Children's Transport Services

Thurrock Council is seeking to commission a framework of transport to deliver a range of transport services primarily for children, although Lot 3 usage may include adult users and/or staff Journeys. There are a variety of Routes and call off arrangements to be used for the operation of the framework, described within this specification as \"the Service\".

The Children's Transport framework is set out in three (3) lots: Lot 1 - Children's Mainstream Home to School Lot 2 - Children's SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disability) Home to School Lot 3 - Ad-hoc and Social Care Journeys

Additional information: 4. INSTRUCTIONS TO TENDERERS

Tenderers must register with the In-Tend online portal either directly or via Thurrock Council's website Business (Contract Opportunities) page using the following links: https://www.in-tendhost.co.uk/thurrockcouncil/aspx/Home

https://www.in-tendhost.co.uk/thurrockcouncil/

4.1 INVITATION TO TENDER

Please read this ITT carefully and ensure that you are fully familiar with the nature and extent of the obligations on you if your Tender is successful.

Only one Tender is permitted per Tenderer. If a Tenderer submits more than one Tender, only the one with the latest time and date of receipt noted will be evaluated, any other Tenders will be disregarded. Please note that this does not relate to the submission of separate Tender Responses if you are applying for more than one lot.

If you have been asked to apply for more than one lot, then you must submit a separate Tender for each lot that you are applying for, marking each Tender clearly to indicate which lot it relates to. If you wish any aspect of your Tender to be evaluated for more than one lot this must be clearly stated, as the Tenders for each lot will be evaluated separately.

All documents submitted as part of your Tender must be written in English or a full English language translation provided at no cost to the Council. Only the translated English version will be evaluated.

All documents requiring a signature must be signed as follows: a) Where the Tenderer is a company, by two directors or by a director and the secretary of the company, provided that such persons are authorised for this role; or b) Where the Tenderer is an individual, by that individual; or c) Where the Tenderer is a partnership, by at least two duly authorised partners.

Failure to provide all of the information required or to meet the requirements of this document may result in your Tender not being considered by the Council due to it being a non-compliant Tender.

4.2 FURTHER INFORMATION

If you have any questions or require any clarification please email using the correspondence facility on the In-Tend system no later than the Clarification Deadline. Questions received after the Clarification Deadline will not be answered. Tenderers are advised that it is solely their responsibility to ensure that clarification questions do not identify their organisation.

Tenderers are advised that under no circumstances must they make contact with the Council or their representatives concerning any aspects of this Tender process other than by the Council's procurement portal - In-tend. Failure to do this may result in disqualification from this Tender process.

Please note that any questions submitted and the Council's responses may, at the Council's discretion, be circulated to all Tenderers, subject to the Council accepting an assertion made by a Tenderer at the time of question submission that the subject matter of a question relates specifically to a Tenderer's response and is therefore confidential.

The Council reserves the right to issue supplementary documentation at any time during the Tendering process to clarify or amend any aspect of the ITT or any of the documents referred to in the ITT. All such further documentation shall be deemed to form part of the ITT and shall supersede any part of the ITT to the extent indicated.

4.3 EMAILS SENT THROUGH IN-TEND

Tenderers must diligently monitor the inboxes of all registered email addresses for incoming messages from the Council throughout the tendering process and up until final contract award. The Council is not liable for any loss or damages resulting from a Tenderer overlooking email correspondence. Tenderers may be excluded from a tender process for not responding to the Council within the stipulated timescales.

4.4 SUBMISSION OF TENDERS

Completed Tenders must be returned online via the In-Tend system. Fax, postal and email submissions will not be considered.

Failure to return your Tender in the correct manner may result in your exclusion from consideration for the Contract.

Tenderers must allow sufficient time before the Closing Date to upload and submit their Tender. The Council reserves the right to reject Tenders received after the Closing Date.

Is a Recurrent Procurement Type? : No