Legal advisory and information services

Tender description

This market sounding briefing and questionnaire, is being issued by Network Rail in advance of finalising a proposal to procure a claims handling and litigation service provider to work with Network Rail's existing insurance team. Network Rail wants to welcome the market to engage with the opportunity to contribute innovation, experience and deliver technical capability, which is intended to maximise the quality of Network Rail's claims handling service. This market sounding briefing and questionnaire, is being issued by Network Rail in advance of finalising a proposal to procure a claims handling and litigation service provider to work with Network Rail's existing insurance team. Network Rail wants to welcome the market to engage with the opportunity to contribute innovation, experience and deliver technical capability, which is intended to maximise the quality of Network Rail's claims handling service. In line with Network Rail’s programme-wide engagement strategy, Network Rail is committed to becoming an ‘informed’ client with excellent visibility and understanding of the market and the supply chains and customers operating within them. At this stage of the pre-procurement, Network Rail are committed to engaging with the industry as fully as possible in order to inform and refine our overall strategic approach. Network Rail is also committed to ensuring the market is appropriately informed of Network Rail’s emerging commercial approach and technical requirements. The purpose of this Market Sounding is to: — communicate the plans for the future procurement and share the overall programme objectives and developing procurement strategy, — provide all potential suppliers with the opportunity to give feedback on a number of critical areas, in the form of a questionnaire, to help inform the refinement of Network Rail’s approach and the impacts of different approaches which may be considered, — to obtain information from the market in an equal and transparent basis, — to register a list of interested parties and plan to engage them, — to ensure that all registered bidders have equal access to the information being provided as part of the market engagement. The responses to this questionnaire will be synthesised to identify key market themes, to be shared internally with key stakeholders and any appropriate advisors, to both further inform the procurement strategy. This market sounding is not itself a call for competition under any EU procurement process (whether pursuant to the Public Contracts regulations 2015, the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016, the Concession Contracts Regulations 2016 or otherwise). Network Rail does not commit itself to commencing any such procurement process. Any comments, indications of interest, participation or non-participation by any party in response to this market sounding will not influence the selection and/or award decisions comprised in any future procurement process, nor will it be taken as a potential supplier’s committed position. All responses will be carefully considered but will not bind Network Rail to any particular approach. Information contained within this document which is related to the eventual procurement is subject to change and is to be used for information purposes only. Network Rail does not bind or commit itself to any proposed model, milestones, or dates. Information contained within this document remains the property of Network Rail and may only be used for the purposes of responding to this engagement exercise. All interested parties must respond to this notice no later than 23.5.2019 (16:00) UK time to Laura.Blackburn2@networkrail.co.uk