Residential Care Services to Children and Young People

Rhondda-Cynon-Taff CBC is the lead Authority acting on behalf of the Welsh Local Authorities for procuring a 'Flexible Framework' (FF) for the provision of Residential Care Services for Children Looked After.

The structure of the FF shall be a core specification that shall be applicable to all lots. Additional specification requirements will then be added for specific models of care and needs profiles, allocated into the lots.

The FF will follow similar principals and characteristics of a standard framework, meeting the requirements of equal treatment and transparency. However the FF will remain open, allowing new entrants throughout its duration.

Tenderers are able to access the FF at any time via the Councils current electronic tendering system –etenderwales: https://etenderwales.bravosolution.co.uk

Rhondda-Cynon-Taff CBC (RCT) acting on behalf on all Welsh Local Authorities are procuring a 'Flexible Framework' (FF) for the provision of Residential Care Services for Looked After Children.

The service to be provided is residential care for children or young people after an assessment of their needs by the Local Authority. These services will be provided in a manner that best safeguards and promotes the welfare of the Child or Young Person.

RCT is the host Authority to the Children's Commissioning Consortium (4C's), a Welsh regional team working to support Local Authority Children's Social Services departments to commission and contract placements for looked after children.

The services which are the subject of this procurement fall within Schedule 3 to the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and accordingly the so called “Light Touch Regime”, as set out in Regulations 74-77 of the 2015 Regulations. Under these regulations RCT is not required to procure these services in line with the full extent of the Regulations and is able to determine itself the procurement process subject to ensuring compliance with the principals of transparency and equal treatment of providers. To this end RCT is using a procurement system to be called Flexible Framework ie a system that is 'Open' and allows providers to join throughout its contract period. There will be no maximum number of providers.

The Flexible Framework shall be lotted to meet the needs of specific models of care. The initial lot shall be for Crisis Interventions and Alternatives to Secure but additional lots will be developed and added to the Flexible Framework during its term. The participating Welsh Local Authorities may choose to make placements via this Agreement.

The duration of the Flexible Framework shall be an initial 10 years (from 1st April 2019) with an option to extend for up to 2 years.

As per tender document

Providers must be registered with the relevant Care Standards Authority.

As per tender document.

As per tender documents

As these services are covered by Regulations 74-77 there are no prescriptive lengths and a longer timescale is therefore permitted. A longer term will allow longer term planning and investment by providers and the local authorities so that both can more effectively meet the needs of these vulnerable children.

As per tender document

Access to the FF shall be via https://etenderwales.bravosolution.co.uk

Interested tenderers should:

1) Register your company on the eTenderwales portal (this is only required once)

— click the “Click here to register” link,

— 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,

— you only need to answer the Basic Profile questions to complete the registration;

2) Express an Interest in the Tender

— login to the portal with the username/password,

— the Tender can be accessed from the ‘PQQs/ITTs Open to All Suppliers’,

— click on the relevant ITT to access the content. (ITT_70831),

— click the “Express Interest” button in the “Actions” box on the left-hand side of the page,

— this will move the PQQ/ITT into your ‘My PQQs’ or ‘My ITTs’ page,

— click on the ITT code, you can now access any attachments by clicking the “Buyer Attachments”;

3) Responding to the ITT

— you can now choose to “Create a Response” or “Decline to Respond” (please give a reason if rejecting),

— 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 and tender documentation to complete the ITT,

— ensure that you 'Submit' your response once you have completed all relevant questions.

Note: The authority is using eTenderwales to carry out this procurement process. To obtain further information record your interest on Sell2Wales at https://www.sell2wales.gov.wales/search/search_switch.aspx?ID=90869

Under the terms of this contract the successful supplier(s) will be required to deliver Community Benefits in support of the authority’s economic and social objectives. Accordingly, contract performance conditions may relate in particular to social and environmental considerations. The Community Benefits included in this contract are:

Each contracting Local Authority will agree their own community benefits with Providers.

(WA Ref:90869)