Hartlepool Borough Council

CONTRACT FOR THE PROVISION OF SPECIALIST DOMICILIARY CARE VIA AN INDIVIDUAL SERVICE FUND

Business Questionnaire

Contents

Section A / Organisational Profile / 3
Section B / Grounds for Exclusion / 6
Section C / Insurance / 11
Section D / Financial Information / 12
Section E / Health and Safety / 15
Section F / Equality and Diversity / 23
Section G / Technical Capacity / 26
Section H / References / 31
Section I / Quality Questionnaire (Case Studies) / 33
Section J / Quality Questionnaire (Price Evaluation)
Section K / Undertaking / 36
Section L / Certificate of non-collusion / 37

SECTION A – ORGANISATION PROFILE

Note to Organisation: This section is required for information purposes only.

A2.1Please provide the name of your organisation (if the organisation is a registered Company please provide your full name as registered with Companies House or equivalent Company registry)

A2.2Registered or trading name if different

A2.3Type of organisation (for example, private limited company, partnership, sole trader, registered charity (including registered charity number), or non profit making organisation)

A2.4Registered address

A2.5Correspondence address if different from the above.

A2.6Address from which the contract will be provided if different from the above.

A2.7Company or companies’ registration number(s)

A2.8Place of registration

A2.9Year established

A2.10VAT number

A2.11Do you have an ultimate holding /parent company?

Select one box
Yes
No

A2.11aIf the answer to A2.12 is yes, please provide Company Name(s), Registered Addresses & Company Registration Number(s) of ultimate holding/parent company.

A2.12Please tell us the principal areas of business activity of your organisation.

A2.13Please provide contact details

Contact name
Contact's position
Contact's phone number
Contact's fax number
Contact’s email address
Name of Person completing this form
Organisation
Position in Organisation
Contact Tel No
Email Address
Date
Signature

SECTION B - GROUNDS FOR EXCLUSION

Note to Organisation: This section will be scored on a pass/fail basis

B1.1Has your organisation been convicted at any time of Conspiracy within the meaning of section 1 or 1A of the Criminal Law Act 1977 or article 9 or 9A of the Criminal Attempts and Conspiracy (Northern Ireland) Order 1983 where that conspiracy relates to participation in a criminal organisation as defined in Article 2 of Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA.

Select one box
Yes
No

B1.2Has your organisation been convicted at any time of Corruption within the meaning of section 1(2) of the Public Bodies Corrupt Practices Act 1889 or section 1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906, where the offences relate to active corruption.

Select one box
Yes
No

B1.3Has your organisation been convicted at any time of the offence of bribery, where the offences relates to active corruption.

Select one box
Yes
No

B1.4Has your organisation been convicted at any time of Bribery within the meaning of section 1 or 6 of the Bribery Act 2010.

Select one box
Yes
No

B1.5Has your organisation been convicted at any time of Fraud, where the offence relates to fraud affecting the European Communities’ financial interests as defined by Article 1 of the Convention on the protection of the financial interests of the European Communities, within the meaning of:

  • the offence of cheating the Revenue;
  • the offence of conspiracy to defraud;
  • fraud or theft within the meaning of the Theft Act 1968, the Theft Act (Northern Ireland) 1969 and the Theft Act 1978 or the Theft Act (Northern Ireland) Order 1978;
  • fraudulent trading within the meaning of section 458 of the Companies Act 1985, article 451 of the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 or section 993 of the Companies Act 2006;
  • Fraudulent evasion within the meaning of section 170 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 or section 72 of the Value Added Tax Act 1994;
  • an offence in connection with taxation in the European Union within the meaning of section 71 of the Criminal Justice Act 1993;
  • destroying, defacing or concealing of documents or procuring the extension of a valuable security within the meaning of section 20 of the Theft Act 1968 or section 19 of the Theft Act (Northern Ireland) 1969;
  • Fraud within the meaning of section 2, 3 or 4 of the Fraud Act 2006; or
  • Making adapting, supplying or offering to supply articles for use in frauds within the meaning of section 7 of the Fraud Act 2006.

