Soft Market-Testing Questionnaire for Health Visiting Service

LONDONBOROUGH OF BRENT HEALTHVISITING SERVICE

CONFIDENTIAL

SOFT MARKET-TESTING QUESTIONNAIRE FOR

HEALTH VISITINGSERVICE

PROJECT: / Health Visiting Service – Brent Council
NAME OF ORGANISATION:
NAME OF INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBLE FOR COMPLETION OF THIS QUESTIONNAIRE:
JOB TITLE:
This document should be completed and returned to
Completed questionnaires and signed Non-Disclosure Agreement to be submitted no later than: / 4th July 2016

Contents

SECTION ONE

General Information and Instructions for Completion3

Background3

Purpose of this Document4

Process for Responses4

SECTION THREE

Soft Market Testing Questionnaire 6

Undertaking by Participant17

SECTION ONE–General InformationandInstructions for Completion

Background

London Borough of Brent is seeking to engage with, and obtain the views of providers of Health Visiting services. This is a pre-procurement exercise to help develop thinking on the way in which such services might be provided in London borough of Brent in the future. The questionnaire attached has been developed as a first stage of engagement with current and potential future providers. The information provided will help the commissioners make decisions about the best approaches to take in commissioning Health Visiting services for Brent Council.

Current Situation

From 1st October 2015, Brent is under a legal duty to commission the Healthy Child Programme 0-5 pursuant to theLocal Authorities (Public Health Functions and Entry to Premises by Local Healthwatch Representatives) Regulations 2013 (“the Principal Regulations”)which, is amended by theLocal Authorities (Public Health Functions and Entry to Premises by Local Healthwatch Representatives) and Local Authority (Public Health, Health and Wellbeing Boards and Health Scrutiny) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 and is therefore under a legal duty to secure the provision of the five mandated elements of the Healthy Child Programme 0-5.

These are:

• antenatal health promoting visits;

• new baby review;

• 6-8 week assessment (the health visitor or Family Nurse led check. The GP led 6-8 week check will continue to be commissioned by NHS England through Primary Care Commissioning).

• 1 year assessment; and

• 2-2½ year review.

Brent’s health visiting and FNP (“Healthy Child Programme 0-5”) services are currently provided by London North West Healthcare NHS Trust under a contract with with Brent Council.

Purpose of this document

Brent Council is requesting information from you as part of a soft market testing exercise. This is to seek the market’s views on the commissioning, future structure and provision of health visiting Services within Brent. We want to understand your views on the capacity of the market to supply these services and the level of interest in this proposed procurement activity. We also want to understand any barriers there may be to market entry and how these could be addressed.

Brent Council is seeking responses to the questions below from any interested parties. It would be helpful if you would answer as many of the questions as possible as this will assist us with the development of proposals for the way forward. The responses will be used by the Council as part of an information gathering exercise to help frame the project and service output specification ready for procurement. No information provided in the response to the soft market testing will be used in any evaluation of any subsequent response to a procurement exercise. The project team may wish to follow up this questionnaire with 1:1 meetings with key providers of health visting services to discuss certain aspects of the responses given in more detail. These meetings will be arranged prior to the commencement of any procurement exercise and the purpose will be solely to assist the Council to develop the procurement structure, strategy and approach.

Process for responses

Participants are invited to respond to the questionsset out below.

Please send the attached responses, in MS Wordformat (format unchanged) via the messaging facility in Londond Tenders Portalno later than 12 noon on 4th July 2016

In the event that you wish to submit the appended Non-Disclosure Agreement in PDF format, please providein the form of an extract from this document and attach separately. However, please ensure the questionnaire is submitted in MS Word format.

.

Participation in this pre-market consultation exercise will not include or preclude any organisation from participating in any future procurement exercise. Any responses you provide will not prejudice your involvement in any future procurement exercise. No information provided in your response will be used in any evaluation of any subsequent response to a potential future procurement exercise.

N.B. THIS IS NOT A CALL FOR COMPETITION.

SECTION TWO–Confidentiality and Freedom of Information

We wish to protect any information you provide. Therefore, it is requested that participants in this exercise sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement.

However, participants are requested to note that London Borough of Brentare subject to the disclosure requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, (“FoIA”) and any information held is potentially liable to disclosure under that Act.For this reason, we would strongly advise that any information you consider to be commercially confidential is labelled as such.In the event that a request is subsequently made for disclosure under the FoIA, that request will be dealt with in accordance with the legislation, givingfull regard to the signed and submitted Non-Disclosure Agreement.

SECTION THREE – Soft Market Testing Questionnaire

  1. GENERAL INFORMATION

A1 Full name, address and website:

Organisation name
Address
Town/city
Postcode
Country
Website

A2Main commercial contact for correspondence about this questionnaire:

Name
Position
Telephone number
Mobile phone number
Fax number
email address

A3Main clinical contact for correspondence about this questionnaire:

Name
Position
Telephone number
Mobile phone number
Fax number
email address
  1. QUESTIONNAIRE

A response to the questions below is welcomed from all interested parties. Please respond in the boxes provided (format unchanged) and email your response to later than 12 noon on 4th July 2016.

