Welfare services for children and young people

Tender description

Bedford Borough Council, Central Bedfordshire Council and Luton Borough Council, collectively referred to as the Partnership Authorities, are seeking expressions of interest from suitably qualified Independent Fostering Agencies (IFA) for inclusion on a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) for the provision of Fostering Placements and Specialist Placements Alternative to Residential Care (SPARC). Through the establishment of a DPS, the Partnership Authorities aim to improve control over price, quality of service delivery and performance monitoring by ensuring that all Fostering and SPARC Placements are subject to a competitive tender process against specific requirements. Bedford Borough Council, Central Bedfordshire Council and Luton Borough Council, collectively referred to as the Partnership Authorities, are seeking expressions of interest from suitably qualified Independent Fostering Agencies (IFA) for inclusion on a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) for the provision of Fostering Placements, both Standard and Enhanced. The Partnership Authorities currently work with nineteen (19) providers in a jointly procured Framework Agreement to provide foster care (which is due to expire on 31.3.2017), although all three Councils make placements outside of the Framework as well (around 30 % of the total outsourced spend). The primary objectives of the DPS will be to: 1. Create efficiencies by eliminating un-regulated, non-competed spend; 2. Map services to identified needs — not a ‘one fits all’ approach to fostering; 3. Increase placement stability and permanency; 4. Reducing demand / cost for services via early intervention and the use of SPARC and 5. Encourage continuous improvement The publication of this Contract Notice and the Invitation to Tender (‘ITT’) Pack in no way commits the Partnership Authorities to award any contract pursuant to any tender process. More specifically, the Partnership Authorities reserve the right to: — Cancel, postpone, suspend or abort the selection and evaluation process at any stage or this procurement in its entirety; and — Amend, vary or digress from the process set out in this Contract Notice and the Invitation to Tender (ITT) Pack. In the event of any change to the process, the Partnership Authorities will inform all tenderers of the change. Bedford Borough Council is conducting the procurement under the Restricted Procedure pursuant to the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (‘Regulations’), as amended. For the avoidance of any doubt, the services to be procured fall within Part 2 (Rules Implementing the Public Contracts Directive), Chapter 3 (Particular Procurement Regimes), Section 7 (Social and Other Specific Services) of the Regulations. It is anticipated that the DPS shall commence on 1.4.2017 with a period of validity of three (3) years from the Commencement Date with an option to extend for a further period of two (2) years. Bedford Borough Council, Central Bedfordshire Council and Luton Borough Council, collectively referred to as the Partnership Authorities, are seeking expressions of interest from suitably qualified Independent Fostering Agencies (IFA) for inclusion on a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) for the provision of Specialist Placements as an Alternative to Residential Care (SPARC). The Partnership Authorities currently work with nineteen (19) providers in a jointly procured Framework Agreement to provide foster care (which is due to expire on 31.3.2017), although all three Councils make placements outside of the Framework as well (around 30 % of the total outsourced spend). The primary objectives of the DPS will be to: 1. Create efficiencies by eliminating un-regulated, non-competed spend; 2. Map services to identified needs — not a ‘one fits all’ approach to fostering; 3. Increase placement stability and permanency; 4. Reducing demand / cost for services via early intervention and the use of SPARC and 5. Encourage continuous improvement. The publication of this Contract Notice and the Invitation to Tender (‘ITT’) Pack in no way commits the Partnership Authorities to award any contract pursuant to any tender process. More specifically, the Partnership Authorities reserve the right to: — Cancel, postpone, suspend or abort the selection and evaluation process at any stage or this procurement in its entirety; and — Amend, vary or digress from the process set out in this Contract Notice and the Invitation to Tender (ITT) Pack. In the event of any change to the process, the Partnership Authorities will inform all tenderers of the change. Bedford Borough Council is conducting the procurement under the Restricted Procedure pursuant to the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (‘Regulations’), as amended. For the avoidance of any doubt, the services to be procured fall within Part 2 (Rules Implementing the Public Contracts Directive), Chapter 3 (Particular Procurement Regimes), Section 7 (Social and Other Specific Services) of the Regulations. It is anticipated that the DPS shall commence on 1.4.2017 with a period of validity of three (3) years from the Commencement Date with an option to extend for a further period of two (2) years.