Coroners Removal Contract for Berkshire

Tender description

Reading Borough Council, on behalf of H.M. Coroner for Berkshire, is inviting expressions of interest from suitably qualified contractors with the appropriate facilities, who wish to be considered for the provision of a Coroners Removal Service for Berkshire. The purpose of this tender is to appoint a contractor(s) for the removal of bodies where a death has been referred to H. M. Coroner for Berkshire for further investigation. Reading Borough Council is lead authority for the Coroners Service in Berkshire on behalf of the 6 unitary authorities of Bracknell Forest Borough Council, Reading Borough Council, Slough Borough Council, West Berkshire Council, Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead and Wokingham Borough Council. The scope of the services to be provided will include the removal and transportation of bodies to designated mortuaries both within the Royal County of Berkshire and occasional long distance transfers within the UK. The contract will be divided into four geographical service areas covering the Berkshire area and the successful contractor(s) must be able to provide a 24 hour, 365 days a year service, with a 1 hour guaranteed response time. The four geographical areas will consist of: — Zone 1: area to the west of Newbury in West Berkshire. — Zone 2: area from Newbury to Theale in West Berkshire. — Zone 3: area around Reading, including western parts of Wokingham and eastern parts of West Berkshire. — Zone 4: area of Slough, Bracknell, Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, and the eastern areas of Wokingham. Contractors may submit a tender to provide the Coroners Removal Service within as many areas of Berkshire as they wish to tender for. The estimated value over the length of the contract is between 90 000 GBP and 150000 GBP, however the Council can give no assurance to tenderers as to the number of occasions within the contract period upon which the service will be required and it cannot determine the exact value of each lot. As an indication the Council currently spends approximately 25 000 GBP — 30 000 GBP per annum on the Coroners Removal Service across the whole of Berkshire. Tenderers should note that the Council does not guarantee any volume or value of work to the contractor(s) and any values and volumes provided within the tendering documentation are purely indicative and for estimation only. Estimated value excluding VAT: Range: between 90 000 and 150 000 GBP It is anticipated that the contract will commence in April 2016 and it will operate for an initial period of 3 years with an option to extend for a further period of 24 months, subject to contractors' performance, this will be at Reading Borough Council's sole discretion. All values given are indicative only as the Council cannot guarantee the future level of need or services required under the contract. For illustrative purposes it is estimated that the potential total annual value is 30 000 GBP over a term of 3years, with an option to extend for a further period of 24 months, as specified in the range above. The procurement exercise will be conducted in accordance with the information contained in the procurement documents. The contracting authority does not bind itself to enter into any contract as a result of the publication of this notice and will not, under any circumstances, have any liability for any costs any person responding to this notice incurs in any part of the tender process. The services are to be procured under an open procedure and organisations interested in expressing an interest should download the procurement documents which are available on the Council's e-tendering system at: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/readingbc (Project Reference No. RBC 00000040 refers), and complete as instructed. The Portal is free of charge — to register please follow the supplier registration guidance which is available on the Portal. Contractors wishing to be considered for this tendering opportunity must complete the tender documents and return them electronically via the Council's e-tendering portal. The deadline for return of the tender is 5 January 2016 at 12.00 noon. Please note: you must register your interest via the Council's e-tendering portal if you intend to submit a tender. Interested parties must log onto the Council's e-tendering portal at: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/readingbc, to express an interest and download the procurement documents. All communications regarding this procurement exercise will be conducted through the Council's e-tendering portal including requests for clarifications or general enquiries. The procurement documents will be available for download up until the closing time and date for tender submissions, it is the organisation's responsibility to ensure that they download the documents in ample time to ensure that they can be completed and returned electronically, along with supporting documents, prior to the closing time and date stipulated. Before completing the tender, potential providers/suppliers should ensure that the e-mail address that has been used to register their organisation will be checked regularly as the Council's e-tendering system will generate automatic notifications to this e-mail address when there are updates, changes or messages sent relating to the project. Potential bidders should also check that their organisation's details are correct and kept up to date. Technical questions and assistance regarding the use and operation of the Portal should be addressed to the In-Tend Help Desk — e-mail: support@in-tend.co.uk telephone number +44 8442728810. Keywords: Mortuary, Coroners, Removal, Dead, Bodies