyer will enable the supplier to access the independent ITT area via the eSourcing Portal. The registered user will receive a notification email to alert them once this has been done. This is not an automated process and the buyer asks that you are patient whilst the NDA is processed.
We highly recommend that once you complete the NDA and first access the Tender section, that you download and review the " C19512 - Invitation to Tender for The Secure English Language Test (SELT) Instructions to Bidders_READ ME FIRST" found within the 'attachments' section of the eSourcing portal.
For technical assistance on use of the eSourcing Portal please contact the JAGGAER Supplier Helpdesk at customersupport@jaggaer.com or 0800 069 8630 (0800 - 1800hrs).
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
09/02/2024