Sentencing Council website and iPad app

Tender description

Which phase the project is in Not started Existing team The exiting team consists of one Project Manager, and key senior Sentencing Council stakeholders. Address where the work will be done Remotely. The supplier is expected to maintain regular contact with the project team through video conferencing software. Where an in-person meeting would be useful, these can take place in any Ministry of Justice Satellite Office or Collaboration Centre. Working arrangements Working Hours: Monday – Friday 9:00-17:00 Support Hours: Monday-Saturday 08:00- 19:00 Provide more information about your security requirements: Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) Latest start date 2025-03-01 Enter the expected contract length: 2 years Extension period: 1 year Are you prepared to show your budget details?: Yes Indicative maximum: £200,000 for the initial term of 2 years Confirm if you require a contracted out service or supply of resource Contracted out service: the off-payroll rules do not apply Summary of work The primary objective is to replace the current Sentencing Council website and iPad app with an enhanced solution that meets the needs of legal professionals, policymakers, and the public. This new solution will ensure that sentencing guidelines are immediately and always available to the criminal courts and criminal justice practitioners and are capable of routinely being kept up to date. Where the supplied staff will work No specific location (for example they can work remotely) Who the organisation using the products or services is Sentencing Council of England and Wales Why the work is being done The Sentencing Council has a statutory obligation to produce sentencing guidelines for the judiciary throughout England and Wales. In line with the Government Digital by Default strategy, the guidelines are made available to sentencers and other professional users in a digital format via the Sentencing Council website and app. Judges and magistrates are required to follow the guidelines unless it is in the interests of justice not to do so. It is, therefore, essential that these channels are supported and maintained to ensure that the digital guidelines are always and immediately available. The existing contract for the enhancement, support and hosting of the Sentencing Council website – www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk – is due to expire in September 2025. There are no further options to renew. The business problem you need to solve The website was launched on a WordPress platform in 2014 and has been developed iteratively over the years since. As a result it has become complex. The Sentencing Council is looking to launch a new modernised, less complex website and iPad app by end of July 2025. The website does not publish or hold any sensitive information. However, the Council occasionally conducts data-collection exercises via the website to collect anonymised sentencing data and produces documents for consultation purposes that are password protected. There is also an area of the site that is only available to Members of the Council to support the monthly board meetings which requires them to login. First user type: A. The whole Criminal Justice legal system in England and Wales. Crown Courts and Magistrates’ Courts are obliged to use Sentencing Guidelines to make decisions and other criminal justice system professionals use guidelines in their daily work. Questions and Clarifications 1. Considering the decision to consider an alternative solution to an iPad application being provided, would you consider applying an extension to the tender submission deadline to allow us some more time to scope this solution? We are unable to extend the deadline for responses to Stage 1 (Essential Skills and Experience and Nice-to-Have Skills and Experience). Suppliers shortlisted to Stage 2 will have until 10th January to consider the most suitable solution to this requirement and submit their proposal. Last Updated: 5 December 2024, 13:11 2. 1. What is the anticipated user concurrency amount? 2. Are there any system integration requirements? For example, SSO? Any others? Please supply details. 1. We are unable to confirm anticipated user concurrency. According to the site traffic report, covering period from 01/11/23 to 31/10/24, the number of views was 8,086,288; number of active users was 1,498,560; and views per active user: 5.40. 2. No Last Updated: 27 November 2024, 17:19 3. 1. Who will be responsible for content creation/management on the new website? The supplier, or the client? 2. Do we need ISO 27001 certification for this project? Is it sufficient for our hosting partners to hold ISO 127001 certification? 3. Will the supplier need to migrate content from the existing website as part of this project? 4. Are there any app-specific requirements (such as native build, offline functionality, device/os compatibility, etc.) 5. Is the app requirement only for iPads? Or is it broader (iPhones, Android, etc.)? 6. Is there an option to extend the contract after the initial 2 year term? 7. Is your preference for the supplier to host the website, or will the MoJ host it? If the supplier is hosting the website, does the budget include hosting costs? 8. What are the security requirements for our staff for this project? 9. Can we use WordPress for the new website (we are aware the current website is also built using WordPress)? 10. Who is the existing supplier? Are they bidding for this new website? 11. Re: requirement E02F07, is it sufficient for the supplier to assist the client in creating these new tools, or does the client require the ability to create these tools themself, without any intervention from the supplier? 12. What is roughly the size of the data on the website? 1. Client would create and manage content as far as possible. 2. The Authority will accept an equivalent of ISO27001 certification that reflects the control objectives as specified within the ISO27001 control set. 3. Yes, all of it 4.There is a need for offline functionality. Please see E05F09 and E05F10 for more detail. 5.iPad only 6. Yes, the contract will include one optional extension of 12 months. 7. We will require for the website to be hosted by the Supplier. All Suppliers must include hosting charges in their bids. 8. All staff working on this contract must be BPSS cleared. 9. Yes 10. Information regarding the current contract is available in the Public Domain, via Contracts Finder on GOV.UK. We cannot comment on which Supplier's may be potential bidders. 11. We require supplier to build any new tools. Please note following correction to the requirement E02F07: “The system shall allow for the creation of new calculator tools similar to the drink driving calculator”. 12. The most recent figure we have for the size of the live site is 6.1 GB. Last Updated: 27 November 2024, 10:29 4. Do you have a particular cms in mind for this website project or are you looking to stay with Wordpress? The Authority does not have a preference on the type of platform and will consider any solution that meets the requirements. Last Updated: 26 November 2024, 09:44 5. 1. Are there specific features / usability / workflow requirements of the iPad app (apart from offline use) that are different from the online desktop environment that need prioritising? 2. Is mobile phone access required as well as iPad? Or is iPad the only way the site is accessed when offline? 3. Is the iPad requirement for landscape, portrait or dual use? 4. We would appreciate clarification on the specific reasoning behind the preference for an iPad application. Based on our review of your requirements documentation, it appears that the primary objective is to enable content access without requiring connectivity. Would you be open to considering an alternative solution, such as a Progressive Web Application (PWA), that would allow offline access to the web application on an iPad or other devices? 5. Are both hosting and support included in the £200,000 budget? 1. No, we would like the app to be able to do all the online desktop environment can do, including offline use. 2. iPad only. 3. Both landscape and portrait. 4. Prior to 2021 magistrates were provided with iPads only and not all courts had Wi-Fi so the first digital guidelines were developed for an iPad app. Now, all courts have Wi-Fi and magistrates are provided with Windows laptops. However, many are using their own devices, and the Council has decided to continue to support the iPad app. We would be open to considering an alternative solution as long as it continued to provide iPad users with up-to-date guidelines and tools. 5. Yes, the budget of £200,000 must cover all charges in the initial term of 2 years, including development, hosting and support charges. Last Updated: 2 December 2024, 13:18