Catering Service

CATERING SERVICE

TENDER DOCUMENTS

FOR

THE SUPPLY OF

CHILLED FOODS

KMCCCS-007

PERIOD

28 MARCH 2008

TO

31 MARCH 2010

With a provision to extend for a further period of 12 months with the agreement of the Council and the Supplier, if deemed necessary).

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Contents

1. Instructions for Tendering

A) Information

B Instructions for Tendering

C) Instructions for Return of Tender

D) Tender Evaluation Criteria

E) Freedom of Information

2. Form of Tender

3. Standard Contract Conditions

4. Specification

5. Schools Schedule of Prices

6. Business Questionnaire

7. Food Quality and Safety Questionnaire

8. Contract Location Address DATA

9. Bankers Reference Authorisation Form

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Instructions for Tendering

A. INFORMATION

1. Tenders in accordance with this Tender Document are invited from suppliers of chilled food products under a call off agreement. The Services are anticipated to commence on 28 March 2008 and terminate on 31 March 2010 with an option for the Council to extend the contract for a further 12 months, if necessary.

2. The Tender Document comprises the Instructions for Tendering, Form Of Tender, Specification, Business Questionnaire, Standard Contract Conditions, Schedule of Prices, Food Quality and Safety Questionnaire and the contract location address data and sets out the nature and extent of the requirement and the conditions upon which the Services are to be provided.

3. The Tenderer should note that the stated annual contract value is an estimate and given for information and guidance only and the Council shall not be bound by this estimate.

4. In the event of any conflict arising between any of the provisions of the Tender Document issued by the Council and those submitted by the supplier, the Council shall hold the definitive version of the Tender Document.

B. INSTRUCTIONS FOR TENDERING

5. Tenderers are advised to consider the Tender Document in detail in order to satisfy themselves as to the nature and extent of the Council’s requirements. Responses to any queries received or any required clarification of the Tender Document will be copied to all Tenderers. Tenderers are responsible for ensuring that they are fully familiar with the nature and extent of the proposed Services and shall obtain for themselves at their own expense all information necessary for the preparation of their tenders.

6. Tenderers should note that notwithstanding the invitation to submit a tender the Council makes no representations regarding Tenderers’ financial ability, technical competence or ability in any way to carry out the Services.

7. Invitation to tender must be treated as private and confidential. Tenderers must not disclose the fact that they have been invited to tender or release details of the Tender Document other than on an ‘in confidence’ basis to those who have a legitimate need to know or with whom the Tenderers need to consult for the purpose of preparing the tender. The Tender Document shall remain the property and copyright of the Council.

8. The Council shall not be held liable for any costs, expenses and charges relating to or arising from the preparation of the tender including without limitation, the preparation of the documentation, attendance at meetings, attendance at presentations and inspection of premises.

9. The tender must be submitted strictly in accordance with the Tender Document. The tender must not be conditional or be accompanied by statements that could be construed as rendering it equivocal and/or placed on a different footing from any other tenderers. Only tenders submitted strictly in accordance with these instructions will be accepted for consideration.

10. The tender shall be submitted on the basis that the offer therein shall remain in force for a minimum period of six calendar months from the date fixed for the submission of tenders.

11. The Council does not bind itself to accept the lowest or any tender and shall not incur any liability in respect of the tender submitted.

12. The Council may, and hereby reserves the right to, alter the contents but not the intention of the Tender Document, prior to the closing date for tender submission. These amendments will be forwarded, in writing, to all Tenderers. No person other than the Authorised Officer shall have the authority to vary any part of the Tender Document who shall do so only in writing.

13. Tenderers are deemed to have fully satisfied themselves before submitting their tender as to the accuracy and sufficiency of the rate and prices stated which in the event of the tender being accepted, shall (except insofar as it is otherwise provided) cover all the obligations under the contract including without limitation, all fees, labour, equipment, goods, materials, transport, insurance, administration, operating costs, telephones, faxes and other overhead charges, profit other costs, expenses and disbursements and all general risks, taxation duties, liabilities, obligations and liabilities set out or implied as necessary to comply with the contract. No claim against the Council shall be allowed whether in contract or tort or under the Misrepresentation Act 1967 or otherwise on the grounds of any inconsistencies.

14. As part of the evaluation process some Tenderers may be requested to attend an interview and the Council may attend any of the Tenderer’s premises to inspect the premises and procedures and take samples. Such Tenderers will be notified in due course of the location, date and time of any interview or premises visit.

15. Tenders are submitted on the condition that the Authorised Officer may, after opening the tender, discuss verbally or in writing with the Tenderer the details of the documents submitted prior to formal acceptance of a tender by way of clarification (please note that such clarification enquiry does not in any way invite negotiation), without in any way committing the Council to accept such tender.

16. Any unauthorised amendment, qualification or deletion of, or addition to, the Tender Document issued by the Council may invalidate the tender.

17. The tender must be made on the Form of Tender incorporated in the Tender Document and must be complete in all respects. The tender must be completed in English in black script and submitted in accordance with these Instructions for Tendering. The Tenderer must set out in the form of Tender the Areas for which they are willing to supply by ticking the appropriate Area. In addition to the school meals business, the Council operates Deighton Adult Training Centre and which consequently needs to cater for Adult tastes. There is no limitation to the number of Areas which the Tenderer can apply for so long as the Council’s Specification can be complied with for each relevant Area. There is no requirement to apply for all areas.

The Schools Schedule of Prices Schedule must be completed and submitted in respect of school meals and the unit Price should reflect the weight and quantity designated in the Schedule.

