Health and social work services

Tender description

The Opportunity. Kent County Council is seeking tenders from suitably experienced contractors who can deliver Youth Services across the following lots which will cover 12 service deliver points across Kent based on district/borough council areas. 1. Ashford 2. Canterbury 3. Dartford 4. Dover 5. Gravesham 6. Maidstone 7. Sevenoaks 8. Shepway 9. Swale 10. Thanet 11. Tonbridge & Malling 12. Tunbridge Wells The service will focus on raising the aspirations of all children and young people aged 8 — 25, with emphasis on working with children and young people aged between 8-12 and 13-19 year olds. The service will also support young people aged up to 24 with learning difficulties and or disabilities to achieve their potential. The service includes signposting young people from Early Help and Preventative Services (EHPS) to external open access youth services, with the requirement that an initial response is made to the Youth Hub Delivery Manager within 48 hours of a request being made. Prospective contractor(s) will be expected to co-ordinate the service with the Council's (EHPS) through the Youth Hub Delivery Manager as well as support young people who are NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training). Contractor(s) will be required to demonstrate that street-based youth work activities are intelligence led, offer a broad curriculum, engage with the local community and are aligned to the principles of community development work. In order to achieve this target, co-ordination with the Youth Hub Delivery Manager and Crime Safety Unit is expected. A tender workshop event will be held on Wednesday 23.3.2016 which will provide prospective tenderers the opportunity to raise questions on the procurement process. All of these questions will be recorded and published to all bidders after the event. The venue for the workshop will be confirmed once places have been booked through the Kent business portal. For more details, please ‘Register an Interest' in this opportunity to access the full specification of this service. Background. Kent County Council (the council) is the largest county council in England covering an area of 3,500 square kilometres. It has an annual expenditure of over 900 000 000 GBP on goods and services and a population of 1 300 000. The Council provides a wide range of personal and strategic services on behalf of its residents, operating in partnership with 12 district councils and 289 parish/town councils. Further background and technical information can be found within the tender documentation. Expression of Interest and Tender Process Expressions of interest will only be accepted via the Kent Business Portal. In order to submit your interest in this opportunity please select the 'Login and Express an Interest’ button located at the bottom of this page. Note that in order to successfully submit your interest you will first need to register for an account. After registration is complete and you've received your login details you should return to the advert for the opportunity and express your interest. You will then be emailed an invitation to submit a tender. Further guidance regarding how to use this portal can be found attached to the bottom of this advert. Indicative Procurement Timetable Publication of ITT Documentation on the Kent Business Portal on Friday 11.3.2016; Provider tender workshop on Wednesday 23.3.2016; Deadline to submit requests for clarification via the Pro Contract Discussion facility: 12:00 on 14.4.2016. Deadline for Tender Responses: 12:00 (noon) on 21.4.016. Commencement of Tender Evaluation Period (including Post-Tender Clarification): commencement from Monday 25.4.2016. Pre-Award Clarification Meeting: w/c Monday 16.5.2016 (date TBC with preferred Provider). Publication of Decision to Award: w/c Monday 30.5.2016. Standstill Period: end date anticipated Friday 10.6.2016. Contract Award: w/c Monday 13.6.2016. Issue Contract documentation for signature: after Monday 27.6.2016. Contract Commencement Date: 1.9.2016. Questions and Communication Please direct all questions and communication through the Kent Business Portal via the discussions facility. Further guidance can be can be found within the guide located at the bottom of this page.