Key areas on which your views are sought:

Provision of Health Visiting Services by your organisation
Future Provision of Heath visiting services
Question 1
What will the Healthy child programme look like in Brent? How do you think this might best be achieved?
Answer1:
Question 2
What do you foresee as the main drivers of changes for health visiting services? How can we ensure the services are set up to enable them to respond to future changes in demand?
Answer 2:
Question 63
Commissioners are concerned and want to encourage behaviour change to reduce the risk of tooth decay, increased obesity levels, lack of physical activity, poor immunisation uptake and reduce postnatal depression. How do you think this might best be achieved?
Answer 3:
Question 4
How should the health visiting services in Brent be configured to achieve (a) best outcomes for service users and (b) best value for commissioners?
Answer 4:
Question 5:
To what extent would your organisation be prepared to collaborate with other providers in this market to provide better outcomes? For example, to what extent would your organisation be able / prepared to work in consortia arrangements or participate in sub contracting arrangements in the interests of delivering new service models?
Answer 5:
Question 6:
Commissioners are currently considering the most effective service options for the procurement exercise, what are your views on the benefits/drawbacks of each of the options below?
  1. Option A: 1 single service specification covering all elements of the 0-5 health child programme
  2. Option B: 1 single service specification integrating health visiting and school nursing
  3. Option C 1 single service specification integrating health visiting services with early years

Answer 6:
Question 7
Where should the future service provision be located to ensure maximum benefit to clients?
Answer 7:
Question 8
How will you meet the challenge of delivering services within the borough to ensure equity of access to services?
Answer 8:
Procurement of Services
Question 9
A number of procurement models could be applied to the contracting of this service. From a potential provider’s perspective, which model would you prefer and why:
a)Bidding for a contract seeking to appoint a single provider. The all-encompassing service specification would give providers the autonomy to forge relationships and sub-contract where applicable; or
b)Only bidding for the element(s) of the service/products that are relevant to your expertise. Consequently there will be fewer subcontracting arrangements but the success of the service would depend upon a number of successful bidders working together.
If neither a) or b) is preferred please state why.
Answer 9:
Question 10:
If you have selected b) in your response to question no 9how would you envisage these would best be structured? Please identify the elements of service in line with the principle of having ‘Lots’.
Answer 10:
Question 11:
What information would your organisation require to enable it to bid to provide these services?
Answer 11:
Other relevant information
Question 12:
Brent Council is a London Living Wage(LLW) employer and has also agreed to build LLW considerations into its procurement process for contracts. For the majority of the Public Health services we believe that the LLW is already paid to workers owing to the nature of professional expertise required.
Does your organisation currently pay all workers LLW? Does your organisation ensure that subcontractors or providers of ancillary support services (eg cleaning etc) pay the LLW? Are there any LLW considerations you believe we should build into our procurement process with a positive view to applying LLW in any procurement for Health Visiting Services?
As approriate please provide further details about any issues that might prevent you from paying LLW and state whether the introduction of a contractual obligation to pay LLW to workers would discourage you from bidding?
Answer 12:
Question 13:
Please indicate your organisations preference for with regards to minimum or maximum c
ontract lengths that would be acceptable for a contract of this nature
13a) What is the minimum contractual term that your organisation would see as commercially viable to provide best value for money?
13b) What is the minimum term you would actually bid for
(E.g. less than 2 years; 2-3 years; 4-5 years)?
Answer 13a:
Answer 13b:
Question 14:
Please feel free to provide any other recommendations you believe would make the health visiting services in Brent better able to deliver the best outcomes for both the service users and commissioners?
Answer 14:

Thank you for completing this questionnaire

UNDERTAKING BY THE PARTICIPANT

I/We certify that the information supplied is accurate to be best of my/our knowledge and that I/we accept the conditions and undertakings requested in the questionnaire.

Name*
Signed / Duly authorised on behalf of the Participant
(Electronic signature required here)
Position
Date

*Please note the term “Participant” refers to sole proprietor, partnership, incorporated company, and cooperative as appropriate. The undertaking should be signed by a partner or authorised representative in her/his own name and on behalf of the Participant.

SECTION FOUR

NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT

relating to

Health Visiting Service

between

The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Brent

and

xxxxxxxxxxxx

______

THIS AGREEMENT is dated:

PARTIES

(1) The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Brent of the Civic Centre, Engineers Way, Wembley HA9 0FJ (“the Council”)

(2) [Name of Participant Organisation] [incorporated and registered in England and Wales with company number [xxxxxxxx]] whose registered office is [xxxxxxxxxxxx] (“the Organisation”).

Collectively referred to as “the Parties”.

BACKGROUND

(1) The Council is seeking to engage with, and obtain the views of, providers of Health Visiting services via a Soft Market-Testing Exercise (SMTE). The Organisation has agreed to participate in the SMTE.

