Sensory Impairment Services

SENSORY IMPAIRMENT SERVICES

PRE TENDER APPLICATION

Closing date for return of Applications: Noon on 16 November 2007

To be used for assessing Provider capability and financial stability

as part of an Approved Provider/Select List process

Introduction

This Pre-Tender Application enables interested organisations to provide the Council with sufficient information to assess their general capability, suitability, financial standing and technical ability as a provider of the type of service to be tendered.

Lincolnshire County Council are looking to re-commission three sensory impairment services to be provided on a countywide basis. An Information Pack about the tender is enclosed with this Pre-Tender Application form.

Organisations who express an interest in providing this service will be invited to tender providing they can demonstrate they meet acceptable standards in the areas addressed by this evaluation. Your pre tender application will be evaluated by officers of Lincolnshire County Council who will determine whether your organisation meets the necessary criteria.

Submission of Application

It is preferable if you could complete your pre-tender application in electronic form. If you are able to send in your application form, policies and procedures, financial accounts and any other associated documentation by electronic form please do so.Please e-mail your completed application to .

If it is not possible to submit your application electronically please submit in printed form to Matthew Smith, Procurement Support Officer, Lincolnshire County Council, Newporte House, Low Moor Road, LincolnLN6 3JY.

Please feel free to use additional sheets, if required, to support your answers but please ensure that these are clearly marked indicating your organisation details and the relevant section/question which is being answered.

The closing date for the submission of your pre tender application is noon on 16 November 2007.

Failure to return this form by that time will result in your organisation being excluded from consideration to be invited to tender for this service.

If you require any guidance for submitting your Pre-Tender Application please don’t hesitate to contact:

Name / Tel No / E-mail
Anne Beadle / 01529 305549 /
Roger Holloway / 01522 550767 /

Evaluation Process

There are potentially two stages in the pre tender evaluation process:

Stage 1A 'desk top' evaluation where we shall assess the information provided in this Application and the documentation which accompanies it. This will look at matters relating to your business itself, how the staff are recruited and trained, how experienced are the managers and staff, and so on.

The purpose of this evaluation enables the Evaluation Panel to make an informed and quantifiable judgment as to whether your application meets the necessary criteria.

Depending on whether the Provider’s application is deemed satisfactory at this stage, it may be necessary for a 2nd Stage evaluation to take place.

Stage 2If, following the ‘desk top’ evaluation, it is unclear that the Provider meets the required standards in any area, then the County Council may wish to visit the Provider to clarify their responses to the areas addressed in this application. Further evidence may be requested at this time to support the Provider’s application

Should such a visit be deemed necessary then they will be prearranged with each Provider following receipt of their Application; the programme for the day and evaluation criteria will be shared with the Providers prior to the visits taking place.

The criteria we shall use to evaluate each organisation in respect of its inclusion on the Approved List of Providers for Sensory Impairment Services is set out below and covered in more detail within the Application:

• Business Issues
• Experience
• Quality Assurance
• Policies and Procedures
• Service Delivery
• Environment

Next Step

An invitation to tender will be sent outw/c 19th November 2007 to organisations who complete and return this pre tender evaluation in accordance with the stated deadline. See enclosed Information Pack for information about timescales and the Tender Briefing Session to be held on 6th November 2007.

Feedback will be provided to organisations who are unable to demonstrate that they can meet the relevant criteria covered in this pre-tender application.

