South East - Local Enterprise Partnership Area

The Provider is expected to deliver the Provision across the South East LEP area, which covers a large geographical region covering Essex, Southend, Thurrock, Kent, Medway and East Sussex. Service delivery under this contract is expected to commence in October 2016 and continue until September 2019.

There will be a further 64 week payment tail. The contract value is £9,000,000 and there is a requirement for a minimum of 4500 Participants to start on this provision.

The aim of this Provision is to enable unemployed and inactive adults to enter, progress in and sustain employment by offering them the best possible chance of acquiring skills for employment and progression in work. The LEP would like Providers to introduce Participants to employment and career opportunities in South East LEP area’s priority and growth sectors and to help them progress into work in these sectors where possible.

The Provider must meet ESF specific requirements set by the European Commission and failure to comply can result in a high financial risk for both the Provider and DWP, as funds used inappropriately or for ineligible Participants or purposes and/or where the ESF requirements have not been met are recoverable from Providers. The Provider will use the Provider Referral and Payment (PRaP) system to receive their referrals and to record claimant activity.

The Provider will therefore need to have met relevant security requirements when contracts go live. This contract will be for the use of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), its Executive Agencies and those Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) sponsored by DWP.

Further information including a list of such Agencies and Public Bodies can be viewed by selecting ‘Ministerial Departments’ on the Departmental website. Additional information: The Contracting Authority intends to use an eTendering system in this procurement exercise.

Suppliers Instructions How to Express Interest in this Tender~: 1. Register your company on the eSourcing portal (this is only required once): https://dwp.bravosolution.co.uk and click the link to register - Accept the terms and conditions and click ‘continue’ - Enter your correct business and user details - Note the username you chose and click ‘Save’ when complete - You will shortly receive an email with your unique password (please keep this secure) 2.

Express an Interest in the tender - Login to the portal with the username/password - Click the ‘PQQs / ITTs Open To All Suppliers’ link. (These are Pre-Qualification Questionnaires or Invitations to Tender open to any registered supplier) - Click on the relevant PQQ/ ITT to access the content. - Click the ‘Express Interest’ button at the top of the page. - This will move the PQQ /ITT into your ‘My PQQs/ My ITTs’ page.

(This is a secure area reserved for your projects only) -You can now access any attachments by clicking ‘Buyer Attachments’ in the ‘PQQ/ ITT Details’ box 3. Responding to the tender - Click ‘My Response’ under ‘PQQ/ ITT Details’, you can choose to ‘Create Response’ or to ‘Decline to Respond’ (please give a reason if declining) - You can now use the ‘Messages’ function to communicate with the buyer and seek any clarification - Note the deadline for completion, then follow the onscreen instructions to complete the PQQ/ ITT - There may be a mixture of online and offline actions for you to perform (there is detailed online help available) You must then submit your reply using the ‘Submit Response’ button at the top of the page.

This is a procurement for services under the Light Touch Regime and DWP will not be bound by Public Contracts Regulations 2015 except as such Regulations are applicable to the Light Touch Regime. DWP expressly reserves the rights: (i)to use a reverse auction; (ii)to cancel this procurement at any stage; (iii)to not award any contract as a result of the procurement process commenced by publication of this notice; (iv)to make whatever changes it may see fit to the content and structure of the tendering competition; (v)and in no circumstances will DWP be liable for any costs incurred by potential suppliers.

The Provider will use the Provider Referral and Payment (PRaP) system to receive their referrals and to record claimant activity. The Provider will therefore need to have met relevant security requirements when contracts go live.