NHS E South (South Central) - Provision of Liaison & Diversion Services across the Thames Valley

NHS England Health & Justice Team (South Central Region) wish to recommission Liaison and Diversion services across the Thames Valley Police Force area. Liaison and Diversion (L&D) services aim to provide early intervention for vulnerable individuals (both young people and adults) as they come to the attention of the criminal justice system.

L&D services provide a prompt response to concerns raised by the police, probation service, youth offending teams or court staff, and provide critical information to decision-makers in the justice system, in real time, when it comes to charging and sentencing these vulnerable people. L&D also acts as a point of referral and assertive follow up for these service users, to ensure they can access, and are supported to attend, further help.

The Thames Valley area has a population of 2,358,564 and, whilst there has been partial coverage of L&D across the force footprint, this has not to date covered the full area for both adults and young people. A prior information/early engagement notice was published in relation to this procurement in April 2017, seeking expressions of interest.

Please note that this previous notice was an information gathering exercise rather than a call for competition in its own right. Although those who responded to that notice will be advised that this contract notice has been published, there will be no process exemptions or preferential treatment afforded to any parties who expressed an interest at that stage.

The maximum annual contract value will be £2,800,000. The contract duration will be three years (with the option to extend by up to a further two years), due to commence on 01/04/18.

Commissioners will not be liable for costs incurred by any interested party in participating in this process. Interested parties who wish to take part in the procurement are invited to take part in an Invitation To Tender (ITT) process, based on the Open procedure and designed to identify the Most Economically Advantageous Tender and therefore determine the incoming provider.

The procurement will be conducted via the In-Tend portal, and can be accessed via the 'current tenders' list on https://in-tendhost.co.uk/scwcsu/aspx/Home In order to access the tender documentation, you will need to 'express an interest' and register on the system for full access. All ITT responses must be returned by 12 Noon on 6th September 2017, at the latest.

Additional information: In the interest of encouraging collaborative working, any organisation who do not wish to bid for the entire contract, but would like their details to be shared with potential bidders as either subcontractors or potential consortium partners should send contact details to ashley.preece@nhs.net at their earliest convenience, these will be circulated via the In-Tend portal. Interested providers will be able to view the tender opportunity via the 'current tenders' list on in-tend. https://in-tendhost.co.uk/scwcsu/aspx/Home In order to access the tender documentation you will need to 'express an interest' and register on the system.

Bidders are required to respond to Organisational & ITT questions directly within In-Tend and attach any requested documents separately to the placeholders provided. The Services are healthcare services within the meaning and scope of Annex XIV of Directive 2014/24/EU ("the Directive") and Schedule 3 to the Public Contract Regulations 2015 ("the Regulations").

The tendering process will be conducted in accordance with the requirements and flexibilities provided by Articles 74 to 76 of the Directive, and Regulations 74 to 76 of the Regulations. The Authority will run a transparent tender process, treating all bidders equally.

For the avoidance of doubt, the Authority will not be bound by the Regulations or the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union or any other regulations or legislation except for the specific parts or circumstances that apply to the procurement of these Services. Neither the inclusion of a bidder selection stage, nor the use of any language or terms found in the Directive or Regulations, nor the description of the procedure voluntarily adopted by the Authority ("Open", "Restricted", "Competitive Procedure with Negotiation", "Competitive Dialogue" or any other description), nor any other indication, shall be taken to mean that the Authority intends to hold itself bound by the Directive or Regulations, save by the provisions applicable to services coming within the scope of Annex XIV of the Directive / Schedule 3 of the Regulations.

The services are healthcare services falling within Schedule 3 to the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 ("the Regulations") which are not subject to the full regime of the Regulations, but is instead governed by the "Light Touch Regime" contained within Chapter 3, Section 7 of the Regulations (Regulations 74 to 77). The Contracting Authority intends to voluntarily observe the award decision notices provisions and 10 day standstill period described in Regulation 86 of the 2015 Regulations.

Unsuccessful tenderers will receive scores and reasons for the decision, including the characteristics and relative advantages of the winning bid and the reasons why the tenderer/application was unsuccessful. Deadline for lodging of appeals should be in accordance with Regulation 87 and Regulation 91 of the 2015 Regulations.