Contract notice
Section I: Contracting
authority
I.1) Name and addresses
Kent County Council
County Hall
Maidstone
ME14 1XQ
UK
Contact person: Mrs Alison Blackman
Telephone: +44 3000413335
E-mail: alison.blackman@kent.gov.uk
NUTS: UKJ4
Internet address(es)
Main address: http://www.kent.gov.uk
Address of the buyer profile: http://www.kent.gov.uk
I.3) Communication
The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge at:
www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk
Additional information can be obtained from the abovementioned address
Tenders or requests to participate must be sent electronically to:
www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk
I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Regional or local authority
I.5) Main activity
General public services
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
SC23172 - Professional Services Framework
Reference number: DN712410
II.1.2) Main CPV code
71000000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
Kent County Council (the Client) is the largest county council in England covering an area of
3 500 km2. It has an annual expenditure of over GBP 900 million on goods and services and
a population of 1.3 million. The Council provides a wide range of personal and strategic
services on behalf of its residents, operating in partnership with 12 district councils and 305
parish/town councils.
The Professional Services Framework is for the provision of a multi-disciplinary consultancy service relating to highways, engineering, transportation, planning and environment, surveys and investigations and commercial services within the Local Authority boundaries of Kent. Various specialist levels of technical, environmental, and engineering professional services are to be provided. These outputs supply the County Council with engineering expertise and advice to allow the Council to plan and design new highway infrastructure, assess structural assets, comply with their statutory obligations as the Highway Authority, support KCC’s strategic objectives.
Further details on the Framework scope can be found in the SQ documentation.
There is no guarantee of work within this Framework and the Client reserves the right to
competitively tender any future project it deems appropriate through an alternative mechanism. Call-off contracts will be based on the NEC 4 suite of contracts with the framework covering the County of Kent.
II.1.5) Estimated total value
Value excluding VAT:
40 500 000.00
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:
UKJ4
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
To achieve Kent County Council strategic objectives, Highways and Transportation (H&T) require access to specialist technical engineering expert advice and services, that specialise in the areas of:
• Highways, Transportation and Engineering
• Planning and Environment
• Surveys and Investigations
• Commercial Services
The effective delivery of all related projects (including major capital projects) is dependent on having a Professional Services Framework in place. The Framework will be used by additional teams across the Council. Further details on the Framework scope and proposed Framework management information can be found in the SQ documents.
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
Duration in months: 42
This contract is subject to renewal: Yes
Description of renewals:
The framework will operate for an initial period of 4 years (48 months) with no guarantee of any works being awarded. The initial term of 48 months may be extended by up to 2 years (24 months), subject to successful delivery of the Key Performance Indicators and in accordance with the terms and conditions of the agreement.
II.2.9) Information about the limits on the number of candidates to be invited
Envisaged minimum number: 6
Objective criteria for choosing the limited number of candidates:
Please see the SQ documentation for further details.
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
II.2.14) Additional information
Call off contracts awarded through the Framework will be dependent on available budgets and there is no guarantee of work under this framework. The estimated Framework value for the initial 4 year term is £27m, increasing to £40.5m should an optional extension period be taken. Estimated values as indicative, and have been calculated based on historic spend to date.
The framework is being procured by the Authority for its own use. However Kent district Councils are able to access and procure services through this Framework.
Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information
III.1) Conditions for participation
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
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Competitive procedure with negotiation
IV.1.3) Information about a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system
The procurement involves the establishment of a framework agreement with several operators.
Envisaged maximum number of participants to the framework agreement: 3
Justification for any framework agreement duration exceeding 4 years: The framework will operate for an initial period of 4 years (48 months) with no guarantee of any works being awarded. The initial term of 48 months may be extended by up to 2 years (24 months), subject to successful delivery of the Key Performance Indicators and in accordance with the terms and conditions of the agreement. Justification for any duration exceeding 4 years is that the Client recognises the significant investment in resources, supply chains and social value required to operate this framework within the county of Kent.
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) Administrative information
IV.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure
Notice number in the OJ S:
2023/S 000-028678
IV.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
Date:
04/04/2024
Local time: 12:00
IV.2.3) Estimated date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates
Date:
29/04/2024
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:
No
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
Kent County Council
Maidstone
UK
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
04/03/2024