Contract notice
Section I: Contracting
authority
I.1) Name and addresses
West Lothian Council
West Lothian Civic Centre, Howden South Road
Livingston
EH54 6FF
UK
Contact person: Kim Archibald
Telephone: +44 1506281814
E-mail: Kimberley.Archibald@westlothian.gov.uk
NUTS: UKM78
Internet address(es)
Main address: http://www.westlothian.gov.uk
Address of the buyer profile: https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/Search_AuthProfile.aspx?ID=AA00140
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
Regional or local authority
I.5) Main activity
General public services
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
School Counselling Service - Primary Schools
Reference number: CC14620
II.1.2) Main CPV code
85312320
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
West Lothian Council is seeking to appoint a fully qualified and experienced external service provider to provide Counselling Services to West Lothian Primary schools
II.1.5) Estimated total value
Value excluding VAT:
464 000.00
GBP
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
No
II.2) Description
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
80100000
85312300
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKM78
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
West Lothian Council is seeking to appoint a fully qualified and experienced external service provider to achieve the vision of an integrated and flexible service which would meet the need for building resilient children and young people (aged 10 years and up) in the upper primary age range (P6&7) across all 69 primary school settings in the authority.
It is envisaged that access to the service should be easy for schools and should feel seamless for children and young people and their families as part of the ongoing assessment and intervention planning process.
A focus on building resilience, especially in relation to the transition to secondary school will be a key element of the work. It is expected that the provider will work closely with colleagues in secondary schools to support transition specifically where this would be in the best interests of the child.
The provider would also be in a position to offer some specific transition intervention for particularly vulnerable P7 pupils in the summer term of each academic year. This would be closely aligned with the authority Cluster Assessment and Support for Transition (CAST) process.
The ability to support young people over summer holiday periods where this is desirable will be a key element of the contract.
In addition, the provider should consider how to support the local authority in building capacity in schools to support the mental health and wellbeing of young people through staff development and curriculum design.
It is also expected that the provider will work closely with the Educational Psychology Service to maintain a quality evaluation framework as a key element of the contract. This will enable West Lothian Council to gather and report on council wide evaluation information and to meet the reporting requirements set by Scottish Government.
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:
01/08/2026
End:
31/07/2028
This contract is subject to renewal: Yes
Description of renewals:
The contract may be extended for a period not exceeding a further 24 months in total at the sole discretion of the council.
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
II.2.14) Additional information
The council may wish to utilise the 24 month available extension in any combination e.g. 2 periods of 12 months.
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:
There is a mandatory requirement that all providers must be registered with the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and/or Counselling and Psychotherapy in Scotland “COSCA.” or equivalent.
In the event that another organisation is stipulated, the service provider must be able to demonstrate that this is at least equivalent to the aforementioned.
Serious and Organised Crime
Where required, contracts that fall within the specific risk sectors as defined by Police Scotland, or, where there is a suspicion that risk may be present, WLC will provide Police Scotland information on the representatives of the bidder (SPD Part 2B) to allow Police Scotland to review and provide feedback on information provided.
Please note: when completing SPD section 1.11/12 Part 2B, this should be completed using personal information as follows: your full name including any middle names as it appears on your birth and/or marriage certificate; the day date and month you were born and the location of your birth; and your home address and postcode. The name entered must be consistent with any birth certificate, marriage certificate etc. Failure to provide the correct information may result in your bid being excluded from the tender process or an offer of contract being withdrawn should the information prove to be incomplete or incorrect at a later stage.
III.1.2) Economic and financial standing
List and brief description of selection criteria:
Re SPD question 4B.6 West Lothian Council will use Dun and Bradstreet’s DBAi financial reporting system to assess the financial stability of tenderers. Tenderers with a Failure Score of 50 or above on the DBAi system will be deemed to have evidenced satisfactory financial stability. Please note that 49 or less will not be considered as having met this criteria. If a tenderer has a Failure Score of less than 50, the tenderer may be required to submit their last three years accounts.
In the event that the tenderer is not required to publish accounts and therefore does not have a Dun & Bradstreet or equivalent rating, tenderers should be able to provide financial accounts when requested. The council will then conduct an analysis of the accounts to ensure that there is no significant financial risk. Please note that if you intend on attaching 2 years accounts, these must include financial data over a 3-year period.