Select one box
Yes
No

B1.6Has your organisation been convicted at any time of Money laundering within the meaning of section 340 (11) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Select one box
Yes
No

B1.7Has your organisation been convicted at any time of an offence in connection with the proceeds of criminal conduct within the meaning of section 93A, 93B or 93C of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 or Article 45, 46 or 47 of the Proceeds of Crime (Northern Ireland) Order 1996.

Select one box
Yes
No

B1.8Has your organisation been convicted at any time of an offence in connection with the proceeds of drug trafficking within the meaning of section 49, 50 or 51 of the Drug Trafficking Act 1994.

Select one box
Yes
No

B1.9Has your organisation been convicted at any time of any other offence within the meaning of Article 45(1) of the Public Sector Directive as defined by national law of any relevant state.

Select one box
Yes
No

B1.10If there are any convictions relating to section B1, please give details below, including any action taken to resolve the situation

B2Discretionary grounds

B2.1With regard to you, your directors or any other person who has powers of representation, decision or control in your Organisation

  • Are you bankrupt or have you had a receiving order or administration order or bankruptcy restrictions order or a debt relief order made against you;
  • Have you made any composition or arrangement with or for the benefit of your creditors;
  • Have you made any conveyance or assignment for the benefit of your creditors;
  • Are you unable to pay or have no reasonable prospect of being able to pay, a debt within the meaning of section 268 of the Insolvency Act 1986, or article 242 of the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989;
  • In Scotland have you granted a trust deed for creditors or become otherwise apparently insolvent;
  • Are you the subject of a petition presented for sequestration of your estate; or
  • Are you the subject of any similar procedure under the law of any other state?

Select one box
Yes
No

B2.7Have you failed to fulfil your obligations regarding the payment of taxes under the law of any part of the United Kingdom or of the relevant State in which the Organisation is established?

Select one box
Yes
No

B2.8Are you guilty of serious misrepresentation in providing any information referred to within Regulation 23, 24, 25, 26 or 27, or not providing such information in response to a request by a contracting authority?

Select one box
Yes
No

B2.9If the answer to any of the questions in Section B2 is yes, please give details, including any action taken to resolve the situation.

Name of Person completing this form
Organisation
Position in Organisation
Contact Tel No
Email Address
Date
Signature

SECTION C - INSURANCE

Note to Organisation: This section will be scored on a pass/fail basis

C1 Please give confirmation that you have or if successful, will obtain the

following minimum levels of insurance.

  • Public liability £5 million

Select one box
Yes
No

C2Please give confirmation that you have or if successful, will obtain the following minimum levels of insurance.

  • Employers liability £10 million

Select one box
Yes
No
Name of Person completing this form
Organisation
Position in Organisation
Contact Tel No
Email Address
Date
Signature

SECTION D - FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Note to Organisation: This section will be scored on a pass/fail basis
1Where the bidder organisation is a subsidiary of a group, all questions must be answered for both the subsidiary and the ultimate parent company. The Authority reserves the right to ask for a parent company guarantee.
2Where you are submitting this PQQ as a consortium or partnership, we need this information for each member of the consortium or partnership.
3Where the bid is by a consortium or partnership (i.e. where separate companies combine for the bid and each will be signatories to the main contract) then each member of the consortium or partnership will be separately appraised, using a combination of Experian and manual financial analysis.

D1 Company Information

Please complete the following tables (for all members of the consortium or partnership, where applicable):

Company Registration Number
Place of Registration
Year Established

Financial checks procedure

The Council will initially endeavour to secure a credit score through our third party provider, Experian. In the event that Experian cannot provide a report or Experian class the Bidder as “High Risk”, a credit score will be calculated by the Council’s Finance Team.

