NHSE59 - Community Dental Services - Request for Information

North of England Commissioning Support is working for and on behalf of NHS England and NHS Improvement North East & Yorkshire (the Contracting Authority) and is managing this market engagement exercise for the provision of Community Dental Services across the following locations: • North Cumbria • Northumberland & North Tyneside • Newcastle • South of Tyne & Wear • Durham & Darlington • Teesside

The proposed financial threshold for each of these areas are detailed below (per annum):

• North Cumbria - £3,372,008 • Northumberland & North Tyneside - £1,291,610 • Newcastle - £1,437,000 • South of Tyne & Wear - £ 4,568,410 • Durham & Darlington - £2,599,126 • Teesside - £1,863,569

The Contracting Authority is issuing this Prior Information Notice (PIN) as a Request for Information (RFI) to engage with the market and to gather information in order to gain a better understanding of both the capacity and appetite of the market in delivering the proposed services.

It is important to note that this PIN/RFI is not a call for competition and as such you will need to express your interest in any future tender opportunity once the contract notice is published on Find a Tender and Contracts Finder.

It should also be noted that this PIN/RFI invites individuals and organisations to express an interest in this RFI exercise only, and it is NOT a pre-qualification questionnaire, and is NOT part of any pre-qualification or selection process.

This PIN/RFI is intended as an awareness, communication, and information gathering exercise. An expression of interest is no indication of a commitment to participate in the RFI process nor does it infer any preferential or special status on those individuals and organisations who express an interest in the RFI exercise.

NECS is utilising an electronic tendering portal (In-Tend) to manage this RFI and as such interested individuals and organisations will need to register on the portal to access the RFI documentation and return their completed RFI documentation. https://in-tendhost.co.uk/nhsnecsu/aspx/Home Please note that all communications will be conducted via the In-Tend portal only. It is free to register on the portal, which can be accessed at any time of day. Should you have any queries, or are having problems registering on the portal, you should contact the eTendering provider by Email: [email protected] or by phone on 0844 2728810 Helpdesk Availability - Monday to Friday 8:30am to 5.00pm. The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (as amended) may apply to a future procurement including the New Fair Deal non-statutory policy setting out how pensions issues are to be dealt with when staff are compulsorily transferred from the public sector to independent providers delivering public services.

The RFI documentation will be accessible from 12 May 2021 and completed RFI responses must be returned by 12.00 noon on 02 June 2021.