It is recommended that candidates review their own Dun & Bradstreet Score in advance of submitting their tender. If following this review tenderers consider that the Dun & Bradstreet Score does not reflect their current financial status, details of this should be provided, complete with evidence of a good high street credit rating (the equivalent of Dun & Bradstreet score 50) from a recognised credit referencing agency. The council will review any such information as part of the evaluation of Tenderer’s financial status.
In the event that a firm does not meet the financial criteria for consideration but has a parent company that does, the firm may still be eligible for consideration where their Tender Submission is supported by a Parent Company Guarantee.
Should after review of the financial evaluation the tenderer fail, then the tender submission may be rejected.
Minimum level(s) of standards required:
10m Employers Liability (5 Million GBP Legal minimum would be acceptable for SME)
5 Million GBP Public Liability
2m Million GBP Professional Indemnity
III.1.3) Technical and professional ability
List and brief description of selection criteria:
Providers will be required to provide a minimum of two examples of previous experience.
Minimum level(s) of standards required:
Providers Must be registered with the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and/or Counselling and Psychotherapy in Scotland “COSCA.” or equivalent.
In the event that another organisation is stipulated, the service provider must be able
to demonstrate that this is at least equivalent to the aforementioned.
III.2) Conditions related to the contract
III.2.1) Information about a particular profession
Participation is reserved to a particular profession: Yes
III.2.2) Contract performance conditions
The provider must follow the requirements set out in the service specification and comply with all statutory requirements in the delivery of the service. Notwithstanding any conditions agreed in the service specification (including activity reporting), all terms and conditions set out in the main full contract will apply.
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.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
Date:
30/04/2026
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: 3 (from the date stated for receipt of tender)
IV.2.7) Conditions for opening of tenders
Date:
30/04/2026
Local time: 12:00
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.1) Information about recurrence
This is a recurrent procurement:
No
VI.3) Additional information
Re: SPD Q3D.1, 3D.2 and 3D.3 Bidders should answer these questions on Environmental, social and labour law in relation to compliance with the regulations covering Scotland and the UK.
TUPE – The incoming Contractor is responsible for obtaining legal and professional advice about relevant TUPE implications.
CONFIDENTIALITY - All information supplied by the Authority must be treated in confidence and not disclosed to third parties except
insofar as this is necessary to obtain sureties or quotations for the purpose of submitting the tender. All information supplied by you to the
Authority will similarly be treated in confidence except:
(i) for any information required to be disclosed or otherwise provided by the Authority to any person in order to comply with the Freedom of
Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and any codes of practice applicable from time to time relating to access to public authorities’ information.
The Tenderer shall co-operate, facilitate, support and assist the Authority in the provision of this information. In the event the Authority is required to provide information to any person as a result of a request made to it under such Act and/or codes, the Authority shall adhere to the requirements of such Act and/or codes in disclosing information relating to this Agreement, the Project documents and the Contractor.
(ii) that references may be sought from banks, existing or past clients, or other referees submitted by the tenderers;
(iii) for the disclosure of such information with regard to the outcome of the procurement process as may be required to be published in the
Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union in accordance with EU directives or elsewhere in accordance with the requirements of UK government policy on the disclosure of information relating to government contracts.
The buyer is using PCS-Tender to conduct this ITT exercise. The Project code is 31458. For more information see: http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/info/InfoCentre.aspx?ID=2343
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:
Please Note: Community Benefits will be evaluated for this procurement procedure and will form 5% of the overall award criteria. More information can be found on the council’s website:
- Community Benefits in Procurement
- Community Benefits Wishlist
The buyer is using PCS-Tender to conduct this ITT exercise. The Project code is 31458. For more information see: http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/info/InfoCentre.aspx?ID=2343
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 Community Benefits proposals provided by suppliers will form part of the contract award criteria and will be evaluated when determining the winning tender and will require to be delivered as part of the contract. Community Benefits proposals will form part of the award criteria and will be evaluated.
https://www.westlothian.gov.uk/article/34902/Community-Benefits-in-Procurement
(SC Ref:828008)
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
Livingston sheriff court
West Lothian Civic Centre
Livingston
EH54 6FF
UK
E-mail: Kimberley.Archibald@westlothian.gov.uk
VI.4.2) Body responsible for mediation procedures
WEST LOTHIAN COUNCIL
West Lothian Civic Centre
Livingston
EH54 6FF
UK
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
30/03/2026