Public procurement notice: Qualification System With Call For Competition
Published: 2016-10-15
Buyer: Wessex Water Services Limited
Country: UK
Contract type: Works
CPV classification: 42961200 | 44212381 | 44212400 | 45110000 | 45120000
Award criteria: The most economic tender

Technical requirements: This Notice is to advertise the existence of Wessex Water's qualification system inviting economic operators (applicants) to apply for particular categories of works and professional services herein referred to as Work Types. The qualification system may be used as the basis for selection and tendering opportunities for contracts and agreements.
Wessex Water gives no guarantee of tendering opportunities nor the volumes or values of works/services being awarded via the qualification system. Wessex Water will not be liable for the applicants costs of responding to this Notice or to any subsequent prequalification or tender document or other stages of the process.
The Work Types are grouped under the categories of (1) Contractor Work Types and (2) Consultants Work Types. Applicants are not limited to the number or group of Work Types for which they may apply.
Applicants should visit www.wessexwater.co.uk/qualificationsystem and download a copy of the questionnaire.
Following the guidance in the questionnaire, applicants are required to indicate the Work Type(s) for which they wish to apply, fully answer all required questions, collate and provide copies of the required supporting documentation and submit to Wessex Water at the address indicated.
Applicants are required to confirm they are not subject to any of the conditions for exclusion under Regulation 80 of the Utilities Contracts Regulations specified in the questionnaire. Applicants who are unable to confirm this are not eligible to apply.
Responses will be assessed against the criteria stated in the questionnaire. Successful applications will be Passed meaning they have fully met the criteria and qualified under the system and may be invited to participate an subsequent tendering opportunities. Applications which do not meet the criteira will be Failed and shall not be eligible for inclusion in any tendering opportunities under the system. Applicants shall be notified by email regarding the outcome of the assessment of their response.
Being ‘qualified’ does not make the applicant an ‘approved contractor’ or ‘approved consultant’ to Wessex Water.
This qualification system may be used as the basis of the first stage of qualification for selection or tendering opportunities which may be supplemented by further qualification criteria established by Wessex Water specific to the works or professional service being procured. Wessex Water maintains the right not to use the qualification system. Where Wessex Water chooses not to use the system and the value is above the relevant threshold it may use the Achilles UVDB or, as necessary, issue a separate notice in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Wessex Water will review the responses to the questionnaire submitted by the applicant and may request further clarification or verify responses with the Health & Safety Executive (UK), Companies House (UK) and undertake independent financial checks via a credit check service as it deems necessary.
Applicants must provide satisfactory responses to the questionnaire in order to be Passed. Applications shall be assessed against the criteria stated in the expression of interest questionnaire.
There is no guarantee as to the volume or value of contracts or agreements to be let via the qualification system.
For contracts subject to the Utilities Contracts Regulations Wessex Water Services Limited will incorporate a standstill period at the point information on the award of the contract is communicated to tenderers. That notification will provide full information on the award decision. The standstill period, which will be for a minimum of 10 calendar days, provides time for unsuccessful tenderers to challenge the award decision before the contract is entered into.
Any request by tenderers for further information during the standstill period must be sent in writing to the address stated in section I.1 of this notice.
The Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 (SI 2016 No 274) as amended apply, provision is made for aggrieved parties who have been harmed or are at risk of harm by a breach of the rules to take action in the High Court (England).