HTE Total Workforce Solutions II Tender Overview

PQQ (SQ) – GENERAL

Critical Timescales

Deadline for receipt of clarification questions – 20th January 2020.
Deadline for HTE to provide responses to clarification questions – 23rd January 2020.
Deadline for submission of the PQQ (SQ) – 2pm, 29th January 2020.

Please note that HTE uses both PQQ and SQ in their terminology in this procurement. The PQQ (pre-qualification questionnaire) has now been replaced in procurement terminology with SQ (selection questionnaire). In this procurement, PQQ and SQ are interchangeable and both relate to the first stage of the process.

Tender timescales are:

Invitation to tender (successful PQQ / SQ bidders) published – 1st April 2020.
Deadline for submission of tender – 4th Mary 2020.

Registration & Accessing the Documents

To access the PQQ documents, you must first register on the following link: https://healthtrusteurope.bravosolution.co.uk/web/login.shtml

You can then follow the instructions in the documents and on the portal.

Clarification Questions

Questions, clarifications and queries must be asked using the facility on the Bravo Messaging Portal – you MUST NOT call HTE directly. Try to ensure the question is specific and clear, and don’t include your company’s identity in the question as the full question and corresponding answer will be published on the portal for all bidders to see.

HTE has requested that you take time to consolidate any clarification requests and put them across with the following details:

The Lot Number the query pertains to (In message title)
Which document the query pertains to e.g. Specification, Technical Envelope (In message title)
The question number, clause or paragraph the query pertains to (In message title)
The query itself, with context where appropriate to facilitate an effective response (please ensure that this is objective and that any personal views are not shared).

HTE will then consolidate clarifications and provide the answers in the form of a “Clarification Log” with each clarification being allocated a number for ease of reference.

Once logged into the portal, you will be able to ask clarification questions by clicking on the “Messages” tab and then clicking below to “Create Message”.

PLEASE NOTE – HTE will NOT be responding to clarification questions over the festive period between 21st December 2019 and 5th January 2020!

The Framework & Lots

This will be a multi-supplier framework with lots as follows:

Lot 2a – Fully Managed Service: Bank & Agency

A fully managed service in respect of the supply and management of a Contacting Authorities requirements for bank and agency workers including services for optimising the deployment of flexible workers. PLEASE NOTE – this is not to supply agency workers – it is to supply a software system and management service to deliver process efficiencies for the client.

Lot 2b – Bank and Agency Demand Solutions (including Direct Engagement)

Provision of a software solution to enable a Contracting Authority to manage its own bank and agency workers requirements including Direct Engagement.

Lot 3a – Medical Locums & GP Workers

Supply of temporary, fixed term and permanent medical locums and GP workers.

Lot 3b – Nursing & Care Service Workers

Supply of temporary, fixed term and permanent nursing and care service workers (AfC Bands 1-9 only).

Lot 3c – Allied Health Professional & Health Science Service Workers

Supply of temporary, fixed term and permanent AHP and HSS workers (AfC Bands 1-9 only).

Lot 4a – Non Medical Non-Clinical Workers

Supply of temporary, fixed term and permanent NMNC workers (AfC Bands 1-7 only). This includes admin, clerical, secretarial, catering, clinical coding, drivers, facilities & estates, finance & auditing, hotel services, HR, IM&T & ICT, Legal, library services, procurement & supply chain, project management PR, marketing, customer service, security, stores & logistics.

Lot 4b – Non-Medical Non-Clinical Workers (Senior & Executive)

Supply of temporary, fixed term and permanent NMNC workers (AfC Bands 6-9 only) which includes very senior management and executive workers.

Self-Certification of Documentation

The good news is that at the PQQ/SQ stage of the process, in most cases, you are just required to “self-certify”. This means that you are not asked to upload documentary evidence (unless specifically asked to do so) during the PQQ (SQ) stage of the process.

If you are successful and move onto the Award Phase, you will be required to produce documentary evidence to support the information submitted in response to the PQQ (SQ).

Sid4Gov

HTE uses the sid4gov supplier information database and you are requested to register (if you have not already done so) at https://sid4gov.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/organisation/register and submit your sid4gov company profile for publication on the database.

If your company is already registered on sid4gov, you must ensure that information is up to date.