Organisation
Type of organisation (e.g. Private or Voluntary Sector):
.………………………………………………………………………………….……
If Private what is your organisation’s status? (e.g. limited company, partnership, etc): ……………………………………………………………………
Registration no or Registered Charity No………………………………………….
When was your organisation established? …......
Please provide full names and addresses of the Directors and Company Secretary or the Partners (or equivalent for your organisation, i.e. voluntary organisation should give three members of the Management Committee and the Chief Officer/Co-ordinator):……………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………...
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…………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………….
PLEASE ATTACH AN ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE CHART.
Has any Director, Company Secretary, Partner or equivalent:
Been bankrupt or involved in any organisation which has been liquidated or gone into receivership?
Had any distress levied against them or failed to comply with any court order?
If yes, please give details below:
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Please state if any Director, Company Secretary, or Partner or equivalent has been employed by Lincolnshire County Council in the last two years, is related to any person who is employed by Lincolnshire County Council or any Councillor and if so, please give details below:
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
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Please provide details of your organisation’s holding company or parent company, if applicable (or state here ‘not applicable’):
Name of holding / parent company:...... …......
Registered address:…..…...... …......
...... …......
...... …......
Registered number: ………………………………………………………………….
Will the group or ultimate holding company be prepared to guarantee, as a subsidiary, your contract performance?......
Financial Viability
What is the organisation’s current total annual turnover? ....…...... ….…
PLEASE SUBMIT ONE COPY OF YOUR ORGANISATION’S AUDITED ACCOUNTS FOR EACH OF THE LAST 3 YEARS
Please provide details of your organisation’s bankers from whom references may be sought, if deemed necessary:
Name of banker:...... ………………………......
Address where account held:...…...... …
......
......
PLEASE COMPLETE AND RETURN THE ENCLOSED FINANCIAL REFERENCE AUTHORISATION FORM. The form authorises the bank to charge fees to your account, therefore please ensure the form is signed by an authorised signatory of the account.
Experience
Please give a brief description of the Organisation's primary business, or special service areas/related projects and describe your organisation's experience in the provision of Sensory Impairment Services.
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Have you previously provided services of any sort to Lincolnshire County Council? If yes please give brief details.
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Give brief details of any similar contracts awarded to your organisation by any other local authority or public sector organisation during the last three years.
Service & Location Service User Group Value Purchasing Body
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Have any Contracts been terminated or not renewed for failure to perform to the terms of the Contract within the last three years? If yes please give details:……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Has the organisation had, or is subject to proceedings or, a Receiver, or Administrator on behalf of a creditor appointed in respect of the organisation's business? If yes please supply brief details including dates and outcomes.
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Quality Assurance
Is your organisation a member of or accredited by a recognised and relevant professional association? If so, please state which:………………………….....
………………………………………………………………………………………….
Does your organisation hold current accreditation to any recognised Quality Assurance standards (e.g. ISO 9001:2000, Investors in People, etc)? If so, please state which, and when accreditation was received:………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………….
What processes and methods of Quality Assurance are currently employed?
………………………………………………………………………………………….
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Please give details of any Notice of Default served on your organisation, and what action did you take to resolve? ………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
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We would normally expect potential service providers to be able to offer referees to comment upon the quality of services provided. Please therefore provide the names and contact details of recent clients from whom we can without further permission seek references. Ideally, these referees will be other authorities who have commissioned services from you. If you have to offer Lincolnshire County Council as a referee, please give the name of the appropriate Social Services Practice Manager. Please do not offer individual service users or their carers/families as referees:
REFEREE 1
Name of organisation: ......
Name of person to contact: ......
Address: ......
......
………………………………………………………………………………………….
Telephone: ......
e-mail: ......
Brief description of contract: ......
REFEREE 2
Name of organisation: ......
Name of person to contact: ......
Address: ......
......
......
Telephone: ......
e-mail: ......
Brief description of contract: ......
Insurances
Please provide details of the Organisation's public liability insurance and employers liability insurance, including the name of the insurers, policy numbers, and expiry date.
PLEASE SUBMIT COPIES OF THE RELEVANT INSURANCE CERTIFICATION WITH YOUR APPLICATION
PUBLIC LIABILITY
Minimum cover required £5 million in respect of any claim (with no overall limit)
Cover confirmed: YES/NO
Name of Insurance Company:………………………………………………………
Policy Number:………………………………………………………………………..
Expiry Date:……………………………………………………………………………
EMPLOYER’S LIABILITY
Minimum cover required £10 million in respect of any claim (with no overall limit)
Cover confirmed: YES/NO
Name of Insurance Company:………………………………………………………
Policy Number:………………………………………………………………………
Expiry Date:……………………………………………………………………………
Please state whether there are any outstanding insurance claims against your organisation (other than for minor routine matters), and if so provide brief details:
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Policies and Procedures
PLEASE SUPPLY A COPY OF THE FOLLOWING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES SO THAT THESE CAN BE ASSESSED, PARTICULARLY IN RELATION TO LEGISLATIVE REQUIREMENTS AND GOOD PRACTICE:
Name of Policy or Procedure / Tick Box / Tick Box
Copy Enclosed / No Such
Document
Safeguarding of Vulnerable Adults Policy and Procedure
Safeguarding Children Policy (Section 11 Compliant)
Information Governance, including Confidentiality, Data Protection and Freedom of Information
Complaints Policy and Procedures
Disciplinary Policy and Procedures
Equal Opportunities and Race Relations Policy and Procedures
Grievance Policy and Procedures
Health and Safety Policy and Procedures
Information given to New Service users
Quality Assurance Policy and Systems
Risk Assessments (Health and Safety)
Service User Consultation
Staff Development and Training Policy and Procedures
Staff Induction Training
Staff Supervision and Support
Staff Recruitment and Retention Procedures and Policy
Gifts, Gratuities and Bequests
Lone Working Policy
Equal Opportunities
What methods/practices do you utilise to ensure that service user equal opportunities, especially in relation to diversity, are met appropriately and sensitively, and how are these measured. Please also complete and return the attached Equality Questionnaire………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Confidentiality
Please describe how you safeguard the confidentiality of service users whilst operating within the requirements of Data Protection, Freedom of Information, Access to Records of Safeguarding Adults and Child Protection cases………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Recruitment
Please describe how you recruit qualified and competent staff, whilst operating within a recruitment framework which pays attention to equal opportunities, race equality and diversity, and safety for children, young people and adults…………………………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...
Training and Development
How do you ensure that the individuals you engage to provide services are suitably experienced and qualified and continue to meet future service developments?. ……
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Health & Safety
What arrangements do you have in place for assessing risks to health and safety and providing information and training to staff…………………………….
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Satisfaction
How do you respond to a service user's dissatisfaction and/or complaint and how is corrective action implemented to ensure that the cause of concern is not repeated? How are these outcomes measured?......
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Service User/Parents/Carers Involvement
Describe how your organisation involves its service users/parents/carers in evaluation and give examples of how a service has changed as a result of this…………………………………………………………………………………….
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Every Child Matters
Please give a brief summary of how you would delivery the service to meet each of the five Every Child Matters Outcomes and how you would measure your actual levels of achievements…………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………......
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SIGNED: ………………………………………………………………………………
NAME (Please print): ………………………………………………………………
POSITION: ……….…………………………………………………………………
FOR AND ON BEHALF OF: …...…………………………………………………
ADDRESS: …………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….

LINCOLNSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

(for completion as part of the Pre Tender Application)

FINANCIAL REFERENCE AUTHORISATION

Name of Organisation
Address:
(as recorded with Bank)
Tel No. / Fax No.

FORM OF CONSENT

I/We authorise

(Name of Bank)...... to provide an initial financial reference on my/our organisation and subsequently to provide references as and when requested by Lincolnshire County Council.

I/We accept that any charges levied by the Bank for the provision of such details are to be charged direct to my/our account.

Signed:...... ………...... Date ...... ……..

(as per Bank mandate)

Name...... ………...... Position ...... ……......

(please print)

For and on behalf of ...... …………......

Bank Address...... ………………......

……...... ………...... …….

Sort Code: ...... …...... Account Number ...... ………
LINCOLNSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1988

EQUALITY QUESTIONNAIRE

(for completion as part of the Pre Tender Application)

NAME OF ORGANISATION: ………………………………………………………

1 / Is it your policy, as an employer to comply with your statutory obligations; and accordingly, your practice not to treat one group of people less favourably than others because of their colour, race, nationality or ethnic origin in relation to decisions to recruit, train or promote employees?
Please answer YES or NO
2 / In the last three years has any finding of unlawful racial discrimination been made against your organisation by any court or industrial tribunal?
Please answer YES or NO
3 / In the last three years has your organisation been the subject of formal investigation byThe Equality and Human Rights Commission (formerly Commission for Racial Equality) on grounds of alleged unlawful discrimination?
Please answer YES or NO
4 / If the answer to question 2 or 3 is in the affirmative, what steps did you take to remedy any shortcomings in these areas? …………………
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5 / Does your policy on discrimination set out:
a)Advice to those concerned with recruitment, training and promotion?
Please answer YES or NO
b)Guidance available to employees, recognised trade unions or other representative groups of employees?
Please answer YES or NO
c)Advice on recruitment advertisements or other literature?
Please answer YES or NO
You may be asked to supply examples of the documents concerned at a later date.
6 / Do you observe, as far as possible, The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (formerly Commission for Racial Equality) Code of Practice for the elimination of racial discrimination and the promotion of equality of opportunity in employment?
Please answer YES or NO

SIGNED:……………………………………………………

NAME:……………………………………………………

POSITION:……………………………………………………

DATE:……………………………………………………

CHECK LIST OF ATTACHMENTS TO INCLUDE IN RESPONSE

Relevant Section / Documentation Required / Tick Box
Organisation / Organisation structure chart
Financial Viability / Copy of audited accounts for each of the last three years
Insurances / Copy of Public Liability and Employer’s Liability insurance certification
Policies and Procedures / Copies of all policies and procedures listed in this section