Public procurement notice: Contract Notice
Published: 2016-12-01
Buyer: The Minister for the Cabinet Office acting through Crown Commercial Service
Country: UK
Region: UNITED KINGDOM
Contract type: Services
Procedure: Open procedure
CPV classification: 79100000 | 79110000 | 79111000 | 79112000 | 79130000
Estimated value: 50000000 GBP
Submission deadline: 2016-12-22
Award criteria: The most economic tender

Technical requirements: Crown Commercial Service as the Authority is putting in place a Panel Agreement for Rail Legal Services (‘the Panel’) for Crown Bodies, the Principal Panel Customer being the Department for Transport and other permitted users identified at VI.3 (and any future successors to these organisations) in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (‘Panel Customers’).
Panel Customers will then be able to enter into Legal Service Contracts with successful Suppliers for any required services.
This Panel Agreement will be for an initial Panel Period of three (3) years, with the option to extend for up to one (1) further period of twelve (12) consecutive months.
This procurement relates to the legal services which are listed in Schedule 3 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015(PCR) 2015 as a specific service. This procurement is being conducted under the Light Tough Regime (‘LTR’) and will be conducted in accordance with regulations 74 to 76 PCR 2015.
The anticipated maximum number of Suppliers to be appointed to the Panel is eight (8), with four (4) Suppliers within Tier 1 and four (4) Suppliers within Tier 2.
Potential Providers will be able to elect that if their organisation is awarded a Tier 1 place on the Panel Agreement to decline the Tier 1 place and accept a Tier 2 Panel Agreement, full details are available in the Stage 1 Guidance and Eligibility Questionnaire (Attachment 2) which can be accessed at: https://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk using the instructions detailed in III.2.1.
The procurement will be conducted in three (3) stages which will be run consecutively. Full details are available in the Invitation to Tender (‘the Invitation’). The Invitation can be accessed at:
Information submitted in the Stage 1 Eligibility Questionnaire will be evaluated to assess eligibility, capability to pursue a professional activity and economic and financial standing in accordance with the Invitation.
Following the evaluation of Potential Providers' Stage 1 Eligibility Questionnaire Tender Submissions, for the purposes of determining which Potential Providers will be invited to Stage 2, the Authority will rank all Potential Providers from the highest Stage 1 Eligibility Score downwards as detailed in the Invitation.
A maximum of 16 Potential Providers will be invited to participate in Stage 2 of this Procurement. Where there are less than 16 Potential Providers assessed as eligible having satisfied the Stage 1 requirements less than 16 will proceed to Stage 2 — Suitability.
Where there are more than 16 Potential Providers assessed as eligible, Potential Providers ranked 1st to 16th will be invited via the e-Sourcing Suite to participate in Stage 2 — Suitability.
Where there are 2 or more Potential Providers who have tied scores and are placed in 16th position, the Authority will apply a tie breaker to determine which Potential Provider will proceed to Stage 2. The other Potential Provider will then be ranked 17th.
Potential Providers will be required to complete a Suitability Questionnaire which includes scored questions and a Stage 2 Pricing Matrix together forming the ‘Stage 2 Tender Submission’.
The Stage 2 Quality Evaluation is weighted as 70 %. The Stage 2 Price Evaluation is weighted as 30 %.
Following the evaluation of Potential Providers' Stage 2 Tender Submission, for the purposes of determining which Potential Providers will be invited to Stage 3, the Authority will rank all Potential Providers from highest Stage 2 Final Score downwards. A maximum of 12 top scoring Potential Providers will be invited to participate in Stage 3 of this Procurement.

Eligibility requirements: This Procurement will be managed electronically via the Authority's e-Sourcing Suite. To participate in this Procurement, participants must first be registered on the e-Sourcing Suite. If you have not yet registered on the e-Sourcing Suite, please go online to: https://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk you can then access the link ‘Register for CCS eSourcing’. Please note that, to register, you must have a valid DUNS number (as provided by Dun and Bradstreet) for the organisation which you are registering, who will be entering into a contract if invited to do so. Full instructions for registration and use of the system can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/esourcing-tool-guidance-for-Suppliers. Once you have registered on the e-Sourcing Suite, a registered user can express an interest for a specific procurement. This is done by emailing ExpressionOfInterest@crowncommercial.gov.uk. Your email must clearly state: the name and reference for the procurement you wish to register for; the name of the Potential Provider; and the name and contact details for the registered individual sending the email. The Authority will process the email and then enable the Potential Provider to access the procurement online via the e-Sourcing Suite. The registered user will receive a notification email to alert them once this has been done. As a user of the e-Sourcing Suite you will have access to e-Sourcing Suite email messaging service which facilitates all messages sent to you and from you in relation to any specific RFX event. Please note it is your responsibility to access these emails on a regular basis to ensure you have sight of all relevant information. For technical assistance on use of the e-Sourcing Suite please contact Crown Commercial Service Support Desk email: eEnablement@crowncommercial.gov.uk A full copy of the procurement documentation for this Procurement will be available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge via the Crown Commercial Service website from the date of the publication of the contract notice: http://ccs-agreements.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/procurement-pipeline The Authority shall use a credit reference agency as the 1st step in determining financial risk in relation to Potential Providers' Tender Submission. The Authority will request a financial risk score based on the information provided by Potential Providers in their response to the Stage 1 Eligibility Questionnaire. In assessing the financial risk represented by Potential Providers, the Authority may take into account a copy of its audited accounts for the most recent 2 financial years and/or 1 or more of the following in respect of its organisation: a) a statement of the turnover, profit and loss account, current liabilities and assets, and cash flow for the most recent year of trading for this organisation; or b) a statement of the cash flow forecast for the current year and a bank letter outlining the current cash and credit position; and/or c) an alternative means of demonstrating financial status if any of the above are not available (e.g. forecast of turnover for the current year and a statement of funding provided by the owners and/or the bank or an alternative means of demonstrating financial status). Potential Providers must possess the required level of Insurance cover detailed in the Invitation. The Invitation can be accessed at: https://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk using the instructions detailed in III.2.1). Potential Providers will be assessed on the basis of information provided in response to the Invitation. The Invitation can be accessed at: https://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk using the instructions detailed in III.2.1.
The Authority shall use a credit reference agency as the 1st step in determining financial risk in relation to Potential Providers' Tender Submission. The Authority will request a financial risk score based on the information provided by Potential Providers in their response to the Stage 1 Eligibility Questionnaire. In assessing the financial risk represented by Potential Providers, the Authority may take into account a copy of its audited accounts for the most recent 2 financial years and/or 1 or more of the following in respect of its organisation: a) a statement of the turnover, profit and loss account, current liabilities and assets, and cash flow for the most recent year of trading for this organisation; or b) a statement of the cash flow forecast for the current year and a bank letter outlining the current cash and credit position; and/or c) an alternative means of demonstrating financial status if any of the above are not available (e.g. forecast of turnover for the current year and a statement of funding provided by the owners and/or the bank or an alternative means of demonstrating financial status). Potential Providers must possess the required level of Insurance cover detailed in the Invitation. The Invitation can be accessed at: https://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk using the instructions detailed in III.2.1).
Potential Providers will be assessed on the basis of information provided in response to the Invitation. The Invitation can be accessed at: https://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk using the instructions detailed in III.2.1.