Coroners Removal Contract for Berkshire 2019

Reading Borough Council is commissioning a service for the removal and transportation of bodies on behalf of HM Senior Coroner Berkshire to designated mortuaries.

Reading Borough Council is lead authority for the Coroners Service in Berkshire on behalf of the six unitary authorities of Bracknell Forest Borough Council, Reading Borough Council, Slough Borough Council, West Berkshire Council, Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead and Wokingham Borough Council.

The Senior Coroner is a Judicial Officer whose costs are met by the Council. In certain cases when there is a sudden death it is the responsibility of the Coroner to examine the cause of death. It is also the Coroner's responsibility to remove bodies from the scene of death to the mortuary, pending post-mortem examination.

This Invitation to Tender (ITT) has been prepared by Reading Borough Council on behalf of the Berkshire Coroner's Service and the Council is inviting tenders from appropriately experienced contractors. The purpose of this tender is to appoint a contractor(s) for the removal of bodies where a death has been referred to H.M. Senior Coroner for Berkshire.

The scope of the services to be provided will include the removal and transportation of bodies in Berkshire; from the community to designated mortuaries, from other funeral directors to mortuaries and occasional long distance transfers within the UK.

The contract will be divided into four geographical service areas covering the Berkshire area and the successful contractor(s) must be able to provide a 24 hour, 365 days a year service, with a 1 hour response time.

The four geographical service areas are:

• Zone 1 is that covered by the area to the west of Newbury, West Berkshire

• Zone 2 is that covered by the area from Newbury to Theale, West Berkshire

• Zone 3 is that covered by the area around Reading including western parts of Wokingham and eastern parts of West Berkshire

• Zone 4 is that covered by the area of Slough, Bracknell, Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead and the eastern areas of Wokingham

Additional information: Organisations interested in expressing an interest in this procurement should download the procurement documents which are available on the Council`s e-tendering system at: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/readingbc/aspx/Home and complete as instructed.

The Portal is free of charge - to register please follow the supplier registration guidance which is available on the Portal. Contractors wishing to be considered for this tendering opportunity must complete the tender documents and return them electronically via the Council`s e-tendering portal.

Please note: you must register your interest via the Council`s e-tendering portal if you intend to submit a tender. Interested parties must log onto the Council`s e-tendering portal at: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/readingbc, to express an interest and download the procurement documents. All communications regarding this procurement exercise will be conducted through the Council`s e-tendering portal including requests for clarifications or general enquiries. The procurement documents will be available for download up until the closing time and date for tender submissions, it is the organisation`s responsibility to ensure that they download the documents in ample time to ensure that they can be completed and returned electronically, along with supporting documents, prior to the closing time and date stipulated. Before completing the tender, potential providers/suppliers should ensure that the e-mail address that has been used to register their organisation will be checked regularly as the Council`s e-tendering system will generate automatic notifications to this e-mail address when there are updates, changes or messages sent relating to the project. Potential bidders should also check that their organisation`s details are correct and kept up to date.

Technical questions and assistance regarding the use and operation of the Portal should be addressed to the In-Tend Help Desk - e-mail: [email protected], telephone number +44 8442728810.