Where access to sid4gov is unavailable, please contact the sid4gov helpdesk at sid4gov@gps.gsi.gov.uk.

Please note that, at present, sid4gov does not pre-populate any fields of the SQ on the Portal, and therefore Potential Providers must complete the Qualification and Selection Envelopes of the PQQ (SQ) in Bravo in full.

Instructions for Accessing the Portal

The HealthTrust Europe portal is located at https://healthtrusteurope.bravosolution.co.uk (the “Portal”).

You will need to:

Register on the Portal (if not already registered)
Log in to the Portal with the username/password
Either search by “PQQ” or “Opportunity”
Click on the PQQ or Opportunity which has the title that corresponds to this tender (pqq_30643 Total Workforce Solutions II Selection Questionnaire).
Click the Express Interest button at the top of the page (this will move the PQQ or Opportunity into your “My Main Dashboard”)
Access any attachments by clicking Buyer Attachments in the PQQ/Opportunity Details box
Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the PQQ
Submit the reply using the Submit Response button at the top of the page

To be successful, you must complete all sections of the PQQ (SQ) in full in English, answering questions fully but as concisely as possible.

SQ – SELECTION QUESTIONNAIRE (STAGE 1 OF TENDER PROCESS)

The SQ (SQ is the new terminology for PQQ) is the first stage in the tender process and is designed to ensure that agencies qualify – or meet the minimum requirements of the tender. There are a few pass/fail criteria that have been specified during this stage of the process which include:

There are a total of 105 questions in the Qualification Envelope and 67 in the Technical Envelope that need to be answered. A number of these are basic company information and Yes / No answers, however there are also case studies and documents that need to be uploaded to meet the tender compliance requirements.

For All Lots

Financial Criteria

To quality to bid for this business you must meet HTE’s financial criteria which are specified on pages 23-25 of the SQ Guidance Document (available for download from the portal once you have registered). This may mean that some micro-businesses are unable to bid as these are non-negotiable pass/fail criteria. Please read this section of the document carefully before making your bid/no bid decision.

The main pass/fail financial criterion at the PQQ/SQ is that your business must have a turnover of at least £500,000 if you are bidding for Lots 2b, 3a, 3b, 3c, 4a or 4b. You must have an annual turnover of at least £2,000,000 if you are bidding for Lot 2a.

If the annual turnover of your business is less than this, you will fail.

There are a number of other financial checks that HTE will undertake as part of their 9-step financial assessment and these can be found on pages 23-25 of the Selection Questionnaire (SQ) Guidance Document. You must meet all of these or be able to provide a parent company guarantee where the parent company meets all of these criteria, otherwise your bid will fail.

Quality Assurance Criteria

There are a number of questions that appear as Yes / No answers in the SQ that then appear in more detail in the ITT stage of the process. During the SQ you just need to answer Yes / No to these, however during the next stage of the process you may be required to provide evidence. An example of this is in the SQ, they ask if you maintain membership of the REC or equivalent national industry body that represents good practice in perm recruitment to the health & social care sector for the duration of the contract. This is the Yes / No form of the question. When you get to the ITT stage you are asked to upload your current REC (or equivalent) certificate with at least 2 weeks remaining on the annual membership. This is worth 5 points.

General & Lot Specific Criteria

For Lots 2a & Lot 2b

You must meet the minimum standards set out in Appendix 4.

Cyber Essentials or ISO 27001 – You must either currently have (or confirm that you will have) either Cyber Essentials Accreditation or ISO27001 in place prior to contract commencement). This is a pass/fail criterion and will be audited prior to contract start.

Case Study – You must be able to provide a case study to demonstrate you have provided services within the scope of Lot 2a.

Transferring Workers – You have to be able to confirm that you are able to transfer workers in line with TUPE if asked to do so.

For Lots 3a, 3b, 3c, 4a and 4b

NHS Employers Standards – You must confirm your processes align to and comply with the NHS Employment Check Standards. This is a pass/fail criterion and you may be asked to provide evidence of this in the ITT stage or prior to contract start.

Occupational Health Service – You must have an in house or 3rd party Occupational Health Service Provider that is accredited by SEQOHS. This is a pass/fail criterion and you may be asked to provide evidence of this in the ITT stage or prior to contract start.

