Pan Essex Dynamic Support Register Keyworker Service

The Authority is undertaking an open tender to identify a suitably qualified and experienced and technically and professionally capable provider to deliver a (non-clinical) Dynamic Support Register Keyworker Service for children and young people with a diagnosed learning disability and / or autism up to the age of 25, within Southend, Essex & Thurrock (SET). (Hereafter all references to the Authority incorporates: NHS Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB), NHS Suffolk and North East Essex ICB and NHS Hertfordshire and West Essex ICB.)

Locally, SET have too many CYP with LD/A admitted to Tier 4 hospital settings according to national targets. Embedding the DSR Keyworker Service aims to reduce these admissions for those up to the age of 25 where avoidable and help to maintain and support the CYP's placement within the community. Further information can be found within the Tender Documents upon registration with the eProcurement Portal.

The Contract will be for a term of 36 months from 1st April 2025 until 31st March 2028. The Authority is providing for a potential extension of up to 24 months until 31st March 2030 to future proof this contract, but this is in no way guaranteed, and activation of such extension will be at the sole discretion of the Authority based on fundamental principles, including the performance of the provider and results of any service evaluations undertaken.

The aggregate value of the contract over the term (including extensions) as advertised in Find a Tender Service is £4,715,395 excluding VAT. The Contract Value for the three-year term, which will act as an affordability envelope for the purposes of bidding, is £2,829,147. Any bids received in excess of such affordability envelope will be rejected as non-compliant.

The Authority is looking to appoint a single Preferred Bidder to manage all aspects of the Service. As such, a Lotting Strategy is deemed inappropriate as it risks creation of unnecessary fragmentation and complexity. Accordingly, the service will be offered as a single contract awarded to a single Preferred Bidder (either as a lead provider in it's own right, as a such as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) or consortium of providers, or in association with sub-contractors). Bidders will be required to confirm their Bidding Model including the legal form it takes. The Authority reserves the right to require members of any bidding group to assume a specific legal form if awarded the contract, if considered necessary for the satisfactory performance of the contract.

As per advice from NHSE, the contract to be entered into by the Authority and the Preferred Bidder for the procurement will be based on the NHS Terms and Conditions for the Provision of Services.

Further detail can be found at Section called Additional text.

Additional information: The team facilitating this procurement is the LD/Autism Health Equalities Team (LD/A HET), hosted by Essex County Council, which works across the Transforming Care Partnership between the three Integrated Care Boards (ICB), which are named as Contracting Authorities in the Contract Notice, and the three Local Authorities. These are Essex County Council (ECC), Southend-on-Sea Unitary Authority and Thurrock Unitary Authority. The programme is delivered by all partners within the TCP, but the Service Development Funding (SDF) for this Service comes from NHSE directly to the ICB's. The partnership and funding flows are thereafter governed / mechanised under a Section 75 Agreement between partners, meaning the funding sits within ECC budgets purely as it hosts the LD/A HET team, to enable the team to deliver the programme of work. The Authority have taken the decision to name the ICBs in this Notice as the Commissioners, as the proposed Contract will be managed by ICB Contract Manager(s) and Commissioners. However, the successful bidder will be required to invoice ECC to enable the necessary payment mechanisms to be implemented.

The Services within this procurement fall within Section 7 of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 (the "Regulations"). Neither the inclusion of the Bidder at Qualification Stage nor the use of the terms Process Overview, Selection Questionnaire, or Invitation to Tender nor any other indication shall be taken to mean that the Authority intends to hold themselves bound by any of the Regulations save those applicable to Public Contracts for social and other specific services listed in Schedule 3 of the Regulations (the "Light Touch" Regime).

The Authority may wish to expand the Dynamic Support Register Keyworker Services during the lifetime of the contract ("Contract modification(s)"). To this end, Bidders should be aware that after the award of contract, there is a possibility that the successful Bidder may be offered a variation(s) to the contract in accordance with Regulation 72 (1) (a) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020), in circumstances of which are detailed more fully in the procurement documentation.

Disclaimer: The Authority shall not be responsible for any costs or expenses incurred by respondents to this procurement in preparing and/or submitting such responses.

To access the procurement documentation, please go to the Attain eProcurement Portal (Bravo powered by Jaggaer) at: https://attain.bravosolution.co.uk

Click on 'Register here' and follow the on-screen instructions. You can access the ITT: 'itt_154 - Dynamic Support Register Keyworker Service for Children and Young People with a diagnosed learning disability and/or autism' by clicking on the link called 'View current opportunities' on the Home Page. Please note that the tender will not be accepted by any means other than through the Attain e-Procurement Portal.