CONTRACT NOTICE – OFFICIAL JOURNAL

Section I: Contracting Authority

I.1)

Name, Address and Contact Point(s)

I.2)

Type of contracting Authority and Main Activity or Activities

Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local sub-divisions National or federal agency/Office Regional or local Authority Regional or local Agency/Office Body governed by public law European Institution/Agency or International Organisation

General public services Defence Public order and safety Environment Economic and financial affairs Health Housing and community amenities Social protection Recreation, culture and religion Education Other (Please specify) public spending

Section II: Object of the Contract

II.1)

Description

II.1.1)

Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority

II.1.2(a))

Type of works contract

II.1.2(b))

Type of supplies contract

II.1.2(c))

Type of service contract

II.1.2)

Main site or location of works, place of delivery or performance

Primarily in the UK.

II.1.3)

This notice involves

A public contract
The setting up of a Dynamic Purchasing System
The establishment of a framework agreement

II.1.4)

Information on framework agreement (if applicable)

Framework agreement with a single operators
Framework agreement with several operators

Number of participants to the framework agreement envisaged

Duration of the framework agreement

Justification for a framework agreement the duration of which exceeds four years

Estimated total value of purchases for the entire duration of the framework agreement

Frequency and value of the contracts to be awarded

II.1.5)

Short description of the contract or purchase(s)

HM Treasury as the Contracting Authority is putting in place a Contract for use by UK public sector bodies identified at VI.3 (and any future successors to these organisation).

The Research Library service enables access to external sources of information required to allow officials to create evidence-based policy and maintain current awareness where they have a business requirement.

The contract will incorporate the provision of a tailored and comprehensive media monitoring service, searchable news database, market data and companies information.

The contract will have a single operator. The duration of the contract will be in year(s): 1+1+1 — that is a 3 year contract with an optional break clause at the end of each year.

The Procurement is being run by Crown Commercial Service on behalf of HM Treasury.

II.1.6)

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

II.1.7)

Contract covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

II.1.8)

Division into lots

II.1.9)

Will variants be accepted

II.2)

Quantity or Scope of the Contract

II.2.1)

Total quantity or scope

II.2.2)

Options

Provisional timetable for recourse to these options

Number of possible renewals

In the case of renewable supplies or service contracts, estimated time frame for subsequent contracts

II.3)

Duration of the contract or limit for completion

Section III: Legal, Economic, Financial and Technical Information

III.1)

Conditions Relating to the Contract

III.1.1)

Deposits and guarantees required

Participants will be advised if this is necessary during the procurement. Parent company and/or other guarantees of performance and financial liability may be required by Crown Commercial Service if considered appropriate.

III.1.2)

Main Terms of financing and payment and/or reference to the relevant provisions

III.1.3)

Legal form to be taken by the grouping of suppliers, contractors or service providers to whom the contract is to be awarded

No special legal form is required but if a contract is awarded to a consortium, the Contracting Authority may require the consortium to form a legal entity before entering into the Contract.

III.1.4)

Other particular conditions to which the performance of the contract is subject

III.2)

Conditions for Participation

III.2.1)

Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers

Candidates will be assessed in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 on the basis of information provided in response to an Invitation to Tender (‘ITT’).

This procurement will be managed electronically via the Crown Commercial Service's e-Sourcing Suite. To participate in this procurement, participants must first be registered on the e-Sourcing Suite.

If you have not yet registered on the eSourcing Suite, this can be done online at https://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk by following the link ‘Register for CCS eSourcing’. 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. Full instructions for registration and use of the system can be found at http://ccs.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/i-am-supplier/respond-tender

Once you have registered on the eSourcing Suite, a registered user can express an interest for a specific procurement. This is done by emailing expressionofinterest@crowncommercial.gov.uk Your email must clearly state: the name and reference for the procurement you wish to register for; the name of the registered supplier; and the name and contact details for the registered individual sending the email. Crown Commercial Service will process the email and then enable the supplier to access the procurement online via the e-Sourcing Suite. The registered user will receive a notification email to alert them once this has been done.

As a user of the e-Sourcing Suite you will have access to Emptoris email messaging service which facilitates all messages sent to you and from you in relation to any specific RFX event. Please note it is your responsibility to access these emails on a regular basis to ensure you have sight of all relevant information.