Statutory & Mandatory Training – You must confirm that you provide training that aligns to the CSTF. This is a pass/fail criterion and you may be asked to provide evidence of this in the ITT stage or prior to contract start.

Track Record – You must be able to demonstrate (by providing copy invoices) that you have supplied 5 or more temporary workers (relevant to scope of services of the lot(s) you are bidding for) to one or more customers in either the public or private sectors within the last 12 months.

Case Study – You must be able to provide a case study for a customer that you have delivered the service to (relevant to the scope of the lot(s) you are bidding for) within the last 12 months that covers Customer Profile, Customer Requirements, Compliance, Contract Management and Savings Delivery.

Independent Compliance Audit Report / NHSI Audit – You will be required to provide an independent audit report dated within the last 12 months to demonstrate that the 5 or more temporary workers covered in the track record section meet all of the compliance criteria. This must be done by a qualified auditor that meets HTE requirements prior to contract award.

These are non-negotiable pass / fail questions, so if you are unable to meet the above criteria, you will not be invited to the next stage of the process.

ITT – INVITATION TO TENDER (STAGE 2 OF TENDER PROCESS)

This stage is not to be completed at the moment. You will only be asked to complete the ITT if you are successful during the SQ (or PQQ) stage of the process.

You will be required to complete a full tender for each lot that you are bidding for. Scoring weighting is 70% on quality and 30% on cost.

For the clinical Lots (3a, 3b and 3c) there will be questions in relation to:

REC Membership
ISO9001 Accreditation
Policies, processes and controls to ensure your staff are properly trained and instructed
Corporate social responsibility (Policy)
How temporary workers are trained and instructed
Staff handbook
Temporary Worker appraisals and CPD
IR35
Compliance in line with NHS Employers Standards
Temporary worker training in line with the CSTF
Control of DNA & ghost bookings
Pricing controls
Preparation of compliance files for audit
Complaints handling process
Data protection

For the NMNC lots (4a and 4b) there will be questions in relation to:

REC Membership
ISO9001 Accreditation
Policies, processes and controls to ensure your staff are properly trained and instructed
Corporate social responsibility (Policy)
How temporary workers are trained and instructed
IR35
Compliance in line with NHS Employers Standards
Temporary worker training in line with the CSTF
Pricing controls
Preparation of compliance files for audit
Complaints handling process
Data protection

BRUNTON BID WRITING SERVICES & PRICING

We are offering 3 service options for this tender:

OPTION 1 – Full outsource service where we complete all of the questions on your behalf and upload all of the required documentation to the portal ready for your review and submission. Please note that we do not provide advice on where to pitch your pricing or offer legal advice. This service does not include provision of any documented policies or procedures detailed in Option 3 below.

FULL OUTSOURCE SERVICE	Bidding for ONE lot	Additional Cost for Each Extra Lot
PQQ / SQ Stage	£1,500	£400
ITT Stage	£4,950	£750

All of the above pricing is subject to VAT at the prevailing rate.

OPTION 2 – Consultancy & Review Service which includes:

A full review of all of the documentation relating to the bid (so we know the documents inside out and will be well positioned to give advice).
Ongoing review of the “clarification” questions and answers as they are published.
Unlimited telephone and email support throughout the bid period (until the submission deadline).
Advice and guidance on answering the questions, and documents you need to upload to the portal as part of your bid (please note this does not include provision of any documented policies or procedures detailed in Option 3 below).
Review of the answers to the qualitative questions (this service includes a maximum of 2 reviews). You must provide the questions and answers to us in MS Word format and we will provide your reviews using track changes and the comments function. It is then your responsibility to follow our guidance and make the amendments to your answers. We are not responsible for rewriting your answers.
Assistance with understanding the pricing evaluation and how to complete the pricing schedule once published in the ITT (please note that we are unable to advise you on where to pitch your pricing – this is a commercial decision for your business).
A full review of the portal (once you have uploaded your bid) to ensure it is complete and compliant and that all attachments have been uploaded correctly.

CONSULTANCY & REVIEW SERVICE	Bidding for ONE Lot	Additional Cost for Each Extra Lot
PQQ / SQ Stage	£1,150	£400
ITT Stage	£3,750	£400