Should, following completion of the above checks, a Bidder (or parent company or any member company of a consortium bid) be classed as ineligible to bid as a result of its maximum annual contract value being too low, they will be deemed to have failed this requirement and they will be rejected from this procurement exercise.

Third Party Financial checks

The Council currently uses reports from Experian to assess each Bidder’s financial position and to provide a ‘credit score’.

The maximum annual contract values the Council will consider a Bidder for are calculated usingthe above mentioned credit score and the annual turnover of the bidding company.

High Risk

Companies with a credit score of 39 or less are considered “High Risk” and 0% of annual turnover is used to calculate the maximum annual contract value.

This effectively excludes“High Risk” Bidders unless they have a parent company who is prepared to guarantee their performance of the contract. If a parent company guarantee is available (and the parent company’s finances can be checked in the manner described above) then that information can be used in the assessment of a Bidder’s financial situation.

Medium Risk

Companies with a credit score of between 40 to 59 are considered “Medium Risk” and 15% of annual turnover is used to calculate the maximum annual contract value.

Low Risk

Companies with a credit score of 60 to 100 are considered “Low Risk” and 30% of annual turnover is used to calculate the maximum annual contract value.

‘In-House’ Financial checks

In the event that any bidding company fails to pass the financial checks based on the Experian reports or are not on the Experian system, their financial records will be subject to a manual appraisal by the Council’s Finance Team, to provide a creditscore. The risk categories and turnover percentages outlined above are then applied.

D2 Supplementary Information

Should ‘In-House’ financial checks be required you must be able to provide, on request, any of the following information:

  • Evidence of Turnover
  • Statement of Accounts for 'Calderdale' test
  • Alternative assurance e.g. bank reference, tax return
  • Statement of Accounts
  • Most recent audited accounts (for the last two years)
  • Profit and loss account.
  • Balance sheet and cash flow forecast for the current year.
  • A bank letter outlining the current cash and credit position.

Please confirm if you can supply these documents if the Council requests them / YES / NO (Delete as appropriate)

SECTION E - HEALTH AND SAFETY

Note to Organisation: This section will be scored on a pass/fail basis
This section will be evaluated on a pass/fail basis. In order to pass this Section you must evidence your organisation’s commitment to health and safety by providing the required documents and signing the declaration.

The Council requires Organisations to make the following commitments to health and safety by signing the undertaking in this Section:

  • To provide adequate control of the health, safety and welfare risks arising from the Organisation’s work activities which may affect workforce or others.
  • To consult with the workforce on matters affecting health and safety.
  • To provide and maintain safe plant and equipment.
  • To make sure of safe handling and use of substances.
  • To give information, instruction and supervision for workforce.
  • To make sure all workforce are competent to do their tasks and to give them adequate training.
  • To prevent accidents and cases of work related ill health.
  • To maintain safe and healthy working conditions.
  • To make sure enough funds are available to implement this statement.
  • To review and revise this statement as necessary at regular intervals not exceeding 12 months.

Further, whilst your organisation carries out any work on the Council’s behalf you agree to:

  • make sure that your entire workforce will keep to all relevant health and safety legislation; and
  • keep to any instructions from our supervising or safety officers.

Signed for and on behalf of the organisation:
Signed:
Position or status in the organisation:
Organisation’s name:
Organisation’s address:
Date:
Note to Organisation:
The Council will evaluate this section on a pass or fail basis. Answering no to any of these questions may result in a fail pending further investigation by the Council.

1Policies and procedures

1.1Does your organisation have a written health and safety policy (covering general policy, organisation and arrangement) as required by Section 2(3) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and issue any codes of safe working practices to workforce?

Select one boxYes No

If you have answered ‘Yes’ above, please enclose a copy of the policy.

1.2If your organisation does not have a written health and safety policy, please give the reason why.