Since the Deighton Adult Training Centre has a requirement to cater for adults, if the Tenderer wishes to Tender for the supply of chilled foods to the Centre, it must include in its submission a separate Price Schedule consisting of the Tenderer’s Full Product Range including any available brochure and indicate any available retrospective discounts.

The Tenderer shall also return a completed Food Quality and Safety Questionnaire, Business Questionnaire and Bankers Reference Authorisation Form.

The documents must be signed by the Tenderer and submitted in the manner and by the date and time stated in paragraph (25) below together with all supporting documents as required by the Tender Document.

All documents requiring a signature must be signed:

(a) where the Tenderer is an individual, by that individual;

(b) where the Tenderer is a partnership, by two duly authorised partners;

(c) where the Tenderer is a company, by either two directors or a director and the Company Secretary such persons being duly authorised for such purpose.

18. The tender shall be submitted on the basis that acceptance of a tender by the Council shall be binding for all purposes.

19. Rates and prices must be quoted in pounds sterling to two decimal places (exclusive of Value Added Tax).

20. The successful Tenderer will be required to execute a formal agreement prepared by the Council which will include or refer to all documents or information set out therein forming the contract.

21. The Council considers that the information contained in this Invitation to Tender documentation is comprehensive. However, if tenderers have any general issues in relation to the tender process, they should contact Kath Simpson, Authorised Officer, Kirklees Council Catering Service, Kirklees Metropolitan Council on telephone: 01484 326589 or for more detailed clarification in writing by e-mail to: .

In order to ensure a “level playing field” in relation to the tender process, the Council reserves the right to share the responses to clarification questions with each of the tenderers to ensure that all tenderers have equal access to the same information.

C. INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE RETURN OF TENDER

You are reminded that tenders can be submitted either:

(i) in soft copy format electronically via the internet using the Council Tenders electronic tendering system site at http:/scms.alito.co.uk providing you have registered and downloaded the documents.

or

(ii) in hard copy format via the postal system or delivered by hand in accordance with the instructions set out in Clause 24 below.

23. Soft copy submissions can be made electronically via the Council Tenders electronic tendering system website. Tender submissions will not be permitted using the Council Tenders site after the closing time has passed.

Your attention is also drawn to the fact that a limit of 8MB per electronic file exists on the Council Tenders site. The speed with which tender submissions are made is dependent upon the file size of the document in question. You must ensure that you allow sufficient time for the successful transmission of your electronic tender bid. The inclusion of graphics, logos, photographs etc considerably increases the size of electronic files and should be omitted wherever possible.

Advanced Electronic signatures (supported by a qualified certificate as defined in the Electronic Signatures Regulations 2002) are not required where tender bids are submitted electronically. However, tenderers are requested to ensure that the Form of Tender and other certificates that are required to be signed contain a form of electronic signature such as typed name, scanned signature, electronic representation of a hand written signature, unique sequence of characters or signature created by cryptographic means. If you require any assistance in downloading electronic tender documentation or any other tender systems support, please contact Jane Fearnley on telephone number 01484 416936 or via email to: .

24. If you are to submit your tender in hard copy format via the postal system it must be sealed in the envelope provided and addressed to:

The Head of Democratic Support Services

Kirklees Metropolitan Council

1st Floor

Civic Centre 3

Huddersfield

HD1 2TG

so as not to bear any distinguishing words that would identify the sender. In such an event the Council reserves the right to return the tender to the tenderer unopened.

Any tender delivered by hand must be taken to the Ground Floor Reception at Civic Centre 3 and a timed receipt obtained.

25. The Form of Tender and other required documents and information shall be received by the Council by noon on 7 January 2008. It is stressed that any tender received after the above time and date for delivery may not be considered.

26. The Council accepts no responsibility for any tender received in any way other than specified above.

D. TENDER EVALUATION CRITERIA

1. The Contract will be awarded on the basis of the most economically advantageous tender, and value for money taking into account: (in priority order):

a) Degree of assurance, of service, especially with regard to: - 30%

- accreditation

- delivery

- product availability

- hygiene and health and safety practices

b) Quality and range of products – 25%

c) Price – 25%

d) Ability and extent to which suppliers conform to Council’s Policies. – 10%

e) Financial standing. – 10%

2. The above criteria will be applied to the Tender submission from each Tenderer and to assessments made from interviews with the Tenderers and visits of the Tenderer’s Premises by our ‘in-house’ quality Systems Officer and from any reference obtained.

E. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

Important notice to all Tenderers to the Council.

The Council is a public authority within the meaning of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the ‘2000 Act’) and therefore any requests for information held by the Council or another person on the Council’s behalf (for example a contractor) must be dealt with in accordance with the 2000 Act.

As part of its duties and responsibilities under the 2000 Act the Council may be required to disclose information relating to any tender or contract with any supplier or partner, to any person making a request. It may also publish some of that information in its Publication Scheme under the 2000 Act.

If any information provided to the Council contains trade secrets or is considered by the Tenderer genuinely to be commercially sensitive it should be stated explicitly. In such cases any request for disclosure of the relevant material will be examined in the light of the exemptions contained in the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and public interest test and genuinely confidential information that is explicitly stated to be so that is exempt from disclosure will not be disclosed. The Tenderer will be consulted before disclosure of any information expressly stated by the Tenderer to be confidential is made, unless the Council has made it clear in advance that this type of information would be disclosed.

The Council will not accept information on terms that purport to prevent any possible future disclosure of information in compliance with the law. For instance the Council cannot accept restriction of disclosure where the information supplied is not genuinely commercially sensitive or confidential in nature.

The Council reserves the right to disclose details of the contract or contract process (for example, name of successful Tenderer and overall contract price).

THE COUNCIL OF THE BOROUGH OF KIRKLEES

FORM OF TENDER