(2) For this purpose information will be shared between the Parties for the purpose of assisting the Council on obtaining views on commissioning, future structure and the provision of health visiting services (“the Permitted Purpose”). The Parties agree to disclose information to each other for the Permitted Purpose identified above and only in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.

1. INTERPRETATION

1.1 The definitions and rules of interpretation in this clause apply in this agreement.

Confidential Information: has the meaning given in clause 2.2.

Copies: copies of Confidential Information including any document, electronic file, note, extract, analysis or any other way of representing or recording and recalling information which contains, reflects or is derived from Confidential Information.

Group: in relation to a company, that company, any subsidiary or holding company from time to time of that company, and any subsidiary from time to time of a holding company of that company.

Holding company and subsidiary: mean a "holding company" and "subsidiary" as defined in section 1159 of the Companies Act 2006 and a company shall be treated, for the purposes only of the membership requirement contained in subsections 1159(1)(b) and (c) of the Act, as a member of another company even if its shares in that other company are registered in the name of (a) another person (or its nominee), whether by way of security or in connection with the taking of security, or (b) its nominee.

Permitted Purpose: considering and evaluating the options available to the Council under the SMTE

1.2 Clause and schedule headings do not affect the interpretation of this agreement.

1.3 A person includes a corporate or unincorporated body.

1.4 A reference to a law is a reference to it as it is in force for the time being taking account of any amendment, extension, application or re-enactment and includes any subordinate legislation for the time being in force made under it.

1.5 Writing or written includes faxes and e-mail.

1.6 Unless the context otherwise requires, words in the singular include the plural and in the plural include the singular.

2. CONFIDENTIALITY OBLIGATIONS

2.1 In return for the parties giving each other Confidential Information, each party shall:

(a) keep Confidential Information secret;

(b) use it only for the Permitted Purpose;

(c) not directly or indirectly disclose it in whole or in part to any person (or allow it to be disclosed) or make Copies of it unless permitted by this agreement;

(d) use all reasonable endeavours to ensure that no one discovers Confidential Information unless authorised; and

(e) inform the other party immediately upon becoming aware or suspecting that an unauthorised person has become aware of Confidential Information.

2.2 Confidential Information means:

(a) all information in whatever form (including without limitation, written, oral, visual or electronic form, or on tape or disk) relating to the Council, that is directly or indirectly disclosed to the Organisation or any of its representatives by any agent or employee of the Council, or which comes to the Organisation’s attention in connection with the Permitted Purpose; and

(b) all information in whatever form (including without limitation, written, oral, visual or electronic form, or on tape or disk) relating to the Organisation, or any company that is (or was at the date of this agreement) in the Organisation Group, that is directly or indirectly disclosed to the Council or any of its representatives by any agent or employee of the Organisation Group or which comes to the Councils’ attention in connection with the Permitted Purpose,

but excludes the information in clause 2.3.

2.3 Information is not Confidential Information if:

(a) it is or subsequently becomes public knowledge other than as a direct or indirect result of the information being disclosed in breach of this agreement;

(b) either party can establish to the reasonable satisfaction of the other party that it found out the information from a source not connected with the other party or its Group and that the source is not under any obligation of confidence in respect of the information;

(c) either party can establish to the reasonable satisfaction of the other party that the information was known to the first party before the date of this agreement and that it was not under any obligation of confidence in respect of the information;

(d) the parties agree in writing that it is not confidential.

2.4 Each party may disclose Confidential Information only:

(a) to such officers, employees, or professional advisers as are strictly required to have access for the Permitted Purpose;

(b) to people whom the other party agrees in writing may receive the information; or

(c) to the extent permitted by clause 4.

2.5 The Council may disclose Confidential Information to other parties participating in the SMTE only where to do so does not identify the Organisation or where the focus and/or subject of the Confidential Information is the Council and/or its proposed future actions and not the Organisation itself.

2.6 Each party shall:

(a) Inform anyone to whom it discloses Confidential Information that the information is confidential; and

(b) procure that anyone to whom it discloses the Confidential Information (other than disclosures under clause 4) complies with this agreement as if they were a party and, if the other party to this agreement so requests, that they enter into a confidentiality agreement with the other party on terms equivalent to those contained in this agreement.

2.7 Each party may make only such Copies as are strictly necessary for the Permitted Purpose and shall:

(a) clearly mark all Copies as confidential;

(b) ensure that Copies supplied to it or made by it can be separately identified from its own information; and

(c) use all reasonable endeavours to ensure that Copies within its control are protected against theft or unauthorised access and that no one discovers Confidential Information unless authorised.

2.8 Each party shall immediately upon the other's written request supply the other party with a list showing to the extent reasonably practicable:

(a) where Copies supplied by the other party are held;

(b) Copies that it has made or that people to whom it has disclosed the Confidential Information have made (except where the Copies contain insignificant extracts from or references to Confidential Information) and where they are held; and

(c) the names and addresses of the people to whom Confidential Information has been disclosed and a copy of the confidentiality agreements signed by them complying with clause 2.6(b).