1.3Does your organisation have a procedure for the reporting and recording of accidents and dangerous occurrences covered by Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations1995 (RIDDOR)

Select one boxYes No

If you have answered ‘Yes’ above, please enclose a copy of your procedure for accident reporting, recording and investigation.

Please fill in the following table for accidents and dangerous occurrences as set out below.

Year

/ Fatal / Major injury or ‘over three days’ / Non-reportable / Dangerous occurrences / Reportable ill-health / Near misses
This year
Last year
Year before last

2Nature of Work

2.1Please describe the nature of the work you are apply to provide providing e.g. does it involve the use of heavy equipment, does it involve working with vulnerable people etc.

2.2If the work involves the use of heavy equipment, please provide details of the type of equipment, training provided/received in use of the equipment and the inspection process followed to ensure the equipment is in a safe condition.

3Workforce capacity to undertake the contract

3.1Please provide details of the number of employees you employ

4Risk Assessment

4.1Does your organisation have risk assessment procedures in place for all work activities as required by the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and associated legislation?

Select one boxYes No

If you have answered ‘Yes’ above, please supply two examples of risk assessments and safety method statements for work activity done within the last 12 months. This should include manual handling, Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) loan working or others that are relevant to your work activities.

5Statutory Assessments

5.1Please submit two examples relevant to this contract of statutory assessments e.g. inspection of lifting equipment in accordance with the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations applicable to this contract.

6Staff Training

6.1Does your organisation have a health and safety training programme for your workforce to make sure that they are competent for their duties?

Select one boxYes No

If you have answered ‘Yes’ above, please enclose brief details of training courses or programmes undertaken by managers and workforce who would be undertaking work on this contract.

7Documentation

7.1Please provide the following documentation:

7.1.1Additional risk assessments applicable to this contract

7.1.2Fire risk assessments applicable to this contract

7.1.3Evidence of Health & Safety awareness being included in your induction process

8Subcontracting

8.1Do you/will you use subcontractors in delivering this contract? If yes, please provide details of how you manage the health and safety of these subcontractors including how you assess their competence? What are your monitoring arrangements for ensuring health and safety standards are met. How you review their health and safety performance on an ongoing basis.

9Responsibility and structure

9.1Please give the name and position of the person in your company ultimately responsible for safety and provide details of their health and safety related qualifications and experience contributing to their competence for this role:

Name
Position in organisation
Experience
Qualifications

9.2Please give the name and position of the person (if different to above) appointed to give health and safety advice as required by Regulation 7 of the Management of Health and Safety Work Regulations 1999. Please also give details of their experience and any health and safety related qualifications.

Name
Position in organisation
Experience
Qualifications

9.3Please provide details of the time spent on health and safety management of the company in a month and provide evidence of activities.

9.4Please provide details of the company competent person’s relationship to the company, e.g. full-time, part-time, consultancy etc.

9.5Please provide details of the company competent person’s membership of associations.

10Communications

10.1How is your health and safety policy communicated?

10.2How do you communicate/utilise documented risk assessments?

10.3How do you ensure Statutory Assessments are completed in accordance with the legal requirements which require them? For example lifting equipment for lifting people should normally be inspected be inspected every six months or in accordance with a written scheme of examination. Please submit two examples relevant to this contract.

10.4What arrangements do you operate to support consultation on your health and safety policy and general health and safety matters?

11.Memberships/Accreditations

11.1Does your organisation (not individuals within it) have current membership of any:

  • trade associations;
  • safety organisations; or
  • registration with or accreditation by any accrediting bodies, for example The Contractors Health and Safety Scheme (CHAS)]or equivalent?

Select one boxYes No

If you have answered ‘Yes’ above, please give details, using full names of associations and bodies and any applicable registration number. Please do not use abbreviations.

12.Enforcement Action

12.1During the last five years, has the organisation been subject to formal enforcement (for example, prosecution, a Prohibition Notice or an Improvement Notice) for contravention of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, or equivalent legislation arising from your conduct of activities similar to those covered by this contract?