For technical assistance on use of the e-Sourcing Suite please contact Crown Commercial Service Helpdesk email: eenablement@crowncommercial.gov.uk

Responses must be published by the date in IV.3.4.

III.2.2)

Economic and financial capacity

III.2.3)

Technical capacity

III.2.4)

Reserved contracts

The contract is restricted to sheltered workshops
The execution of the contract is restricted to the framework of sheltered employment programmes

III.3)

Conditions Specific to Service Contracts

III.3.1)

Is provision of the service reserved to a specific profession?

III.3.2)

Will legal entities be required to state the names and professional qualifications of the personnel responsible for the execution of the service?

Section IV: Procedure

IV.1)

Type of Procedure

Open		Restricted
Accelerated restricted		Negotiated
Accelerated negotiated		Competitive dialogue

Justification for the choice of accelerated procedure

IV.1.1)

Have candidates already been selected?

IV.1.2)

Limitations on the number of operators who will be invited to tender or to participate

Objective criteria for choosing the limited number of candidates

IV.1.3)

Reduction of the number of operators during the negotiation or dialogue

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

IV.2)

Award Criteria

IV.2.2)

An electronic auction will be used

IV.3 Administrative Information

IV.3.1)

Reference number attributed to the notice by the contracting authority

RM3775

IV.3.2)

Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract

Prior Information Notice
Notice on a Buyer Profile

Other previous publications

IV.3.3)

Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents

IV.3.4)

Time-limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate

IV.3.5)

Date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates

IV.3.6)

Language or languages in which tenders or requests to participate can be drawn up

IV.3.7)

Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender 

IV.3.8)

Conditions for opening tenders

Section VI: Other Information

VI.1)

Indicate whether this procurement is a recurrent one and the Estimated timing for further notices to be published

VI.2)

Does the contract relate to a Project/Programme financed by Community Funds?

VI.3)

Additional Information

Potential suppliers should note that, in accordance with the UK Government's policies on transparency, Crown Commercial Service intends to publish the Invitation to Tender (ITT) document and the text of any Contract awarded, subject to possible redactions at the discretion of Crown Commercial Service. The terms of the proposed Contract will also permit a public sector contracting authority, to publish the text of that contract, subject to possible redactions at the discretion of the contracting authority. Further information on transparency can be found at:

http://ccs.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/about-government-procurement-service/transparency-and-accountability/transparency-procurement

The Contracting Authority expressly reserves the right (i) not to award any contract as a result of the procurement process commenced by publication of this notice; and (ii) to make whatever changes it may see fit to the content and structure of the tendering competition; and in no circumstances will the Contracting Authority be liable for any costs incurred by the candidates. If the Contracting Authority decides to enter into a Contract with the successful supplier, this does not mean that there is any guarantee of subsequent contracts being awarded. Any expenditure, work or effort undertaken prior to contract award is accordingly a matter solely for the commercial judgement of potential suppliers. The Contracting Authority and other contracting bodies utilising the Contract reserve the right to use any electronic portal during the life of the agreement.

Crown Commercial Service wishes to establish a Contract for use by the following UK public sector bodies (and any future successors to these organisations):

HM Treasury and Cabinet Office.

From 2.4.2014 the Government introduced the Government introduced the Security Classifications (GSC) classification scheme to replace the previous Government Protective Marking Scheme (GPMS). A key aspect of this is the reduction in the number of security classifications used. All potential suppliers should make themselves aware of the changes as it may impact on this Requirement. The link below to the Gov.uk website provides information on the new GSC:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-security-classifications

Please refer to the CCS website:

http://ccs.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/i-am-supplier/supplier-guidance-supporting-information/complaints-during-procurement-process

for information about how complaints are handled during the procurement process.

VI.4)

Procedures for appeal

VI.4.1)

Body responsible for appeal procedures

Body responsible for mediation procedures

VI.4.2)

Lodging of appeals
Precise information on deadline(s) for lodging appeals:

There is no right of appeal in this procurement. If you have a complaint or seek to challenge the outcome, please follow the guidance on procedure contained in the previous section.

VI.4.3)

Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained

VI.5)

Dispatch date of this Notice